Saying Yes

“Thank you for saying yes.”

Those words have been echoing through my mind the last two weeks. These are the words my mentor shared with me while I was recognized during my graduation from my second coaching program, Coaching for Healing, Justice, and Liberation. Each graduate in my cohort had a moment in the virtual spotlight, our respective mentor in the program taking time to share some words about us and each time ending with “Thank you for saying yes.”

Often times as humans we can get into the habit of putting a LOT of weight into decisions. Something as small as “Do I throw away this jar or keep it?” can send us into a tailspin. What to make for dinner, what to wear, whether we can go another day without washing our hair…the term “decision fatigue” was coined as a way to highlight how exhausting it can be to make decisions.

The decision to participate in a 9 month program during which I’d be expected to commit to 34 ninety minute classes, twelve all day workshops, complete 50+ hours of coaching, participate in 6 hours of group mentoring and 4 hours of individual mentoring…yeah, you get the point. It wasn’t a small commitment to say yes. I talked to my family about the time and energy I would be putting into this work in addition to my 2 existing jobs.