Saying no in order to say yes

I was basically working on three different gigs when I found out I was pregnant with my first child: my private career coaching practice, coaching the coaches in the second sessions of the altMBA, and ramping up a coaching engagement for a cohort of Black, Latinx, and Native American rising leaders in corporate America.

I enjoyed each for its own reasons, but I remember that first month of pregnancy was the hardest month ever. I was suffering from that first-trimester bionic fatigue that makes you useless after 5pm (why did no one tell me about that??), was still juggling these three different workstreams, and couldn't catch any slack because I wasn't yet telling anyone that I was pregnant.

By the end of the month, I had a decision to make.
What was my priority?

For me, being fully present during my pregnancy and not treating it as an inconvenience was important. So I knew I had to let go of something. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, but also one of the best ones.

With my clients I often see this fear of letting go of an awesome opportunity, because who knows if you'll ever "get it back," but saying yes to what's important often requires saying no to something else.