I was looking through my photos on my laptop today, and I came across some photos of book pages. When I’m reading and I want to remember something, I snap a quick pic. Highlighting isn’t an option much of the time, since I’ve gotten back into using my library card over the past few years. So I have these photos, and the pleasure of looking back on them.

Back in 2016, I read The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharpe. Full confesh: I wasn’t fully in love with it, so I didn’t read it all the way through. But I still found some bits that clicked.

You know how much I’m all about boundaries, and not doing things that you don’t want to do so that you can do more of what you actually want to do, right? Well, she shared a gem of a quote, which I’d now like to share with you.

Ready?

“You only need one good reason to commit to a project, not four hundred. But if you have four hundred reasons to say yes and only one reason to say no, the answer is probably no.” 

The quote has no real attribution–she says only that a CEO said this to her once upon a time.

This really resonates with me. I guide my clients to make decisions based on inner wisdom and resonance in order to find true fulfillment by tuning in to the wisdom of their bodies. I believe that this quote is a nice addition to that process.

Recently, I found myself seeking support for my health issues and for my personal growth. I found a few possible resources, and proceeded to hum and haw about which way to go for about a month. My inner wisdom said, “Go for it.” But my mind had a laundry list of reasons why I shouldn’t.

Maybe there’s a cheaper option.
Maybe it’s not enough support.
Maybe there’s something else that should be a higher priority.
Maybe I’m actually fine and don’t need this.

OMG, the resistance! Eventually, I went for it, realizing that I was just talking myself out of what I truly need.

Because, like many women, I too have internalized the idea that I should be able to figure it all out on my own. I shouldn’t spend money on my wellbeing. Things aren’t really that bad, so I should just keep moving.

But for a long while, I’ve known that the voice that tells me all the reasons I shouldn’t have my needs met (or even better, that I shouldn’t really have needs at all) is the patriarchy in disguise. Asking me to be compliant with things as they are. Asking me to stay wounded, increasing the likelihood that I’ll want to distract myself with shopping – go, capitalism!

I share this with you as an invitation to consider…

Where are you getting caught up in 400 reasons? #distracted
Can you give yourself permission to land on the one thing that resonates? #truth
Can you consider the possibility of following through on something that’s right for you, even if there are 400 reasons why you shouldn’t need it? #whatselflovelookslike

I’d love to hear from you. Does this quote resonate? Comment below and let me know what you think.