Saying yes

I was told continuously at the start of my year abroad to say yes. Say yes to everything said my mum, dad, siblings, teachers, colleagues and friends. They all reminded me how important it is to try as many new things as possible and experience as much as I could. 

So, although at first I found I wanted to say no to a lot of things because I was scared or worried, I began to say YES to everything.

Soon I had made loads of new friends, had a new working schedule and felt I was really making the most of my time in Germany.

Is saying yes always the best thing though?

Of course it was great to meet new people and spend time with those people. Recently however, I found myself regretting making plans as I was cramming too much into one day. Over the weekend I would long for a lie in and wish I could just put my feet up at home and watch a film in peace. 

I then realised I had said yes to far too many things and it was actually not doing me too much good. Of course I was still experiencing new things, but I also realised I wasn't enjoying them so much because I was so tired. I then understood that although it is very important to push myself out of my comfort zone, I also needed to be able to say no to things. It isn't always bad to turn down an offer for something when you haven't got time and I really had to remind myself that the past few weeks. 

At first I felt bad or guilty rejecting the offers people made me, but over time I realised it really was for the best as I could really enjoy everything that I did!