My Year of No

I was offered an awesome job that would have started at the end of January. For personal reasons, I wasn't able to take it.

Then I was encouraged to fill a vacancy for the elected position I ran for a few years ago. A small part of me likes the idea, but I feel like I already have a full slate of commitments and the timing is wrong for me to take on another one. I'm already on the board of a local foundation and I hope to be involved in the PTO once school starts in the fall.

I also decided not to continue with a pro bono program that I felt was taking up too much time and wasn't helping me become a better lawyer.

Mostly I feel okay about turning down these opportunities. My job is demanding, I have two small kids at home, and even though there are lots of projects I'd like to take on, I feel like now is not the time. At the same time, I sense a pattern of consciously pulling back, and I feel a little disappointed in myself for not being willing to try -- maybe if I did, I would discover I had the capacity. I wonder, is 2012 going to be my year of saying no?