Summer is my most favorite time of year and we spend most of our time at the lake in July and August (in fact, me and the kids move out there!)

People sometimes say to me “It must be nice to have a job where you can slow down and have so much time off”. 

I tell them that it’s a CHOICE.

It comes with saying no to a whole lot of things . . . even opportunities like a $40K contract because the company wanted in-person work to start during summer (and even though the money would have been great and we could pay off some debt).

It comes with being laser-focused when I do my work in the early summer mornings for two or three hours before the kids get going and we jump into beach days (I swear I get more done this way than some full work days).

It comes with letting go of what other people think when they say “If you were really dedicated to your business, you would say ‘yes’ to X or keep momentum and not slow down”.

It comes with being present and enjoying this time, instead of getting wrapped up in the annoyances of the day (like when your kids are arguing . . . again! For the most part anyways ;-)).

And it comes with being crystal clear about what I want for myself and my family and the choices I need to make for it to happen.

These very same concepts can be applied to anything you want in life. It’s a choice.

So, my question to you . . .

What is one thing YOU really want and what’s one choice you need to make for it to happen? 

Share in the comments!

What Next?

You can sign up for Stacey’s masterclass, The Confident “No” here.

Stacey L. Olson is a Leadership and Certified Positive Psychology Coach, has 15 years of corporate experience and has gone through her own transformational change from burning out to balanced in life while performing at a high level (both in her corporate career and own business). She works with professionals who want to work less, live more and be their best even with all the demands, high expectations and messiness of everyday life. Stacey is the founder of The Balanced Leader™ program and offers executive and leadership coaching, workshops, and speaking.