”Just because you can…

doesn’t mean you should.”

I posted this recently in a solo entrepreneur’s forum, in a response to the question, “What do you know now, that you wish you’d known when you started?”

It’s not a lesson specific to business. Most business lessons aren’t.

It’s a lesson I continue to learn. It changes shape and form; but it is always the same lesson.

For me, it’s looked like…

Just because you can forgo sleep for a project, doesn’t mean you should.

Just because you can cross 26 things off a to-do list, doesn’t mean you should.

And…

“Just because you can keep doing something, doesn’t mean you should.”

Pause. Reflect.

It doesn’t matter how amazing or competent you are.

It doesn’t matter how much energy, resources, or free time you think you ought to have.

It doesn’t matter how much you’ve invested, how much you think you’ve lost, or how stuck in expectation you think you are.

Don’t be afraid to say NO.

“No” might close some doors. But so does saying yes. “No” just changes the doors you see.

If “should” feels like the driver for any given decision…give it a second look.

Probe for the why. Look for your why.

Should will whisper. Should will cajole. Should knows all the reasons you’re afraid to ignore: the reasons that tell you you’re weak, you’re afraid, you’re not up to the task.

Should says “Prove yourself to me. Prove to me you are worthy.”

Should hisses.

Stand your ground.

Listen to what you want. To what you need.

Then choose.

You know more than you think you do.