Welcome! I’m Dr. Jillian Bybee, a physician leader, creator, and coach looking to create more fulfillment for myself and others. Humans Leading is for busy, growth-oriented humans who are looking for ways to have more joy and less overwhelm in their lives. Subscribe here to get this newsletter straight in your inbox:
A few years ago, I applied for two wellness leadership positions that I was not selected for. After getting past the initial sting, I refocused and found another position that would allow me to continue to work to impact the systemic drivers of healthcare worker wellbeing and build relationships in the process.
After being in that role for just 8 months, I received a text asking if I would still be interested in one of the leadership positions I had been passed over for previously. As you might imagine, this was terrible timing for me. I was still adjusting to a new schedule and a new role, and I had no idea how I would be able to take on even more. After some soul-searching and discussion with friends and my partner, I said yes.
Approximately a month after I officially started my new role (which I took on in addition to the previous one), I was offered another opportunity: to attend coaching certification training and have it paid for by my organization to help me grow in my new role. The catch was that I had to start before the end of the year.
This offer came in late August.
I asked for a bit of time to consider it.
At first, I thought, “Absolutely not. I cannot possibly take on another commitment.”
But, as the days passed, I couldn’t quiet the knowing voice inside of me that reminded me that I had wanted to become a coach for years. Would I really say no to this opportunity that was staring me in the face?
I said yes.
But I had no idea how I was going to fit another commitment on my already full plate.
I had no idea everything that the certification process would entail (it’s a lot).
I had no idea how I would change as a result of the training (a lot).
I had no idea how I would truly use this certification in the future (this is still true).
I said yes before I knew how I would do it.
It took saying yes to figure out how. And, if I’m being honest, I’m still figuring it out.
Saying yes has added a significant amount of work to my plate. It has pulled my attention from other projects. It has meant disappointing people and saying no to other opportunities. It has meant that my partner has been left to pick up a lot of slack at home, and I feel fortunate that he does so.
But it has also meant that I’ve started to feel more like my authentic self than I have in a long time. It has given me energy. It has opened the door to other opportunities. It has allowed me to begin to realize what it is that I truly want at this point in my life/career and to start thinking about how I’ll say yes to that more often. It has made me imagine how I’ll continue to say yes to what I truly want and no to what is no longer serving me.
I think the same thing is possible for you.
I don’t know what your dream is or how you’ll do it. But I do have an intuition that you have your own version of a knowing voice that you haven’t been listening to. It might have something to do with your career. Or your personal life. Or a side hustle. Or something else entirely.
You might not feel that it’s the right time. Or capable. Or like you have all of the resources you need. Or any number of very good excuses that we make.
I am writing this from my privileged position of having a supportive partner, supportive friends and family, childcare, and economic security. I understand how these create a stable foundation from which I can say yes. And yet having them does not always guarantee that we’ll take the opportunities that present themselves.
We feel like we have to wait for “the right time": an unidentified time in the future when we’ll have it all sorted out and be ready.
But that’s not how it works. We don’t and can’t figure it out until we’re willing to say yes to the thing that won’t leave us alone. And then we get resourceful.