Exit this way
Sometimes I get myself into things. Intentionally and by choice. The trick is when I want to get out. If I don’t have an exit strategy, the door could be blocked or shut. Most of the time, I haven’t even considered the fact that I might need to get out.
Safety first
Humans should check for red exit signs whenever they enter any new environment. We have a great deal of trust usually and skip this step. Or, we don’t want to look like paranoid crazies that need to react to emergencies right off the bat. I can figure out who the people who live without exit strategies on a rainy day. They walk around without umbrellas, hats or any inventive way to take cover. They tend to operate from the seat of their pants, even their sopping wet pants.
Run for the door
In order to act as though I planned my exit, it is important to put a little thought into my responses before just giving them. There should always be a proper pause before saying yes to anything. A proper pause. But we often skip this step because we fear appearing as if we don’t want to be helpful or feel our pushy people pleaser personality forming the words or know that only our assistance will create the best result.
Question the request
Turn the scenario around. To fully develop your pause, ask the questioner why you are the best person for the task. This guarantees a gulp and some hastily thought up reasons that sound a lot like you are always the person, you are right here in front of me and you don’t say no. Sounds like it might be you who has created the issue. If you regularly get the same reasons, it’s time for you to develop the exit strategy that starts at the entrance. Don’t do anything that you have not been given a completely convincing reason to do and want to do it. The world will not end. Being brave means that someone else gets a chance to be the hero of the moment. Your exit creates their entrance.
Do you think before you leap? Can you change your usual weak agreement into someone else’s happy acceptance? Who taught you that you had to do everything you were asked to do?
