The Year of "No"

I don't really do resolutions per se, I like to try and set goals for myself.
Last year I had two big goals, to pay off my credit card debt and to go back to finish my degree.
Because of the big "U" incident I didn't pay off the debt, but before the big "U" I was about half way there. Since the new job I have begun hacking away again in ernest so the new goal will be by Summer to be debt free.
I also didn't get to finish my degree, that was supposed to be the main activity for the summer of '09 but since I spent the summer dealing with the "U" and all of the sadness that went with it....the degree got put on the back burner.
But a few weeks ago I registered and put down my first tuition installment for the upcoming semester, so at least part of that goal was accomplished.
So you see, a major setback only yielded some minor dents in the goals.
Of course I had other goals, lose some more weight figure out what to do with my business. But since the "U" lasted from April till October those objectives also got put on the back burner as well.
I am happy to report that the job is going really well. It's the perfect job for my personality. I work with people, but not WITH people if you know what I mean. I'm never on the phone with anyone longer than it takes to transfer them to voicemail and even though I have a desk job, I am not trapped in a little gray cubicle.
Back in late September as the fog was lifting from the "U", I happened to be flipping through the TV and I came upon a religious show. Couldn't tell you who it was or what it was about, but the closing message was that sometimes when you are in a situation God will take you out of it, but sometimes God will make you go through it so that you learn from it. I knew then that God needed me to go through what I had gone through so that I could fix my life to come.
Which brings me to my main goal for the 2010.
NO!
That is going to be my word for the New Year. And I know you must be thinking that after my little religious tangent that it seems an odd goal for the year. But hear me out.
In the past I have said yes to a lot of things for people because I just didn't know how to say no. Somethings... no most things I enjoyed, but 90% of the time my saying yes to them, meant that I was saying no to me.
By saying yes to teaching for someone, performing for someone, errands, favors, parties, you name it for someone, I usually ended up robbing myself of time that I could have been spending on me,my business, my relationship and my sanity.
No, is going to be said to a lot more to friends, family and the boy. As much as I love them and it is going to shock the hell out of them, because I am the yes girl. Have been all of my life. No to them is going to mean yes to me.
Yes to studying so that I can finally complete my degree.
Yes to exercising so that I don't get winded walking up a flight of stairs.
Yes to staying at home by myself on the weekends so that I can recharge my batteries and deal with anything that life has to throw me. Because I have a feeling there will be some family battles waged once I start shelling out my no's.
So this year No will really mean YES!