I volunteered to do some fundraising for a program I love and cherish. I’m going to make a donation and I’m sure others that have been a part of it will also want to contribute. Easy! So I wrote a friendly donation request letter. Then I froze. It’s been so hard to send them out. I emailed a few, then stopped. A few more. I found myself really resisting it and wondering why.

The answer came late at night when I couldn’t sleep. I resist because I have a hard time saying no and sometimes do things I’m asked to do but don’t want to do. I realized I was afraid my colleagues were the same. Afraid that my ask would pressure them to donate even if they didn’t want to. In other words, I put on them my own feelings. Once I realized that, I let it go. Everyone makes their own choice. I’m just presenting awareness of the opportunity. Give or don’t give. It doesn’t affect me.

Then I turned my attention to me and gave a little pep talk. It’s okay to ask. It’s good to ask. There are people that would love to say yes to some requests I have, but they don’t get the opportunity because I back away from asking. So ask! And if they say no, it’s okay, just like it’s okay for me to say no to requests that don’t fit my agenda or schedule. That easy.