g this because I need to hear it. I need to hear that it's OK to say NO. It's ok, it really is. But for a long time I didn't think it was ok to say no. When I was drinking and using, the word no was not really in my vocabulary in the traditional sense of the word. I prided myself on being spontaneous, wild, and ready to say "yes" at the drop of a hat. I said yes because I thought that's what people wanted to hear. I said yes because I thought people would like me more if I went along with their ideas or their plans. I said yes because I didn't want to be held back from anything. I said yes because I was extreme in every sense of the word. So when I got sober, I continued to say yes. I continued to overpack my schedule as had been my norm throughout my drinking years. It was even easier to overbook myself because I was able to show up for everything and not just skate by with a hangover. But I quickly found that this didn't work for me. You see, for years I had packed my schedule with activity after activity. In college I scheduled classes, studying, soccer, drinking, and socializing down to the minute. Free time was a foreign concept to me and so was self-care.