“Do you have time to extend our session by 15 minutes?” he asked.

“Yes” I responded.

“Good, and I know that I can trust your yes because you have told me no before so that means that your yes is actually yes” he casually said as he looked down at his notes on what he wanted to discuss in our session. 

He has a high emotional IQ and I adore our coaching sessions because he requires different energy from me. This was simply one of the examples of his emotional IQ. He has complete awareness that people who struggle to self advocate and set or hold boundaries may not be able to effectively communicate a response of “no”. 

After our session, I sat cross legged on my bed grounding into myself while energetically closing out my work for the day. This interaction came back into my awareness and I replayed it a couple of times. I thought about versions of me who wouldn’t have been able to say “no” or “yes” and have the response be trusted. I thought about versions of me who couldn’t set or hold a boundary. I thought about versions of me who would have felt guilty for self advocating. With closed eyes and an open heart, I sent love and gratitude to each of these versions of myself. Without those versions of me, I wouldn’t be this version of me.  

I slowly slipped into meditation and was taken one step further back into my past. Back to the version of me who wouldn’t have been able to be honest with myself, say nothing about others. I held myself so tightly and yet so gently as I recalled being that person. A tear slowly ran down my face and onto my chest as I loved her (me) so deeply for the growth that she (I) have experienced.