It's hard to turn down requests for help. But we must budget our time; we have a right to some of it. We should do what we can, but we should know when our Plimsoll line has been reached.

Some years back, we were living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As I got to know some people there, I soon discovered who the community spark plugs were - the people who seemed to serve on or head up the committees and organizations dedicated to the growth and betterment of the community. One in particular was Gene Whiddon, president of a large and successful lumber company. The word around town was, "If you want to get something done, call Whiddon."

Over the years, Gene Whiddon and I became good friends, and I discovered his system for keeping himself from becoming so bogged down with community work that he had time neither to run his own company nor to enjoy his family. When he got a request for help that he couldn't handle, he'd write a letter to the petitioner that went like this.

"Dear Bill:

"Your request to serve on the committee has touched my Plimsoll line.

"Samuel Plimsoll was a member of the English Parliament about a century ago. He was distressed because cargo ships were being loaded so heavily that they sank at sea, with much loss of life and property. So he got a law passed requiring danger lines to be painted on all cargo ships. When the weight lowered the ship down to where the line touched the water all loading had to stop. Seamen still call this mark the 'Plimsoll Line'.

"People also have Plimsoll lines - a point where for health, happiness and plain common sense, we do not attempt to shoulder more responsibility, however important, than we can intelligently handle.

"I am afraid your request for my help has touched my Plimsoll line. Therefore I reluctantly decline.

"But don't worry. With a cargo as valuable as yours, you'll have it aboard a lighter ship than mine in no time at all."

Good idea, isn't it? You might want to make a note of that idea. It's hard to turn down requests for help. I've actually had people get angry with me because I declined their request to head up some drive or travel halfway across the country to make a speech for their favorite charity. But we must budget our time. We have a right to some of it, and so do our families and our work. It's important, too, to go fishing once in a while, or take a vacation. It's a good idea to mark off a time on the calendar - a time that you hold inviolate just for getting away during the year to recharge your batteries. We should do what we can, but we should know when our Plimsoll line has been reached. We must learn to say no, and mean it.

The Plimsoll line story is a good metaphor and easily understood. It makes sense. It may be that our Plimsoll line is higher than we think and we can probably carry more weight and responsibility. But it must remain an individual decision. It's an important part of our freedom.

(From Nightingale- Conant's Insight, Issue 57)