You Can Say No

~ It is always in your power to say no. Never give away that power to another. Your strength lies in your power ~ talkswitheve

You can say no at any point in your life – at any time. The choice is always yours in choosing how you wish to respond to any situation. If ever you hesitate, think about the reason for your hesitation.

Why do we hesitate to say no

Are you afraid of the unknown? Or, if you are a people pleaser as I am (or was), could you be afraid of hurting someone’s feelings? Maybe it could be, as many of us are, how we were raised. We were taught it was rude or selfish to say no.

Unfortunately, sometimes we are afraid of judgment. Have you ever been invited out with friends, but you are short on cash, so you say no? You are not required to give an explanation because you can say no.

However, if you don’t then others will think their own thoughts. They may think, for example, you are broke, or you are being anti-social, neither of which is your real reason. No one will accept “no” as a valid and full statement.

No is a complete sentence

Did you know that “no” is a complete sentence? No explanation is required, although you may feel that you need to offer one. Being polite is always of great importance, as good manners are necessary for better relationships with others.

Saying no, however, can be crippling for some because we never want to disappoint others. Nonetheless, you would become quite overwhelmed, even exhausted, if you said “yes” all the time.

So, saying no to some things is quite beneficial in both your personal life and in business. That’s how you get burnt out and it makes for ineffective leadership. It is important to say “no”.

You can say no

Actually, you should say no when you want to say no. Do you struggle with saying no? You can start by saying no to little things.

I am a reformed “yes” person. As a former people pleaser, I struggled with saying no. Then one day the realization hit me – the more I said yes, the more I gave of myself to others, the less gas I had in my tank for me.

All my time seemed to be spent on others. Doing for them took precedence over doing for me. I spent very little time on my own needs.

Saying no was at first quite scary. The first time I said no, without any explanation, I waited for a negative response. None came then, or after any of the other times when I said no.

Another realization hit me. Saying yes when I should have said no had more of a negative impact on me than I realized. There is empowerment in being able to say no without guilt or regret.

You are a unique individual and so any method you use in taking steps to say no will be right – for you.

Do you find yourself saying yes a LOT?

Follow your own path in finding ways to say no more often.

Enjoy the journey.