The Power of Knowing When To Say “No”

Estimated reading time: 7 minute(s)

Originally published 7.10.11

So many of us feel overwhelmed by all of the commitments we feel we have been pressured into accepting. We wrestle with how to tell people “No” while stressing and stretching ourselves out.

Want to know what the magical secret is? Just say “No”….Yes, just say “No.”

You can do it.

Easier said than done, right? It’s amazing how this two letter word “No” could yield more power at times in our lives versus the three letter word “Yes.”

We have grown accustomed to say “Sure, I’ll do it”, “I got you”, and “Yes, I can make it happen.” However, deep down we want to bypass the request, offer, or deal because we know it is difficult to get anything done on our own when we’re catering to everything being sent our way.

We often say “Yes” out of pressure, loyalty, friendship, favor, fear of missing out on an opportunity or a habit of wanting to feel important. What more opportunities could you focus on if you said “No” a little more?

I will be the first to admit that the last few years I have allowed myself to be lured into the spider web of saying “Yes” and ended up disappointing people, losing money, increasing my stress level and allowing my own personal goals to suffer.

What was even more hurtful is that the people you overexert yourself to help don’t even appreciate it and borderline start to just use you like a washcloth and then throw you to the side.

For the longest I thought saying “No” was being rude until I matured enough to know that it is actually better to say “No” than to agree to something that you know you will not be able to give it you all. If your word means something then you don’t want to live your life constantly breaking it.

There’s an instant gratification that comes along with saying “Yes” at that moment, but it soon withers away once you realize you made an irrational decision. Think before you say “Yes” and avoid getting caught up in the moment.

Insanity is sometimes defined as doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. To keep running away from saying “No” just to please people and create a world of grief afterwards is not smart.

Learn to strategically say “No” to a lot of things and channel your valuable “Yes” towards things you know will truly be beneficial in the long run and that you can keep your word to. You have to decide that, not someone else.

Make an effort to say “No” to something.

Can we do it? YES! 🙂

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