Learn to Say No

If you can’t say “No,” your “Yes” is meaningless.

If you always say yes to anything and everything that someone asks you to do or to attend, you are doing yourself a disservice. You need time for yourself, to relax, unwind, and recharge your energy. You need time to maintain your inner peace. This is true for everyone, but it is especially true if you are an introvert.

So many people bend over backwards to try to please everyone else that they forget that they need time for themselves as well. When you constantly say yes to everyone and everything, people will take advantage of you. They will feel that you are a pushover who cannot say no and who is easily manipulated.

Until you have the self-esteem and self-confidence to say “no,” your “yes” is meaningless; it is just assumed that you will always say yes. If you can’t say “no” when you are asked to do something or attend some function, you are training people to disrespect your time. People will continue to put more and more demands on you, and to freely take your personal time until you stand up and say “no.”

You don’t owe everyone your personal time, nor do you owe them some reason for saying “no.” Don’t get into details about why you are not accepting this invitation or that request to volunteer for their projects. There is no need to make up some bogus excuse so you can stay home and relax. A simple “no thank you” will suffice.

Make your “yes” mean something; have the self-confidence to be independent and to put your personal needs first. If you don’t put yourself and your needs first, I can guarantee you that nobody else will. Learn to say “no” and do it without feeling guilty. Put your inner peace and mental health first place, not everyone else’s invitations or demands on your time. Learn the power of “No.” Bohdi Sanders ~ author of the multiple award-winning book, The Art of Inner Peace, available from Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937884279. Signed copies are available from: https://www.the-art-of-inner-peace.com/.