"Yes of course I can do that!" "Sure, not a problem. I’ll do it." Does that sound familiar? Attending events, going out with friends, helping your neighbour with their lawn work or taking on more work at the office is what most of us do. In a busy world we say yes to things we shouldn’t. This is especially true when it’s a future event. It sounds like a good idea at the time since it’s a few weeks away but when the time comes to attend, you dread going.
When you initially say yes, you think your future self will be better equipped to deal with the situation. You think to yourself, whatever is going on right now in your life won’t be there in the coming weeks. You will be a different person, with no problems when that time comes. Of course that is not the case. You either have the same amount going on or you have even more. When the days in between start to get smaller, the anxiety starts to increase. You wonder how you are going to fit this in with everything else. This is a constant balance in today’s world.
We see everyone enjoying themselves or doing something cool on social media and you say to yourself, “I want to do that!” Next thing you know, you have everyday booked in your calendar for the next month with no time to yourself. You keep saying there is never anytime to do things you want to do. There is no time to take care of yourself or clean your home or relax with a book. No wonder the world is busy. Everyone does not want to miss out that they are killing themselves by living intensely.
This is when the power of no comes in. It’s okay to say no sometimes. Often people do not say no because they don’t have a great reason to say no. Saying “I don’t want to” does not cut it for them because they think it will offend the other person. However, simply saying “no” or “I don’t want to” it is a good reason and a good explanation. It is sufficient. “No.” is a complete sentence.
Get to know what you love to do most with your free time, what you are capable to do at work and say yes to what you love and can accomplish at work. Saying no lets you know what to say yes to. It gives you freedom. Do not hesitate to say no. If you do not want to do something, protect your time by saying no. When you say no to something, you are saying yes to something else later on. Remember, saying yes to everything has a cost to it. You can be busy and do multiple things but what cost are you willing to pay?
Take care.