H, I,J,K,L,M, NO – Me!

Say NO Confidently and 10 Reminders Why.

NO is just two letters right;- N and then O just joint in matrimony and they live comfortably together in the alphabet without any effort at all, but boooooy is it a meaty word! Or we think it is…

Why do so many of us struggle to say No, just simply No?

I, for sure do. In fact, I often find myself sacrificing what I want to do simply because the mere word ‘No’ struggles to pass my lips, and it just takes a comfortable seat in the back of my mouth whilst I make way to please friends, co-workers, family members even strangers at times to the point where I actually begin to resent them because of my own incapability of going with what I want to do. However, have you noticed that we often say Yes to the things that are more detrimental to us than if we were to say no.

We must remember we are not here to live our lives for others. My life is for me and your life is for you, Right? Therefore, I should be in charge of my yes or no! Ha! If only it were that simple ay!

For me, being a mum has definitely been a fast-track for my friendship with the word No and I have come a long way, but I can’t lie and you should own up too… Haven’t the kids come in handy for the Deputy No moments? whilst we don’t actually say No, Deputy No steps in and we seem to find so many excuses for the reason why;- we can’t fulfil the social gathering which we never really wanted to go to in the first place but we somehow agreed to; to seem as though we would love to come but then we decide to cancel the day before, ‘due to an ‘unforeseen emergency’ (instead of saying No politely) or we can’t have Mary’s daughter sleep over for the weekend because your dog has got a vet appointment, (instead of saying No politely) and your sister wants you to do a favour and pick up the cake 3 miles away from home during rush hour for the party – I’ll leave that for you to caption…. (instead of saying No politely). These requests can be time consuming and may get in the way of something you have already planned or you’re just tired and simply can’t be asked.

“No” is sometimes the hardest word to say, yet It’s also the most necessary at times.

Ive heard myself saying yes to the wrong things and I’m sure you have too.

No has a bad reputation because if you say “No” you can be perceived as negative, rude or not diplomatic.

Here are 10 reminders why we should say No when necessary and confidently

1. No one knows us better than ourselves.
2. Because if we keep saying yes it can leave us feeling emotionally, physically and mentally depleted and what good are we at that stage anyway.
3. Because you don’t want to suffer from a well known condition called the Disease to Please, where it becomes auto pilot to say yes before even considering the impact it may have on ourselves.
4. Because you need to take some of your power back, be in control and live the life best for you (not them).
5. Set boundaries and you will be surprised at the respect you receive from others.
6. It will set you free.
7. Demonstrates to others the commitment to yourself and what you value, because your needs are also important to you.
8. Because you have an owed responsibility to yourself. Why sacrifice your happiness?
9. Because you are mature.
10. Because we must be productive in our own lives and in order to do this, we need to keep deposits of energy in our own banks.

Dare to begin…

Comment below if you have encountered an experience where the outcome of saying No was not so bad as you had anticipated.

Do you struggle to say No? Or have you struggled in the past to say No sometimes?

Look forward to hearing from you…