The way our world is evolving is that people think that a two-letter word can do more harm than good. If you think about it logically, saying and accepting “no” can be better than avoiding it. There are reasons why the word “no” exists.

Sometimes certain people may not be able to do certain favors, which leads their only word choice to being “no.” If you were to ask a busy friend if they would like to hang out with you, but they say “no,” it doesn’t always mean they dislike you. It could mean that they have to do something or be somewhere important at a certain time, such as a doctor’s appointment. Sometimes saying “no” can be a sign of not being able to mentally or physically do a task.

Suppose you had a friend who is having difficulty with Calculus, but you only made it to Trigonometry. If you do not know any Calculus, you have a good excuse. What if your friend asks you to carry a box for them that is 100 pounds, but you are not strong enough? You will need to say “no” and they will need to ask a stronger friend. If you know that you can’t do something yet, it is always good to say “no."

“No” is an answer. Sometimes it means that a person made a wrong choice that could lead them to bad results. It can also mean that they were not correct. If we want to become smarter, eventually we will need to deal with people who say “no” before we get there.

What can make a person unfriendly is if they do not accept “no” for an answer. The truth is that everybody wants to be correct, but in real life, you will need to accept the fact that you did something that was incorrect. One scenario that can cause this behavior is rigidness. Some people may feel like they can not work their way around a problem, and they feel like there are limited options available when really there is not. Sometimes if you have a friend over, but they decide to leave, and you demand them to stay longer, that is something you need to accept.

On the other hand, if someone does not want to be your friend, you can change that by changing yourself. There’s a big chance that the person who does not want to be your friend may want you to stop or do something first. Demanding someone to say “yes” does not make the chances of them accepting it to be any greater.

It is okay to say “no,” but it is not okay to force another person to say “yes.” Remember that listening to someone say “no” is not the end of the world; it is more like the beginning of the world. Sometimes we need to learn what the boundaries are, whether we are 20 or 60 years old. In many cases, it can be safer to say "no" than to say "yes."