As a child, we always heard our parents use the word “NO” with us. Whether it was because we wanted candy, or because we wanted to stay up till midnight on a school night, it was always a word that I dreaded to hear. So, when dreaded to hear it, I began to dread saying it. My biggest fear was letting down my friends and family and inhibit their dreams from happening, so I started saying yes to every little thing. One of the hardest things I have ever done was learning to say no, but once I learned it, there was a weight lifted off my chest. We don’t have to please anyone, and by saying no it doesn’t make the world fall apart, it can sometimes help.
One thing we need to remember is that you need to be overfilled to fill others. When we fill a glass with soda, we can only give as much soda as we have right? Just like when we help others we cannot give what we don’t have. We cannot just give we have to receive as well, so sometimes say no so you can take care of yourself.
We also have to pick and choose our battles. Sometimes we pick a battle that is not feasible yet, or that we aren’t ready for. Sometimes we have to do life in tiny little steps to get to where we want. When you climb a mountain you have to climb back down to get to the next mountain, we need to pick the battles that are ours, and some other battles are not ours to fight.
Two questions I have to ask myself daily are: Is this worth it? And If so why am I doing this? Sometimes we say yes to things for the wrong reasons, or we do things that stop us from doing greater things. A good key is to always ask yourself those two question to prevent yourself from saying yes too much.
I have learned from experience that it is better to say no in the beginning than say yes, and have to cancel right before the event. One time I had said yes so much I forgot what I was saying yes to and ended up overbooking and having to let someone down. It was the worst and also strained my relationship with the person in the end. If I would have been organized I could have avoided the mess I made for myself.
