Say No!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the adage, “If you want something done, ask the busiest person to do it.”

For the longest time, I thought this was complimentary, but then I realized that people love to take advantage of the skills, talent and seemingly unlimited time of those who can’t say “no.” And I also learned that many people, especially women, said “yes” to everything because they fear rejection or worry about disappointing others, or lack a sense of empowerment or self-worth. Sometimes saying “no” is the most self-loving and powerful thing you can say or do.

If you see a bit of yourself reflected in the paragraph above, do some self-assessment. Respect yourself and learn to  value your own time, then choose when you want to say “yes’ or “no.” If a project is of interest or meaning to you, do it; but say “no” to anything that falls outside of that realm. And remember that everyone, everyday, needs time to relax, to be alone and to do those tasks that they find rewarding.

This is the most recent installment in an ongoing series elaborating on 52 proven stress relievers identified by researchers at Texas Woman’s University.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 27th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Anxiety, Mental Health, Stress, Wellness, Wisdom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.