008 Saying NO with Confidence

Life is tough as a people pleaser. Having to say no is one of the most unnatural things to do because at the heart of everything, we want to help and support others in our lives. Sometimes though, it’s just not possible or realistic for us to do so. Often we say yes to people out of obligation, fear of disappointing or simply because we feel we should. At times we let other people’s agendas and priorities railroad our own just to avoid feeling these things. It’s like we would rather say yes to someone else rather than to ourselves {#ouch} and let’s be frank (because you know I love Frank) when we say yes to someone else when we don’t want to, what we are really doing is saying no to ourselves {#truthbomb} and somehow, we reason that that’s a better thing to do. Argh. Sometimes we have to just say no. Even if it feels difficult. Even when we feel we have let someone down. Even when we are soooo sick that we couldn’t possibly have said yes anyway. It’s tough sometimes. I’m still learning to say no. It’s something that we as givers need to practice. There are so many reasons why we sometimes have to say no and below you’ll see that I’ve grouped my suggestions according to those reasons. But here lies a little advice for when it comes to saying the big NO...