Do you want a better Life? Obviously, the answer to this question is a solid ‘yes’. For some people, the response is packaged in a capital ‘YES’.
It’s quite absurd that the answer to this question is a ‘Yes’, considering that this article is all about saying ‘No’.
Today we will be looking at a very important way of improving your life and the solution to this is in your power of saying ‘No’.
Many people are stuck in unfavorable conditions all because they couldn’t say ‘No’ to an offer, a proposal or an idea.
A lot of people say ‘Yes’ to certain tasks and responsibilities because they are people pleasers and they feel saying ‘Yes’ will help them foster a good relationship with other people.
This is a wrong notion because to live a successful life, you must learn to say ‘No’ to certain people and certain things. When you say ‘yes’ to people, you end up serving other people’s purpose rather than your own. When you are a ‘yes’ man, it will be hard to set your boundaries and get people to respect you.
Here is a list of five reasons saying ‘no’ will help improve your life:
1. It Helps You Value Your Time:
Saying ‘no’ helps you discover how precious your time is. When you say ‘no’, you find enough time to focus on what your goal is and how you will work at achieving it. It also helps you discover the importance of time.
2. Saying No Helps Prioritize Important Things:
A lot of times, you can be swamped with various tasks and chores to carry out. This in turn reduces your productivity. Saying ‘no’ helps you figure out the important things to say ‘yes’ to when the need calls for it.
3. Saying ‘No’ Shows You Know What You Want:
Billionaire Warren Buffet once said: “Successful people say no to almost everything.” In this statement, he was communicating the fact that successful people only say ‘yes’ to important things.
Saying ‘no’ helps you define your life’s journey. When you say no to the wrong things, you have ample time to discover the right things you need to do and what you need to do to achieve them.
4. Saying ‘No’ Can Help You Be A Better and Happier Person:
A lot of times when you say ‘yes’ to a task you really do not wish for, you carry out the task grudgingly and bitterly and this in turn negatively affect your productive and mental health.
The mental health is affected when you are stressed, tired and overwhelmed with tasks that you’re not happy executing. Saying ‘no’ to unimportant activities allows you have enough time to rest, relax and plan your activities well.
5. It Gives Room for Self Development:
Making it a habit of not giving an automatic ‘Yes’ any time a responsibility or demand is tossed at you has a way of birthing self-development and improvement in your character.
When asked to do something, the best response should either be, “I’ll think about it” or “Can I get back to you on that?” or “I’d like to, but I might have something scheduled.”
Truth be told, giving the response “I’ll think about it” will usually get the person off your back. With this, you will give yourself ample time to genuinely consider your response.
After agreeing to think this over, you can then decide later whether or not you agree. If you decide against doing something, you can give a firm “No” later.
One of the many reasons why people struggle to say ‘no’ is because they have not come into an agreement of their wants and needs being as important as other people’s wants and needs.
Your ability to say ‘no’ when the need calls for it shows you value your self-worth.
Make it a habit today of thinking about things like your personal boundaries and the actual situation at hand. When giving a ‘No’ response, do so in a polite manner that makes your boundaries clear. Work on avoiding guilt after saying ‘No’. Come to an understanding that you always have a right to turn down an invitation, refuse a favor or rejecting a responsibility. It’s very okay to make yourself and your mental health a priority.
