There are a lot of very good reasons you should learn to say no. This is something that many people struggle with. They feel guilty about saying no when people ask for something, so they end up doing a lot of things they really don’t want to do. The following are some reasons you should learn to say no... or at least not say yes all the time.
One of the reasons you should learn to say no is that you can find yourself overextended. You may end up packing your schedule beyond what you can really take on. It's fine to help a friend if it doesn’t cause a hardship on you. What you need to do is check your schedule first, before you make a commitment to someone else. This also allows you a nice way to say no to someone.
Sometimes when you say yes to others, it means you're saying no to yourself. Maybe you had planned on going to have a pedicure after work or you just wanted to go home and curl up with a good book. Saying yes to someone else might mean that you have to say no to yourself, to that pedicure, to that trashy romance novel. While you don’t want to say no all of the time to people, you also need to be true to your own needs and wants. Only say yes if you truly want to help someone else, and it isn’t a problem.
A lot of times people that don’t know how to say no aren’t honoring their own feelings. They're pushing themselves aside for others. This is essentially saying (to yourself) that others matter more than you. This isn’t true! If you want to help someone, great. But you don’t have to always say yes.
There are some people that will take advantage of you if they learn you'll always help them out in a pinch. They go from needing help every once in a while to wanting help all of the time. This can become a clear case of you being taken advantage of. And that's something no one enjoys! It may be time to say no, for your own well-being.
It's definitely time to learn to say no to others when your own commitments start suffering. If you'e having to change your plans for others, it isn’t a good thing. This is especially true if doing for others is affecting your schoolwork, your job or other commitments. It's really okay to say no to others. Having another commitment is a good way to get out of saying yes.
If you don’t learn to say no to others, you'll begin to feel resentment toward them. This is not good! Resentment is a negative emotion that's as toxic to you as jealousy! It's negativity that you don’t need in your life. Saying no is sometimes the best thing you can do for your mental and emotional health.
If you can’t make yourself say no to others, it can be a sign that you may be ran over in other areas of your life. You need to have, and honor, your own voice. Work on being a stronger person and honoring your feelings and giving them a voice. It can be a hard step, but one you will be glad you took. And those little steps will help you get stronger each time you take them.
Is saying no hard for you to do? Have you overcome this issue in your own life? Share your stories here!