Hello again,

I really hope you're having a wonderful Saturday

Just now, something popped up in my head and I had to rush to my web browser to share it here

It has to do with the dreaded two lettered word, NO

For most of my life, I was a YES man

Anybody could walk up to me and easily squeeze out a YES from me - whether it was for a task, request or favor

This was a habit, because I could not cope with the thought of disappointing people - even if it was for something as rational as prioritizing myself

One day I decided to start telling people NO and give them reasons why I could not help at that point in time

It was hard but after a couple of days, it stuck - especially when I realized the aftermath was just a 10 second frown or sigh from the person I had told it to (initially, I thought the consequences would be more severe)

There were benefits I gained from that simple practise, and I will be sharing them as a list

These are the reasons you should say NO more often

1. IT SAVES TIME

The thing with saying YES to people all the time is that very often you end up yielding to irrelevant demands unconsciously.

If you come off as someone that will never say NO to demands or requests, you may end up becoming that person that will always be delegated to do trivial things

For students living in a school hostel, the person who always says YES will most likely be the one running errands to buy food for roommates instead of doing something more useful - this is fine, if it is not habitual

2. IT MAKES YOU HAVE A SENSE OF VALUE

Like how a good product is more appreciated when it is scarce, you will have more regard and respect when you start saying NO

This is because many times, the person who never says NO is thought of as liberal and very easy to persuade.

Once you start declining more requests, it can sometimes tell people your limits and boundaries - which speak more of who you ARE

3. IT MAKES YOU A BETTER PERSON

Ever heard that saying, LESS IS MORE ?

It also applies here

Imagine John has five things to do tomorrow that are very important. Then Sarah asks if he could do X, Y, Z for her tomorrow as well.

X could be to help her research a topic for an online class

Y could be to have a WhatsApp video call with her

Z could be to help edit a resume

If John is a YES man, he would do all three and have 8 tasks to work on.

If he said NO more often, he would work something out with Sarah or explain his inability to help out tomorrow

Sarah will be disappointed, but John can focus on his 5 important tasks properly.


These are three benefits you can gain from saying just this two lettered word


PS - You should be able to identify what matters to you most.

Once you identify it, start saying NO to that effect - to the things that will not matter to you and cannot be worth your time

You are allowed to say YES to things, just prioritize yourself most of the time - it doesn't make you SELFISH


Stay Safe,
Emmanuel

Did you learn anything from this ?

Let me know

Yes i did learn. I totally understand because i have been in situations where i later ask myself why didn't i just say no. I mean i would have saved myself alot of stress. I think i'll try to say NO more.

Same here, it was very hard for me to start telling people NO

But approach matters a lot, there is a difference between ;

"I am sorry, I have a lot on my hands now and will not be able to help out, maybe some other time"

and

"No, I cannot help you"

DiDawn:
Yes i did learn. I totally understand because i have been in situations where i later ask myself why didn't i just say no. I mean i would have saved myself alot of stress. I think i'll try to say NO more.

Thanks for reading

Hope you are fine ?

DiDawn:
Yes i did learn. I totally understand because i have been in situations where i later ask myself why didn't i just say no. I mean i would have saved myself alot of stress. I think i'll try to say NO more.

No is a very empowering word.

If I had learned to not be too kindhearted some 15 years ago it would have saved me needless betrayals drama and disrespect.

Since I started saying a simple NO to inconvenient requests, I have achieved a lot more for myself.

Wow, I am happy you started saying NO and feel a lot better now

Sometimes, people may not care about your welfare and just want to use you to push their agenda

You have to put yourself first in these situations, glad you did that in the end

otipoju:
No is a very empowering word.

If I had learned to not be too kindhearted some 15 years ago it would have saved me needless betrayals drama and disrespect.

Since I started saying a simple NO to inconvenient requests, I have achieved a lot more for myself.