Practice Saying NO

Today, take a minute (or more) and practice saying “No” without adding “I’m sorry.” Who else has spent their entire lives as a serial “people pleaser?” We are quite the anomaly, and people seek us out. Why? People can be pretty well guaranteed that whatever their request is, they won’t receive a no. Those bullish-no boundary people won’t find any fences around “people pleasers.” The strong-willed can be sure that we will just go along with whatever plans they devise and that our absolute “boot-shaking” fear of confrontation guarantees only niceties. Sounds delicious for the acquaintances of “people pleasers,” but at some point, if we want to live any semblance of the life we desire, we have to finally put our foot down. An excellent place to start is to learn to say no. And more than that. We must stop wrapping our “noes” with apologies, explanations, and flimsy excuses. Try this. “Thank you so much for thinking of me, but I won’t be able to.”