Sounds negative perhaps, but saying no can help you achieve what you want to do in life. How?

When saying ‘no’ helps

Deciding to say ‘no’ from time to time helps you to make space for yourself instead of dropping your own plans at the last moment to help someone else out.

Naturally, emergencies do arise. However, if you find yourself constantly helping out with all of these ’emergencies’ that you have to attend to or worlds will crash, perhaps you could consider if you attract these calls due to your availability to answer? If you feel that things will crash without your being there 24/24, think again. Are you are flattering yourself that you are the only solution to someone else’s issues? In fact, have you considered that you might not be doing a friend a favour by bailing them out every time they hit a rock?  Maybe let them sort it out themselves so they don’t need to call again, and use your energy to work on you. The worked on you will likely be more helpful to the world in the longrun.

Work calls

A common excuse for dropping your ‘you time’ is that the business requires it.  But ask yourself how often this happens and at what cost.  Sure, you need to be flexible, but you’re not a bendy toy and there will be times when you simply need to say ‘no’ when you are being overstretched. Ask yourself, can I get my own project(s) done; can I give the attention I planned to give to my family, my personal project? If you are always saying ‘yes’ to others’ requests you will be remembered as a ‘yes person’.   If you sometimes say ‘no’ you will be remembered with respect.

Remind yourself to say ‘no’ when you get signals from your unconscious telling you that it is time to ‘steady on’. A signal can be anything from a voice in your head, a gut feeling to a feeling of rising constriction, of time passing you by.

What will happen if I say ‘no’?

Think, ‘what will happen if I don’t drop everything and do this?’

Ask, ‘how important is it for me to make the time for the other things I had planned?’

You’ll have the answer.

Right now, I’m on a website giving quotes about ‘life’.  I spot these quotes to end with:

Difficulties come when you don’t pay attention to life’s whisper. Life always whispers to you first, but if you ignore the whisper, sooner or later you’ll get a scream.
Oprah Winfrey (1954 – ), Stanford Commencement Address, 2008

The lessons this life has planted in my heart pertain more to caring than crops, more to Golden Rule than gold, more to the proper choice than to the popular choice.
Kirby Larson, Hattie Big Sky, 2006