Learning to say No

It is better to say no when you need to and yes when you want to. Otherwise, anger will creep in, and you’ll resent the person or the obligation, Dr. Brian Weiss.

Let today mark a new beginning for you. Give yourself permission to say NO without feeling guilty, mean, or selfish. Anybody who gets upset and/or expects you to say YES all of the time clearly doesn’t have your best interest at heart. Always remember: You have a right to say NO without having to explain yourself. Be at peace with your decisions, Stephanie Lahart.

Learn the right way to say No:

1. Consider that your time is as valuable and important as anyone else’s. You cannot always say yes, you also need time, and the same goes for money, for yourself, your work, your relationships, etc. You may argue: “I’m over-scheduled and too busy right now,” “It sounds pretty good and interesting. However, I’m sorry, but I can’t commit, since I have other priorities at this particular moment,” etc.
2. Sometimes you don’t need to say no, you can simply reply: “Now I’m overwhelmed with a heavy workload, could you call me in a month?,” “I think that it is a great idea, I would love to do this, but right now is completely impossible,” “Let me think about it first, and then I’ll see what I can do for you,” “I don’t think that I am the right person for that project,” etc.
3. You may want to shift your response into analyzing and exploring trade-offs, “What would need to be deprioritized to focus on this project/create space for this?”
4. If you are going to be clear and direct, you could explain why you are rejecting the request and provide them with some alternatives.
5. It is far better to be embarrassed just once by being honest and open, than to suffer from stress because of the sheer volume of things you need to accomplish in a day and an increasingly demanding schedule. Otherwise, the quality of your work will decline, and consequently, you will lose opportunities and customers. Learn to say no with both grace, diplomacy, and respect.
6. The Three Rules: Say no without being rude, feeling guilty or giving too much explanation. Avoid too much talking. By doing so, you will offer fewer arguments to those who want to change your mind and convince you otherwise.

   There are a lot of people that there is nothing that you can say to change their minds, making reasoning with them completely pointless.