Know When To Say No | Health

In this day and age we get bombarded with requests to do things consciously or subconsciously. Sometimes we are drawn in by ads, people, or work commitments. It can get overwhelming and this has happened to a lot of us.

When was the last time you just said no? I don’t mean saying no to drugs, although that can be good too, but I mean saying no to tasks that are either too much for you or beyond your current capacity, at least right now.

Recently I had to have some projects done around my house. Even though I am pretty handy, there are some skills I just didn’t have time to look up on YouTube to learn?yet. With the end of the school year and two little ones, life was very busy with kids, work, friends, hobbies, and other necessary tasks like eating, sleeping, and driving to work. I just needed some help to get a few projects complete.

I said no. I don’t have time to do it all. I asked for help. I hired a handyman.

A lesson I learned through this whole experience is that sometimes we all need a hand and we all need to ask for help or expertise or have a person there to help us say no. We all need to say no at certain times and I’ll add that it can take a lot to say, “I am not able to do that.” We might benefit if we put our pride aside and add the word “yet” to the same sentence and say, “No, I am not able to do that, yet.” This phrase is a good one to practice and it can even be empowering to help set boundaries, capabilities, and standards.

Just saying no can show others that you are able to manage time, schedules, projects, and priorities. Sometimes we need to say this to kids, spouses, friends, or co-workers. This is a skill to practice so we can under promise and over deliver instead of over promising and under delivering while disappointing ourselves and those we are trying to help.

As a health coach, I work with people to help them create “stop cues” or find a pause button that will allow them to stop and realize what they need to say no to so they can achieve things they never thought were possible. Try saying no today to something and see if it empowers you. Try adding the word “yet” to something you can’t do and see how that can equally empower you to be more amazing tomorrow.