{"id":6364,"date":"2011-05-26T21:18:45","date_gmt":"2011-05-27T05:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=6364"},"modified":"2013-09-10T14:09:52","modified_gmt":"2013-09-10T22:09:52","slug":"say-yes-to-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/say-yes-to-no\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Say YES to NO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I can\u2019t help you move this weekend- I\u2019m writing a book.<\/strong> (548 words)<\/em><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a novel brewing inside you that you are dying to get on paper, but where\u2019s the time?\u00a0 Maybe you\u2019ve been waiting to take that cooking class because, let\u2019s face it, you\u2019ve just about exhausted every way of doctoring up mac \u2018n cheese.\u00a0 Or maybe you just need a day of relaxation because you\u2019ve pushed yourself to the limit but, alas, no time.\u00a0 Where is your time going, anyway? Let\u2019s see…work\u2026eat\u2026sleep…help John move\u2026walk Karen\u2019s dog\u2026take Chris to the airport\u2026.wait!\u00a0 With all this time for other people, where\u2019s the YOU time?<\/p>\n

You\u2019re a good friend.\u00a0 You\u2019re Mr. Reliable or Miss Always-There.\u00a0 We get it. But when you\u2019re the one who needs a favor from you, you don\u2019t have the time. So something\u2019s got to give if you want to live a meaningful life. Learning to say NO to others might be the route to saying a bigger YES to yourself.<\/p>\n

Saying NO is sometimes not an easy task. We want to please. We want approval. We want evidence that we are good because we fear that maybe we are not. Maybe we want to get closer to someone and we don\u2019t know another way to have intimacy. It could also be a way to avoid your creative pursuits with the illusion of a good excuse. Or maybe you just don\u2019t know how.<\/p>\n

Are those behaviors ringing a bell? Is your over-yes\u2019ing getting in the way of what matters to you? Fear not. There are solutions. Often, shutting the door on obligations opens windows of opportunities.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a simple plan that can help you tame your yes-reflex:<\/p>\n