The word NO consists of two simple letters and one simple word, yet and still, so many people struggle with this two-letter, easy-to-understand, self-explanatory word. Reason being is most of us have never been taught the skills we need to better advocate for ourselves and set boundaries that enable us to respect our priorities and protect our space - physical, mental, emotional. That’s why today we’re going to talk about the necessity of learning how to SAY NO.
And if you have people in your life who need to learn to speak up for themselves and Say No more often, PLEASE share this blog post with them because they need to know these empowering tips and scriptural references too.
For many people, saying no is packed with guilt, because often you’re afraid of letting someone down or you fear that they will get mad at you. Or perhaps you tend to people please without even realizing it.
If you struggle with saying no to people, learning to identify signs when it will serve you well to say no is a helpful starting place. Following are 3 tips to help you recognize when your intuition, instincts and discernment might be telling you to: "Say No."
1. You Feel Uncomfortable or Unsure
No one knows how you feel better than you. So when you start to feel uncomfortable when someone is asking something of you or being too pushy, it’s probably your mind’s way of telling you to not be so quick to say yes and to actually say no. At the very least, pray about the situation if you feel uncomfortable or unsure.
2. You Feel Pressured & Rushed
Your decision to say yes to something should never be based on feeling pressured or rushed to agree to something that you haven’t had the time to thoroughly think through or that you simply don’t have the time to commit to or that you feel uncomfortable doing. If you feel pressured or rushed to agree to something that you are not quite sure about, don't be so quick to say yes. Pause & pray about it.
3. You Are Already Overextended & Low On Energy
If you are already bogged down with work projects, personal commitments and other things that are taking up a lot of your time and energy, wait until you’ve taken some things off your plate, before you say yes to anything else and take on more than you can realistically handle without becoming overloaded. Being overextended is a clear sign that you are saying yes to too many things and you need to start saying no to something.
Matthew 5: 37 in the Bible admonishes us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. If you struggle with saying no, this scripture is a great reminder about the importance of being clear about what you say yes to and what you need to say no to..
If you would like more tips like these to help you take care of yourself mentally and emotionally and develop skills for self-mastery you can pick up my book BECAUSE YOU’RE WORTH IT: THE SELF LOVE JOURNAL & WORKBOOK or you can pick up my book MASTER YOUR MIND, MOOD & ATTITUDE IN THE WORKPLACE: A QUICK & SIMPLE A to Z GUIDE TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR WELLBEING IN THE WORKPLACE.
And in case nobody else has told you today, let me be the first to say that I am rooting for you to win and today’s a great day to take one small step to enrich your life.
Much Love,
Cassandra