The Challenge of Saying "No"

Photo by @jessemilns

It’s funny — “no” was my very first word, and honestly, I’ve barely used it since. 

One of my biggest personal problems is that I’m really bad at keeping promises, and I realized recently it’s because I’m too much of a “yes” woman. I say yes to everything without thinking it through first — everything from professional propositions to weekend plans. I accept it all with enthusiasm, despite the voice at the back of my head saying “you’re going to regret this because you’re too busy/too broke/too tired/to stressed.” 

This is an issue I know I share with many Millennials, thanks to FOMO. It’s a disease that’s ravaged my generation unlike any other — our senses are bombarded all day, every day, with images from other people’s amazing experiences, be it traveling or snagging a new job opportunity. It makes us want to stretch the limits of our own lives to accommodate more, more, more — to make our future autobiographies as dynamic as we can. 

But sometimes we don’t know where to draw the line, and our plates become too full and we become overwhelmed. And not only is that bad for ourselves, but also for the people we said “yes” to. 

One of my mid-year’s resolutions (I’m hereby making that a thing) is to be a more reliable human — to stop making promises I can’t keep, and saying “yes” to the things that I shouldn’t be. And in order to help myself with that (I’m a people-pleaser, so I foresee great challenges with this in my future), I’m slipping into the mentality that the word “yes” is like cash. It’s precious. Reserve it for the things that will truly enrich your life and really serve you. 

Anyone else out there suffering from the same problem? If you're reading this and can relate, share your thoughts and experiences (and advice, please!) in the comments below. I want to get to know the word "no" again, and I have the feeling it'll weed out a lot of the gunk in my life and make room for more awesomeness. Feel free to join me in this adventure! 

I'll keep you posted on my success (or lack thereof)... 

xxx