Don’t be fooled into thinking that to be open minded and to embrace life you have to say yes to everything and everyone all of the time.
Learning how to say no will help you to stay focused and prevent you from taking wrong turns.
Learning to say no will allow you to say yes to more things that are in line with your values.
A lot of us are not taught how to properly say no. Nor are we taught that “no” is a complete sentence.
We are taught to justify, explain, rationalise. But you dont need to . Its okay to say “no”.
Here are some “no” statements to try the next time you want to keep space for things that are important to you –
“No”
“No thank you”
“Thank you. I will take time on it.”
“Thats not my cup of tea”
“Nah thanks”
And sometimes just a blank stare before changing the subject.