The power of ‘no’

‘No’ is one of the most powerful words in your vocabulary. Here’s why.

‘No’ prevents overload

If you’re the type of person who can’t say ‘no’, life is probably pretty hectic. What’s more, you’re probably doing a lot for everyone else and not much for you. And the likely result is that you feel stressed and over-stretched.

So remember – it’s simply not possible to do everything. Choose what you can do and then say ‘no’ to everything else. Saying ‘no’ to others means you say ‘yes’ to a stress-free life

‘No’ stops people taking advantage of you

Not everyone has your best interests at heart. Some people are experts at taking advantage of people who say ‘yes.’ They sit back and relax, while you work until you’re exhausted.

Saying ‘no’ helps you maintain boundaries with other people. Boundaries are the lines you don’t want people to cross. They protect you from emotional and physical harm. They help you stay true to your values and morals. Learning when to say ‘no’ at the right time keeps you safe.

‘No’ helps you focus on what’s important

When you fail to say ‘no,’ many really important things in life – your family, friends, hobbies or career – get crowded out by trivial stuff. That’s the stuff you think you ought to do. The things you do because everyone else says you should. And the tasks others say are important, but you don’t really care about. Before you know it, you’ve lost sight of what matters.

Revisit your priorities. Are you spending as much time as you’d like on your passions and the important people in your life? Have you struck a balance between responsibilities, duties and things that make you happy?  If not, it’s time to say ‘no’ to the trivial and ‘yes’ to what matters.

‘No’ makes you more successful

The more you take on, the less you can focus. Work gets rushed, deadlines are missed and mistakes made. As a result, your ability to perform at your peak suffers.

Saying ‘no’ gives you the time and headspace to grow and improve. So use this powerful little word more often – and experience success more often.

Book one of our time management trainers to run a session for your team. Contact us now.

Error: Contact form not found.