Set Better Boundaries: Just Say No
Up until recently, "No" was dirty word to me. As a stage-four people-pleaser, my vocabulary was rich with affirmatives: "yeah," "sure," "okay," "absolutely," "no problem." But my mouth just couldn’t seem to form the consonant-vowel combination required to say "No," even when "Yes" was simply impossible due to time conficts or just an overdose of stress in my daily life.
I would get stuck at "Nnnnnnn... alright." Which meant I was doing all kinds of things that I didn’t want to, have to, or have time to do.
If you are like me, surrounded by a modest sampling of users, takers, and even well intentioned askers who could zap all your energy if you let them, take heart! Here are a few fun, simple techniques to get your mind and mouth to work in tandem to repeat after me: NO!
Click to start setting better boundaries.
Therese J. Borchard writes the Beyond Blue blog on Beliefnet.
How to say "no" to the naggers, users, and takers who push the limits in your life.
Up until recently, "No" was dirty word to me. As a stage-four people-pleaser, my vocabulary was rich with affirmatives: "yeah," "sure," "okay," "absolutely," "no problem." But my mouth just couldn’t seem to form the consonant-vowel combination required to say "No," even when "Yes" was simply impossible due to time conficts or just an overdose of stress in my daily life.
I would get stuck at "Nnnnnnn... alright." Which meant I was doing all kinds of things that I didn’t want to, have to, or have time to do.
If you are like me, surrounded by a modest sampling of users, takers, and even well intentioned askers who could zap all your energy if you let them, take heart! Here are a few fun, simple techniques to get your mind and mouth to work in tandem to repeat after me: NO!
Click to start setting better boundaries.
Therese J. Borchard writes the Beyond Blue blog on Beliefnet.
