All of our lives are full of responsibilities, no matter how big or small. With family, work and friends, we get lost in them and often forget to focus on ourselves. If sentences like "I can't keep up with anything", "I don't have any free time", "I can't spare any time for myself" sound familiar to you, you may be ignoring the word "No" in your life.
Sometimes we say "Yes" to the suggestions presented to us, sometimes without even realizing it, sometimes in order not to offend the people around us, sometimes in order not to seem like a disruptive person, sometimes with the desire for everyone to love and accept us, or sometimes for different reasons. As a result of these, we may find ourselves doing something we never want to do, or we may give up on the things we really want to do.
Saying “NO” Shows Your Self-Respect
You may have never thought this way before, but being able to say “No” is actually a way to take good care of yourself. Just like eating well, sleeping well or exercising. Taking good care of yourself means dealing with things that nourish you and increase your energy. The way to find time for these is to eliminate other tasks that take up your time.
Learning to say “No” is actually not as difficult as you think. Just remembering a few things will help you a lot.
Make sure why you say “No”: Saying “No” will be easier if you are aware of your priorities and the things that make you happy. It will become easier. First of all, put aside the excuses you make for yourself when you reluctantly say "Yes" to someone. Then, if you want, you can make a list of who and what you want to devote more time to in your life. After all, the things that give us pleasure are different. Some of us prefer to engage in a hobby, some of us spend time in nature, some of us prefer to travel... If you can start by implementing this list, the rest will come by itself.
Not to the person in front of you, but to him/her. Say "No" to the request: In order not to offend the other person or to preserve the relationship between you. Stop saying 'yes'. Rejecting his request just means that you don't want that situation. So, actually, this is not about your personality. Of course, you should be polite when saying “No”, but you should also show a firm stance. This behavior will help the other person understand you better.
Explain your reasons: In such situations, the other person usually expects an explanation from you. When stating your reason, instead of making long explanations, you can briefly express why you reject him/her.
Do not delay your answer: In some situations, it may be more difficult than usual to say no to the other person. But if you delay your answer too much and distract the other person with “maybe” words, you will make the situation worse. If you put yourself in the other person's shoes, you can see that long-term evasions are not very polite.
Offer alternatives to the other person: Offering another alternative when rejecting an offer is a very effective method. For example, a friend you haven't seen for a long time wanted to make plans tonight, but you don't want to go at all. While explaining why you don't want it tonight, you can then make a suggestion such as "Not tonight, but I'm available next week."
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