I'm a Yes-person! Yes to everything and everybody.
I don't think I am alone. We say yes too often.
Saying 'No' to people when they ask you? Hell no. I don't want to disappoint people or hurt any feelings. I want to be polite. And what if I miss out on something if I turn it down?
But I also know that my reluctance to say "no" leaves me overcommitted and overwhelmed.
Zoe Chance decided to let 'no' be her default response for an entire month, which she dubbed 'NOvember'. As the month progressed, she started to feel less stressed and more in control of her own decisions, her time, and her life.
She started giving her MBA students a 24-Hour 'No' Challenge. To practice saying no!
It's about being kind to yourself. People won't hate you. You may find it empowering.
Your boss assigns you yet another task when you are already swamped?
- Why are you asking me?
- Whom else have you asked?
- When you say this is urgent, what do you mean?
- According to what standard does this need to be completed? By when?
- If I couldn't do all of this, but could do just a part, what part would you have me to do?
- What do you want me to take off my plate so I can do this?
I read somewhere that the best and most polite excuse is just to say you have a rule, like “I have a rule that I am home for bath time with the kids every night" or "I have a rule that I don’t decide on the phone".
People respect rules and they accept that the rule allows you no choice.
