I did I hard thing the other day. I said “No” to someone. Why is it hard to say no? Is it FOMO? A sense of responsibility? Because we don’t want to anger or disappoint people?
Whatever the reason we find it hard to say no, there is a deep sense of empowerment to be had by saying No more often…
So back to my story.
This was someone who wanted to sell me a service for my business. This person was very persistent and tried asking again. He made the offer more appealing, made me question my decision, and asked again and again.
I said “No, thank you”
He asked whether he could just have 30 minutes of my time to show me why his service was right for me and why my decision (not to got with him) was wrong. I was doubting myself. I’d already been doubting myself for a while tbh. But once again I said:
“No thank you, my decision is made.”
As I hung up the phone the little gremlin in my head says:
- Are you sure?
- What if he’s right?
- What if you’re wrong?
So, I told my gremlin to STFU.
And instead I told myself: Well done: for protecting my time, for sticking with my decision! For saying No.
This is something I need to get better at. I need to say No more often… To myself and to people asking me for their time. Including me, and my own fickle brain:
- Oooh let’s have Melita Fitness beanies… (No Chris, you’re not in the apparel business)
- Mum, I wanna do Boogie Pumps? (No, we have too many clubs as it is)
- Chris can you run a session for each class for Health and Wellness week? (Grrr – maybe some of the classes rather than all?) See, I’m still working on it!
- Mum, can I have a play date? (No, two children are enough!)
So, my challenge for you today is this…
- Do you need to say NO more often?
- Do you find yourself thinking, why did I agree to this?
- Why have I got roped into this?
If so, start practicing saying No.***
Yes, you may meet resistance. Yes, you might doubt yourself. But it’s incredibly empowering.
*** This advice does NOT apply to anyone who is thinking I’m gonna try this next session and say NO when Chris asks me to do Sprints / Froggies / Inchworms are anything else you’re loving to hate at the moment. OK,?
