A friend once told me that the best bit of advice she ever got was:
“‘No’ is a complete sentence.”
An incredibly caring and compassionate woman, my friend once had the problem that befalls many nice people – she had trouble saying no when asked for something.
For example…
- She always answered the phone to a constantly needy friend, even when she had her own problems.
- She once gave a family member a loan which really stretched her budget.
- She helped her mother-in-law constantly, and was very rarely helped in return.
My friend said when a request was made of her she felt guilty and tongue tied.
And when she tried to set boundaries, she found it hard to stick to her guns.
Eventually she learned to say ‘no’ and the result was a new-found freedom in her life.
I don’t know if you’ve ever struggled with this but for some people it’s hard to set boundaries. They allow others to intrude too far and take advantage of their caring nature. For others it’s simply a matter of a certain person that you may find it impossible to say no to.
My friend made herself say ‘no’ to unreasonable requests, firmly and consistently, and after awhile this behaviour became innate. She happily found that once people saw how she respected her time, they started to respect it too.
Once you discover the power of ‘No’ you’ll discover a wonderful freedom in your life. And not just from individuals. Maybe you also find it hard to say no to advertisements, sales people and the countless appeals that come at you. Everybody wants you to say yes. But you really do have the option of saying ‘no’.
The good news is that you can learn to say ‘no’ when you know you should. It’s all about setting boundaries.
If you would like to discover more about the freedom that saying ‘no’ can bring, consider listening to the hypnosis download, Setting Boundaries. You’ll be glad that you did.