For the Chronic Yes-Sayers: What Happens When You Say No

Are you a chronic yes-sayer? Wish you were capable of saying no? Maybe you’re scared of what would happen?

Let me tell you, as a yes-sayer myself, here’s what happens when you finally do say no.

You do only the things you want to do

When you’re not saying yes to everything, it means you’re only saying yes to things you actually want to say yes to. This means your time isn’t spent thinking, “Aw, crap, I have to go do this thing I said I’d do.” Instead, you’re excited about everything you’re doing and not just some of it.

You have time to yourself

A valid reason for saying no is that you need some down-time. You have to say no to some things so you can find a space to just do nothing.

You don’t feel unappreciated

Nobody knows or cares if you said yes to something you didn’t really want to do, but felt like you should do, and then did. Nobody is going to congratulate you for doing something you said yes to, so stop looking for recognition. Say yes to things because you want to do them, not so others will notice you did them.

You can say yes to different, better things

“Yes, I would love to do that! Dang, I already said I’d do this other thing that I actually hate.” If you say yes to one thing, you’ll probably have to say no to others. Prioritize.

I am a chronic yes-sayer. The most common way I use the word ‘no’ is by saying, “I have no time!” because I keep saying yes to things.

But from slowly introducing ‘no’ to my vocabulary, I’ve learned that good things can come from it. You should try it, too.

Take care of yourself!

Heather