I recently talked to a client who was sharing her frustrations with life. She felt completely overwhelmed with all the responsibilities she was juggling on a tight schedule and an even more tight budget. When she was all finished, she asked what I observed that was going wrong.
It’s a simple two-letter word.
No! Tiny but mighty! That little word gives back power, and here’s how it can work for you.
Many of us have believed that saying "No" is rude. That’s exactly how I felt.
I didn’t want to let people down. If someone dared to ask for my help, I wanted to reward them with an enthusiastic “Yes.” Agreeing to everything and everyone's requests led me to exhaustion and being overwhelmed.
Here’s what I did
I learned to decline some requests. I trained myself to use that simple two-letter word and these tips:
The first step along the road to the power of "no" is to become crystal clear about the value of time. Where and how do you spend it vs. how you want to spend it.
When setting my schedule, I laid it out for the month by reserving essential things like my faith, family, health, and business; then, I know exactly where there is time to spare.
When someone asks me to do something, I request some time to think about it instead of giving a quick affirmative response and indicating, "I'll get back to you." This grace period allows time to assess current obligations and availability and determine if adding something more will still allow existing commitments to be honored.
The second tip is to determine the level of commitment and how much time, energy, or resources are involved. If you are in a position to make an informed decision, you can decide with a specific intention instead of a snap response based on emotion. You won’t feel pressured, rushed, or obligated when your time is scheduled wisely. Most importantly, you protect yourself from feeling overwhelmed.
The last tip, if the answer to the commitment affects others, consider discussing it with them first – it’s simply a matter of courtesy and reducing jeopardizing prior commits.
When the values are clear and understood that a certain amount of time would not be compromised, the decision to accept or decline becomes clear. By saying "no" to some requests, you’re saying "Yes" to your family, business, and yourself. You’re saying "Yes" to having control of your resources, your life, and trust me, people will respect that!
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For now, be blessed and be a blessing.