It’s Okay to say no sometime! I am done with it, saying YES all the time. A simple yes could land you in the trickiest and weirdest of the situations ever imagined. Say, a yes when your inside is screaming to answer ‘nay’, the result is mostly catastrophic.
Let me give you a small example from the past, I joined a European banking giant back in 2005 at Bangalore. It was a good change (especially when you quit the first job within a few months after joining), things were moving in the right direction for the first couple of years. Growth, appreciation, rewards were happily flowing in when the boss decided to test my knack. She started giving tasks which often required patience more than skills. Slowly, it started looking like a deliberate attempt to put you through choppy waters.
I could see it happening right in front of my eyes, knew very well I was the target of work-place bullying but could not muster myself to raise an objection. Call it act of cowardice or scared little girl, but I just could not say a NO.
The reasons were many, all inside my head – what will others think about me, if I say no? What about my growth, they will give me poor ratings if I say no to them? These thoughts kept running back and forth, and the mental harassment continued for some more time. Until one-day sanity took a good hold of my fears and I said NO to their coercive ways of working.
Does saying NO makes you a negative person?
Not really! There is a difference is saying no all the time, or self-doubting yourself and saying a ‘no’ to avoid regretful decisions. You cannot have a universal rule of not saying a NO at all. There are many times I have said no to my child, for her unreasonable demands. Of course, that doesn’t make me a bad mom or a negative person.
We get paranoid in judging the situations, pre-analysing them over and over again in the head. My mother always says – One NO is better than many miserable Yeses. I regret the days lost in saying false yes, wish could reverse the time and say a no right on their faces. But, as they say, ‘everything happens for a reason’, probably my reason was to learn this lesson.
Also, read – Mindfulness.
Time and Tide waits for none –
It’s time to say no to things you do not like, situations you don’t want to be in, people who don’t want to be with. There is no harm in calling the shots, if that makes you happy. Always remember, you are answerable only to yourself and no one else. So, next time when your heart says no, and you know it’s reasonable – Say it loud and clear – NO.
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22 Comments
You conveyed your message beautifully through the anecdote dear. Like you I too have learnt the hard way to say no buddy but once I have I am in a happy space
I learned the importance of saying no once I moved away from home. People have such weird notions that a girl is supposed to give in and always say yes. I became a little unpopular with my resolve to say no as and when required but it bailed me out of unnecessary troubles.
I am happy to see a “no” post from you because I have also written on “No” today. You explained it well.
Yes, Dipika, I agree with you. It is Ok to say No even it means saying it more often than saying a Yes. Even I have faced office bullying and found it quite hard to say a No and stop all the harassment in one go. But yes there are things that we learn from experience and this learning is one of them. Superb post!
I agree with you on this. It is very important to say no to things which are against your welfare. You cannot be saying yes to everything in order to please others and suffer yourself. Self love is vital for healthy growth.
Thank you Sajid, glad you like it.
I think it is important to be able to say no and stick by it. As you said your manager was probably testing you for higher level position as a decision maker. So ability to stay no and stay firm would be important. But it is stressful. People do not like someone who does not say yes to their demands.
Superb post, Dipika. It is an art to say NO which not everyone knows. I learned it quite late but happy that I practice it now, it makes life much easier.
Totally agree, hamesha haan kehbkar apne uper stress kyu lena, jab hum kaam nahi kar saktey to na bol kar free ho jaana chaiye
Great post Dipika! A simple message but one that often goes unstated.
Still learning the art. I know its really important to learn to say NO. Good post.
#ContemplationOfaJoker #Jokerophilia
I was a ‘Yes’ girl for a long time, but learned to say ‘No’ over a period of time. I was scared of saying No because of fear of being judged, rejected or disliked. But in order to please others, I was unhappy, resentful and stressed. Took me a while to say No, but I am glad that I learned it as it has helped to overcome my fear of rejection and has helped me to feel in control as well.
That’s so true!! And One must DO this everytime they feel!
I agree, No is better than a miserable Yes but sometimes we overthink and analyse so much that it gets difficult to take a decision.
I agree with you Deepa, that is when we make it catapult. Thank you
I can not say “no” in my close relationships. This word should be for my boss.
I like this sentence: One NO is better than many miserable Yeses.
Thank you.
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I am loving your series Dipika! Your way of writing is quite powerful and the effect is intense. And the messages you are conveying through your posts is quite impressive.
#ClickWithInstax
I will also learn this magic mantra.
Saying No has its perk 🙂 It saves some time for myself.
Thank you, glad you liked it.