Not Afraid to Say No

One of the things I’ve been struggling with in my professional career is being the “yes” girl when at times, I clearly should have said “no”. I am one of those people- pleasers, trying to satisfy every need if I could. I was politely told in one of my project meetings that sometimes being too agreeable can be seen as a negative instead of a positive. Many times I would take on too many projects because I was eager to show I can get them done, but wasn’t producing in a timely manner. Here are a few ways that this could have been avoided:

1. I could have just declined the assignment, explaining there were too many things already on my plate, OR
2. I could have accepted the assignment, but only doing so with a more realistic deadline.

The first step is realizing that this is an issue in the first place. We must all learn what our strengths and weaknesses are. Just as in my professional life, I was in my personal life. There were many relationships that I should have said “no” to, but didn’t. Looking back on those, I now realize what a waste of time it was. Many times I would say “yes” to a guy who wanted to date me, but I honestly had no real interest or knew that it wasn’t going to last long….so why did I agree?? Sometimes I didn’t want to hurt his feelings because he was a pretty nice guy. Yes, silly me. Other times I just said “yes” because I was bored and didn’t want to be alone at the moment. And even worse, I would continue to say “yes” because the situation was comfortable and I didn’t want to mess up good connections or benefits. It’s the truth! But what I encourage you as young women and men, is to say “no” when you know you should. Don’t say “yes” because it’s good for someone else. Don’t get yourself caught up in a relationship that isn’t meant to be because you’re tired of waiting….just be patient. Don’t say “yes” out of fear.