Saying NO might be one of the hardest things you have to do. Many of us struggle to say no even when we know it will add mores stress to our day or week. BUT it could be the simplest, most beneficial thing you could do for yourself!
Today I was put into a situation where I really, really, really wanted to say yes! Visiting old friends that don’t come in town often and not sure when we’d see them again… however I was already feeling the pressure in my schedule, the stress it was bringing on and the constraints it was putting on other commitments. It was so sad to learn I just had to say no or I was going to turn I to a stressed out Christmas mom… which is everything I have been mindfully working towards against. So with a heavy heart I said no. And within the next few minutes I already felt a release of stress, I’m not going to lie and say I was happy about saying no but I know it will be ok and I’ll get over it lol.
So why do we feel we can’t say no? Maybe we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings, perhaps we don’t want to miss out on anything or we simply feel awful telling someone no. Whatever the reason may be it is something we need to learn to do. The effects of always saying yes can leave us resentful, stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted…. The list goes on and on… I feel like the holidays multiples those feelings even more. So as we quickly approach Christmas and New Years filled with invitations to get together or do fun things-say yes to what you joyfully can commit to without feeling stressed and say no to the rest!