Just say no!

By: Joel Cochran

When wass the last time that you said no?  I don’t mean the obvious stuff like saying no to a bad movie or to running the RTO in a weighted vest.  The kind of no that I am talking about is the one that can make you feel uncomfortable like saying no to your boss when they ask you to take on another project, or saying no to a friend who wants you to stop by their birthday party even though you have previous plans on that day with your wife.  

The problem with actually saying no is that we aren’t used to doing it.  Instead of controlling our own schedule and life we allow others to take over simply by not using those two little letters that sit together as a perfect pair.  If we are always saying yes to something or someone then we are giving up our right to choose and control how our day, week, month and even year goes.

Now I know what some of you may be thinking, always saying no will keep you from being able to experience new things and people, just look at the movie “Yes Man,” he literally couldn’t say no!  But let me flip that idea on its head for just a moment by giving you some contrast.

Every time that you say yes to something, you are also saying no.  Don’t get it? If I say yes to my boss on taking on a new project, I am saying no to putting in my full effort to my current project which in turn makes the new project sub par as well.  If I say yes to my friends birthday party, I am saying no to spending a full day focused on my wife and building a relationship with her.

The point is, we are constantly overworking, overbooking and overexerting ourselves every chance we get and then wonder why we feel so exhausted and underachieving at the end of the day.  My challenge for you is to get a small calendar that you can hang up somewhere that is visible everyday, and each time that you say “no” make a mark on that date. At the end of the month, see where you are at and take an honest look at the things you said no to and whether that gave you more time to be focused on the things you said yes to.  

If you are interested in hearing more about my own experiences of saying no, or would like to see how saying no can help improve your life, shoot me a text at 775-338-9966 or send me an email at [email protected].