I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like saying no.
No matter what it is — writing related, life related, anything — if someone asks me if I could help them, my automatic response is to say yes, look at my schedule, and think “oh no.”
Is this something I struggle with?
Oh yes.
Despite how hard it can be to say no, over-committing yourself is never good.
For example: a few weeks ago, our rooster tried to eat a mouse. The mouse was far too big for it’s mouth (beak?), and the rooster had literally bitten (pecked?) off more than he could chew (or swallow — whatever it is that chickens do when eating food š ). Long story short, we had to pull the mouse out of his mouth because he was choking and going purple.
He’s perfectly fine now, but let that be a warning to you.
a) don’t over-commit yourself
b) don’t eat mice if you’re a chicken
It’s okay to say no sometimes. Sometimes it’sĀ best to say no. If you’re going to be super busy and cramming this task in frantically, you’re not going to do it as well as you normally could and it won’t be good for you or for whomever you’re doing it for.
This is probably going to end up as a super short post. Maybe that’s because I’m saying no to the half of me who wants to make this a longer ‘more worthwhile’ blog post, so I can save my sanity and work on other things today as well. š
Chat with me, friend! Do you struggle to say no? What have you been doing in life recently?
YES! I seriously have lots of problems saying no. I really hate disappointing someone I’d like to help out, but sometimes there are other ways to go. š Great post, as usual.
Ah! An informative post… not just for me, but my chicken too! š
Yes, this is a lesson I have learned over and over again. š
Thanks for sharing! š
Here are a free pile of no’s for anyone who would like to take one. š Or you can say no, you’re good thank you XD.
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.
Oooh, do you mind if I steal some of these? š
No.
I’ll take that!
š
Ugh, yes, this is definitely me. #overcommitter Thanks for this reminder!
What guidelines are there to help you determine if you are saying, āNoā for a greater good or, āNoā for selfish reasons?
My dad could use this reminder. š He’s a farmer and sometimes takes on a little too much work that he could ask other people to do, but hey, he’s an ESTJ. That’s how they do things. XD
I’m quite a bit more laid-back than he is, since I’m an INFP, but I still sometimes have a hard to time saying no because I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. š®
I loved the example using the rooster… my example would be with my 13-month-old (I almost said ‘year old’, lol) sister who has the habit of cramming wayyy too much food in her mouth. XP
Oh my word. The rooster. That crazy rooster. xD
Also, very good post. As hard as it is.
You bet I have trouble. It’s not easy being impulsive — not to mention gullible. š
What I really want to know is: Is the mouse okay?? (Also, why would a rooster try to eat a MOUSE of all objects? O.O )
THAT ROOSTER. OMW. I feel bad for it…but I also kind of wish you caught it on video…XD XD XD
And yes; this is an excellent post. *nods* š
This is an awesome post, Jane. I too have trouble saying “no”, also I’ll follow your advice about not eating any mice. XD
-Quinley