So hard to say No

I found it hard to say No as a kid.

- Manish Nandy

I was loaded with chores I cared little for. I could have avoided many of them by simply saying No. I couldn't. It was too tempting to smile and say Yes, though I knew in my heart that the chores would be unrewarding and boring.

Even when I wasn't a kid any longer, I found it easier to say Yes though I would have preferred to say No. Friends wanted me to join a party and I couldn't bring myself to say No. I went and joined and made myself miserable, as I feared I might. Somebody urged me to join a sports group, and I assented, though I doubted I would enjoy the group. I didn't, but I simply couldn't turn down the request.

Later, when I worked in an office, a colleague would ask me to take on an errand, an unappealing and time-consuming piece of work, to help him take off on some trivial pursuit. I detested the idea but could not say to his face that I would not oblige him.

Or a person of some importance invited me to join a committee whose purposes seemed foolhardy to me. I still joined, for I was uncomfortable to turn down the offer.