HOW TO SAY NO & live a better life

SMART STRATEGIES TO HELP PUT YOURSELF FIRST

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How’s your week looking? Are you booked up with meetings, kids’ parties, appointments and catch-ups? We all lead busy lives but when it gets to be a little overwhelming, chances are you’re not saying no enough. We’re inherently people-pleasers, so sometimes it can be hard to say no for fear of letting somebody down, but overcommitting can affect your health, wellbeing and happiness. Here are some strategies on how to politely refuse requests, and leave more time for yourself.

DON’T BE PUT ON THE SPOT

Do you have a friend or work colleague that has a knack for getting you to say yes, whether it’s staying late at work or helping out with organising an event? Always buy yourself more time so you can have a think about it. If it’s work-related, ask the person to email the request through, and if it’s a friend, tell them you’ll get back to them. A handy way to stall is to say you need to check your schedule or make a phone call and get back to them. This gives you time to think about whether you want to commit.

WEIGH UP YOUR ‘YES’

According to author, Lisa Stephenson, founder of The Coach Place Global (thecoachplace.com), every commitment we make has a financial, emotional, social, physical and/or time cost attached to it – it’s called the ‘opportunity cost’.