“No” Isn’t a Dirty Word

I used to feel obligated to say yes to everyone. If a friend asked me to join an outing, if a mom in my church asked me to babysit or if a peer needed a favor, I had to say yes. This became an addiction for me and left me mentally drained, physically exhausted and spiritually defeated. My addiction to saying yes reared its ugly head in my career, hobbies, family life and faith.

CEO Camille Preston shared, “By saying yes to too many things, we may be saying no to some very important things. If our plate is too full, there’s no room for the unexpected or ideal opportunity. If our fences aren’t strong, everything gets in.”

During my junior year of college, I had many exciting opportunities come my way. Because they were all so exciting, I said yes to almost all of them. Yes to writing for the school newspaper. Yes to teaching a children’s class. Yes to working three different jobs. Yes to going out with friends. It was the busiest, craziest year of college for me. I had precious little time to myself, I became irritable and burnt out, and I began losing my battle with anxiety. Saying yes to everything stole my love for living.

The next year, I said no to more things than I said yes. Some people didn’t understand. In fact, some people tried to convince me to change my mind. But I held my ground. And that year was probably the best year of college for me.