My biggest secret to beating stress is learning who to say NO!!!
Saying no is a very powerful tool to help manage the amount of stress that you experience in everyday life. I remember hearing Lisa Nichols say that No is a complete sentence and that has become my motto.
‘No’, by its very definition is a word that ‘ends, closes off, or discontinues a line of thought or conversation’.
It’s Really Simple
Saying more often keeps you from getting overwhelmed. Have you ever been overwhelmed by saying yes, to something in your gut you really wanted to say no to. Then you get all stressed out because you are subjected to their goals, deadlines and expectations,
If you listened to your gut and said ‘No’ in exactly the same situation, then you take yourself out of stressful situation. Don’t allow your own freedom to be taken by other people’s goals, objectives, and tasks. All of this is the result of just saying ‘No’.
It’s Harder For Some Than Others
Yes, saying ‘No’ comes easy to some people and you may not be that person who can say no. You may be the girl who gets a knot in their stomach and then the inner guilt spiral starts. You start beating yourself up for being selfish and then against your gut you inevitably say ‘Yes’ and end up either being overwhelmed, manipulated or acting against your intuition.
In either case, it’s important to know when to say ‘No’ and it’s just as important to have the ability to say ‘No’ when you want to.
In order to effectively say ‘No’ to potentially stress-inducing situations we have to have clear boundaries.
No, No, No, A Thousand Times No
If you have a solid grasp of your boundaries then you are able to say ‘Yes’ up to a point, and when you reach that point you are then able to say ‘No’ to making sure you’re not overwhelmed.
To do this you must tap into yourself to recognize the exact moment when things become too much. It is at this moment when you need to say ‘No’.
‘No’ is what will stop you from going any further and keeps your stress in check. If you have paid attention to your body, you will know exactly when this moment arises.
You’ll begin to notice a change in your inner mindset. When you’ve reached your boundary levels you’ll feel tension, anxiety, frustration, irritability and possibly just pissed off.
As they say this is a clue, that you have allowed yourself to be pushed too far and you should have said ‘No’.
No, Just Do It!
When you have recognized your limitations through careful observation of your inner and outer stress levels, all you have to do is develop the ability to be honest with yourself and with the people around you.
Take the pressure off yourself and be honest when you’ve hit your maximum capacity.
I hear you, sounds simple in an article but seriously, how does this work in the real life!!
You develop your own ‘No, Thank You’ Mantra.
Use it whenever someone approaches you and tries to persuade you to do something you don’t want to do or that you just don’t have the ability to do because you’re already maxed out.
Remember No is a complete sentence. I’m sure there are things that you have on your plate right now that you know you should have said no to, but if you are feeling pissed off or stressed out it’s time to re-evaluate.
One of the hardest times we have when it comes to saying no is around food. We all have those people who are food pushers, who always want to make sure you are eating enough. They want to have you “eat” with them to take the guilt off of them. In this Shame Free Summer Action guide, I teach you have to break free and thrive.
