6 Ways To Say No

Saying yes to one thing means saying no to another. That’s why decisions can be hard sometimes. ~ Sean Covey.

Have you ever been so overwhelmed that your back is full of knots?  Maybe your arms ache from the pressure of all you have to do?  How about the headaches and don’t mention the stomach issues?  I have felt that way.  And it’s all because I had trouble saying one simple word, NO!

The word  NO is only two letters, yet it is so difficult to say.

We wear our busyness as a badge.  It makes us feel needed and important.

We are kind and generous, see the need and want to help.

We enjoy the activity and are good at it.

And probably the reason we have difficulty saying no is that we see the need and feel that WE SHOULD.

At times I have fallen into all of these traps.  And yet, being overly busy does not work very well for me.  I need to be able to breathe and think.

The beginning of the New Year is always  a good time to look at your priorities.

Are you too busy to fit a daily devotion into your schedule?  If the answer is yes, you need to say no to something.

Is your house a mess because you are never home?  If so, you need to say no to something.

Are you always picking up fast food for dinner on a regular basis because of outside obligations?  If so, you need to say no to something.

Are your kids behind in their schoolwork because you are always doing something for someone?  If so, then you need to say no to something.

When I was homeschooling, I got particularly overwhelmed during one school year.  I made a list and realized we had 15 outside activities.  My friend, that’s too many activities.  I had the kids rank the activities as to what they thought were important and I was surprised.  Some of the things we did were not important to them.  We immediately dropped out of them.

Some of the commitments I had were things that I started and had to finish.  So I finished those commitments and did not renew them.

I got our schedule down to where it was doable for our family and I was able to breathe.

Now when I’m asked to do something OR I see a need, I do the following:

1. Stop and pray.  I never take on a commitment unless I pray.
2. Talk to my husband.  I tend to get excited about new projects and he knows me and knows when I’m getting stressed.
3. Pause, check my calendar and think about it. I don’t have to give anyone an answer right away.
4. Ask yourself, is it  beneficial to myself and my family? There are times in life when you can take on projects and times when projects are not  beneficial.
5. Remember that you are not the only person who can take on that project.  If I do it out of obligation or because I feel that I should then I am taking a blessing away from the person that God has designed to complete the task.
6. And most importantly:  Say no to the “shoulds” and yes to the best things.  Never do anything because you should.  Do it because it’s best.

Mamas  BE BRAVE and learn to say NO.  You will be happier.

Matthew 5:37 states:

“All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’;  anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”