Today’s letter
for the AtoZ Blogging Challenge is ‘N’ for my theme ‘A to Z of Effectiveness’.
You can read more about my theme here. I’m also participating in the NaBloPoMo
for April.
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In recent years, ‘No’ has become a positive word. We are being asked
to say ‘No’ to things we don’t want to do, popularity be damned! We’re told to
build ‘Not To Do’ lists which some say are more effective than To Do lists.
There seems to be some truth in it too, as not doing a lot of things frees up
so much time!
As cute little two year olds, we say ‘No’ a million times a day, and
as we grow we realize that we’re not adorable enough for people to smile
when we say ‘No!’ to them. But Stephen Covey says in ‘The 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People’ that we’re always saying no to something or the other. If I
say ‘yes’ to a gossip session with my neighbor, I’m saying ‘no’ to my reading
time. If I say ‘yes’ to a TV soap in the evening, I’m saying ‘no’ to playtime
with my son. In the end, it all boils down to priorities.
We often say yes to something that seems good at the moment. But Mr.
Covey says that ‘good is the enemy of best’. If we have our goals figured out,
then they are the best, the highest priorities that should automatically
eliminate everything else. On a daily basis, we say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to many
things, and some of them have probably become automated responses. From now on,
let’s pause a moment before each decision and see if it’s worth saying ‘yes’
to. I know, it’s easier said than done, but it’s worth a try!
Are
you good at saying ‘No’ to anything that isn’t high priority? Even if you have
to refuse someone you know?
6 comments
I think over the years, I've become very good at saying no, hopefully in the nicest possible way, because giving time to myself and my family is my highest priority!
ReplyDeleteI'm learning too! It's hard at times, but remembering my priorities helps!
DeleteI have learnt to say No, firmly. It was not easy initially, but I am glad that I started with it. When we say No to unwarranted things. we are saying Yes to a lot of happy and positive things!
ReplyDeleteExactly! And the reverse is also true :)
DeleteOh, very good point about how saying yes to one thing often means saying no to something else. Food for thought!
ReplyDeleteI never thought of it that way too!! Completely changes our perspective, right?
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