It 's on ly
by say in
g no t ha
y o u ca n
t
c o n c en t
r
a
te on
t h e t h ing
s t hat a
r e r eally
im por ta
n t.
Say it With Me: No.
The beginning of the school year comes with opportunities
to get involved with a lot of new activities and responsibilities.
Do you often find yourself stretched to the limit because you’ve
overcommitted yourself? Parent or teen, it happens to all of us
at some point, and it can be a source of serious stress. How do
you stop the madness?
,
o
n
y
a
s
on ’ t
d
uld
u
o
o
h
y
s
y
u
h
o
y
W
an d w h y
-Steve J
o bs
Ways to
say no
Don’t use “yes” as a default
> answer.
If you’re unsure, tell
You don’t want to be rude.
Are you a people-pleaser? It can be difficult to say no when you’re wired to
accommodate whatever has been asked of you. But remember, taking on too
much to please other people means that you have less time to devote to the
relationships and activities that are truly important to you.
You overestimate how much you can handle.
What’s one more hour a week, right? It can be easy to think this way and end up
drowning in a sea of one-hour commitments. It’s time to take a realistic account
of what you can accomplish in a set amount of time, and realize that if you’re
spreading yourself too thin, chances are you probably aren’t doing any of those
things very well.
them you’ll think about it
and get back to them.
on’t feel the need to follow
> D up
your “no” with a long
list of excuses. No can be a
complete sentence!
ank them for thinking of
> Th
you but tell them you’re
unable to commit to
anything else at the moment.
The cause is worthy.
This is a tricky one; how can you say no to something that is important and that
you truly care about? If the cause is truly important to you, are you willing to
drop one of your other obligations?
ep es t
e
d
e
h
t
m
o
r ed f r
”
A “ N o” u t t e
h an a “Yes
t
r
e
t
t
e
b
is
r worse,
o
convict ion
,
e
s
a
le
p
t er e d to
m er ely u t
ou ble.
to avoid t r
Gand h i
-Mah a t m a
www.potentialmagazine.com
Fall 2017 |
21