Develop Your No-How

'No' is a complete sentence, one infrequently used. Did you know that saying 'NO' gives power to your 'YES'?  Saying 'NO' takes courage. Start developing your NO-How today.

• Set Boundaries - Know your personal values and sense of purpose, your goals and intentions:
• Take time to identify your personal values. Once they are defined, they establish what is right and wrong for you.
• Know your sense of purpose or mission. When saying yes, does this answer respond to what you know to be true to your purpose or is it a distracter.
• Have specific goals and objectives for what you wish to achieve
• Define your intentions, how you wish to present yourself to others, for any given circumstance

Put Your Life Under a Microscope

Take the time to put your life under a microscope and dissect where you can make some changes, that is, where NO is the right answer. Consider this:

• NO is not a career limiting move. This is a myth.
• When you add something desirable to your plate, decide what falls off. Our plates are not growing larger; they are just filling up.
• Highlight those aspects of your life that you are truly enjoying. Keep these. Clarify what aspects of your life are nice to do but not necessary. Negotiate these. Consider what you are doing in life to please others with no benefit to your self. Let these go.
• Simplify.

It starts in your head, without moving your lips. NO.

• You have examined your life and where you are expending energy with no benefit to you. You say to yourself NO.
• You are clear on your work priorities and your current goals. When someone at work approaches you regarding another project, which clearly does not fit in with your current priorities, you say NO.
• You begin to ask discerning questions in regard to the importance and value of the work being assigned. You say NO.
• You learn to say NO to friends who drain you and YES to friends who nurture you.
• Learn to negotiate.
• Practice saying NO. Louder! Louder yet!

To download a PDF version of "Develop Your NO-How" click here