Do you know how to say No?
I consider myself a generous person when it comes to giving my time to help someone, to answer questions, etc.; no doubt you and most people feel the same. I’m sure all of us often go out of our way to help others. We do it because it feels good to help.
At the same time, if I took a few minutes to respond to every single request I get via email or voice mail or by someone popping their head into my office, I’d literally have no time left in the day for productive work – work that moves my business or personal health and fitness goals forward.
What’s important is that we learn how to say “No,” to put our priorities first, that we’re clear on our goals and have a clear and defined schedule and structure to make the progress we want. I preach this to clients every day.
Too often, I think, people don’t say “No” out of fear of hurting a relationship, be it personal or business. In my opinion, however, the better we get at saying “No,” the more productive we are and the faster we reach our goals. After all, if we want to be successful, we must be accountable for ALL commitments we make — to ourselves and to others — and manage expectations to make this possible.
