Secrets of Success: The Art of Saying “no!”

Do you ever find yourself asking for more hours in a day?  Is your daily schedule so packed that you have no time for interruptions?   Follow these tips to take charge of your schedule and your life!

Ankle-Biters of your time are those pesky little things that occur on a regular basis during your day that keep you from being productive with your time.  Random emails, spam, pop-ups, commercials, people calling to sell you things, etc.  Learning to say no to these little distractions will end up saving you a lot of time each week.  Not only will it save you time, but it will also help you maintain a consistent focus that will enable you to reach your goals quicker and better.

If there is ever a little dog tearing away at your lower leg and ankle when you are out for a walk, then I doubt that I would find you bargaining with it; you would be screaming at it and kicking it off you.  That is exactly the posture we should take with the proverbial ankle-bitters of our time! 

If you spend more than 5 seconds on the phone with a telemarketer, then you need to learn how to say, “no”!

If your children cry and scream until they get their own way, then you need to learn how to say, “no”!

Saying no to a dog that is biting your ankle won’t work unless there is corresponding action that reinforces your vocal command.   “Thank you, but I’m not interested,” now hang up the phone.  If you give in to your children after repeatedly telling them no, then they know that you don’t really mean “no”.  If they wear you out long enough, you will give in. 

That is exactly how some people live their lives, giving in to the tactics that are wearing them down. 

Do you always want to please people and get distressed when you think someone doesn’t like you?  Then it is going to be extremely hard for you to tell someone no.  But, like any new thing in life, the more you do it, the better and easier it becomes.  You didn’t learn to ride a bike by reading a book on riding bikes, you got on and started riding!

Our time is allotted to everyone in the same daily amount, but some people seem to be more in control of their time than others.  These people have learned the art of saying “no”.

What are your top five priorities in life?  How much time are you able to give them in a week or a month?  If you find that several of your top priorities are continually being pushed off your schedule by the ankle-biters, then it’s time to kick those things off your schedule and off of your shoulders!