How to Become Confident Saying No

image of business woman holding a sign saying no

“When you say ‘YES’ to others, make sure you are not saying ‘NO’ to yourself.” – Paulo Coelho.

If you are someone who struggles to say no, then rest assured you are not alone. Many people end up frustrated, time poor, overwhelmed, exhausted, depressed, late etc because you have said yes in agreeance to something when you know you really wanted to say NO. Most of us are wired to be of assistance, whenever we can, however this quality can become something that others take for granted, expect, begin to manipulate and try to make you feel guilty if you don’t say yes to their wants and needs.

Being able to confidently say NO, without the guilt can be difficult to do at the best of times, however there are ways you can practise becoming more confident, build your self-esteem and not feel any guilt for your choices. I don’t want to make it sound as though helping or giving is a bad thing. It isn’t! However, if you spread yourself too thin, too often, it can and often does become a problem. In turn, you can drive yourself to become miserable while everyone happily thrives around you.

By taking a step back from your busy ‘help others’ schedule, you will become more aware just how much of your precious time you give away!! You will be amazed. Once again you don’t have to stop saying yes, or helping out all-together, but you will begin to notice the benefits from giving to yourself first, and then sharing what you have left with others. You will begin feeling better in yourself by giving to yourself first, and in turn, your self-esteem will begin to grow as you feel clearer and less stressed. The heaviness of constantly being tired, overwhelmed, angry, resentful etc, soon becomes replaced by a more positive and clearer perspective of your direction in life and the in the quality of your choices in the future. The friendly psychics at Absolute Soul Secrets can help you navigate your way to feeling more focused and confident as you begin to make these changes and become more true to yourself.

Your self-esteem is basically based on what you believe about yourself, your value and your self-worth. You actually make your choices and decisions based on your beliefs and self-worth. If you have low self-esteem, you are more likely to put others first (sound familiar??) and either struggle to reach your own potential, while you help others to achieve their goals, again and again.

Don’t be put on the spot.

Being caught un aware, off guard, feeling put on the spot to commit there and then can have a big effect on your decisions and choices, often leading to you frittering away your time and not really being aware of it all until you fall in an exhausted heap. Choose to have a process you go through before saying yes – by not having to commit yourself to saying yes right there and then, you are honouring yourself by allowing the time to check if you have any other commitments and or the time and energy to be of assistance. Suggesting that you need to check your diary/schedule, or suggesting that you may need to get back to the person asking for help, is a great way for you to give yourself a little time to think about you and your needs, before you commit to anything else.

By taking some of these simple steps that help to free up your time and energy – allowing you to spend your time achieving your own goals – you not only feel good about claiming your own power back, you also allow those constantly asking for help, the opportunity to step up and help themselves. I like to remind myself to lead by example….create the changes you want to see.

As your self-esteem grows, so does your confidence in yourself, and your decisions. You will see changes in how you handle certain situations, decisions and choices. You will see how doing what is best for you creates less stress and tension in your life and you will find strategies that work for you. These strategies will eventually become your natural way of thinking in time. Just as I mentioned earlier about having a process of checking your diary or getting back to someone about being available to help out, all of these new yet simple little changes become such a natural way of thinking, that you find a smooth and steady flow to your life.

As your positive choices start to change the way you treat yourself, you will feel in control of your direction, including what you will and won’t say yes to. It is worth being aware that as you begin to apply these simple changes to your thoughts and beliefs about yourself and your worth, you may start to feel as though you are outgrowing some of your friends or work mates, perhaps some family members. This is a natural part of your process of change. Remember you are not only changing how you do things on the inside…..you are changing your belief about yourself, your value, your importance in life etc. Those who start to drop away may be the very people who were running you ragged wanting your constant assistance and attention in the first place.

Acknowledge all of the changes as they take place. Don’t fear them, remember you are progressing into new territory with more confidence, and you are able to step back and observe and reassess any time you like. Now you are naturally thinking from a more empowered and positive perspective, you will start trying new things, meeting new people. You may even find yourself planning ahead, because you now have more consistency in what you are wanting to achieve. These changes are a result of you realising your own self-worth and deservedness. These changes are going to allow you to attract people into your life that appreciate you for who you are, not what you can do for them.

Those people who you have outgrown or used to use you up and manipulate you have more than likely found someone else to say yes for them. They have found someone else they can control and guilt into doing what they want. This is a part of who they are, or who they have become. Leave them to it. Get on with what is important to you and watch your own actions and choices allow your life to flourish – GUILT FREE.

The truth is, as you feel better in yourself, you will actually start enjoying helping others more than when you were feeling flustered and exhausted. Create the balance you desire in your life with a happy heart and watch everyone benefit.

Do you have questions concerning your self-esteem or your confidence, or how to step away from others that burn you out or expect too much? Don’t be made to feel guilty or manipulated into something you don’t want to do. Book a call today with the gifted psychic readers at Absolute Soul Secrets. You can check your horoscopes daily or receive the answers you are searching for with an email reading. Either way you will come away with clarity and feel more empowered in your decisions, your choices, and your life.


Author: Rose Smith