Learning To Say No

Our mental health is just as important as our physical health. Many people disregard their mental health even though it is almost more important than anything else. If you are in a good state mentally, it makes life easier all around. 

Learning to say no is vital to your mental health. Things like going out with friends, taking an extra shift at work, or even deep cleaning the house are things you can say no to. Are you required by some law that you have to go out with your friends? No. Are you going to get fired if you say no to an extra shift? No. Is the house going to burn down if it isn't deep cleaned right away? Probably not. If your body and mind need a relaxing night at home, do it. For example, I just got a call from my boss asking if I could work tonight. This is after I already covered 4 shifts in the last two weeks. Can you guess what my answer was? "No." I wanted and needed tonight to take care of me. And guess what! That is perfectly okay. 

This world is crazy, hectic, and just plain stressful more times than not. It is wonderful if you take care of your physical body but it is incredibly important to take care of yourself mentally as well. Someone wrote in the Bella Grace magazine that "Saying no to one thing is often disguised as a yes to do all the other things you truly love". This really caught my eye because it made me think. So many times I've said yes to things I did not care to do at all but I felt obligated to do them. This led me to doing something I didn't enjoy when I could have been doing something I loved had I just said no. 

People might get mad at you for saying no but that is their problem, not yours. Your life doesn't revolve around them. You and your happiness are more important than a day or night of saying yes. This life is yours! You get to choose how you live it. Sure, not every little thing is something you necessarily want to do but sometimes you have to. However, the little things that truly are YOUR choice, you can say yes or no to. If you want to say no, do it without shame or guilt. Do not let someone make you feel guilty for saying no to something you don't want to do. Setting those boundaries is, to me, empowering. I have let people walk all over me and when I finally learned to stand up and say no, I felt like the big, beautiful, strong woman that I am. 

Saying no doesn't make you a bad person. It just means that you love yourself enough to choose you sometimes. Putting yourself first time to time is not in any way selfish; it is necessary. Learn to say no to the things you don't want to do and start doing the things that bring you pure joy.