“Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying ‘yes’ too quickly and not saying ‘no’ soon enough.”

~Josh Billings

I was watching the Jim Carrey movie, ‘Yes, Man’, and it reminded me that I used to be a ‘Yes, Girl.’

It was so important to me that I be thought of as ‘nice’ that I would say ‘yes’ to almost anything that I was asked.  And, once I said ‘yes’ I would almost always then mentally kick myself because I really wished that I had said ‘no.’

I always kept my word…yet that would often mean putting my own needs aside in order to take care of the needs, wants or desires of someone else.

I often wished for a way to say ‘no’ in a nice way.

One day, I got my wish.  I made a request of someone else…and they replied with,

‘Thank you.  That doesn’t work for me.’

I loved that answer!

No explanations, no excuses…just a clear and complete answer that she would not accept my request.

I began practicing using this answer and I found that it works perfectly every time.

I now use this response whenever I am asked to do something that will take me further away from achieving my goals with velocity and ease.

And, I have taught this statement to all of my clients…who also have used it with great success.

If you are someone who finds their self constantly saying ‘yes’ to others when you really want to say ‘no,’ then I encourage you to practice saying, ‘Thank you. That doesn’t work for me.’

Of course…only if that works for you!

Stacey Hall, L.S.H., C.N.T.C., is the CEO and Founder of the Hall Institute of Intuitive Wellness and the best-selling author of ‘Chi-To-Be! Achieving Your Ultimate B-All.’ (http://www.chi-to-be.com)