To learn to (sometimes) say no does not mean being selfish. Obviously many times it’s good to say yes, if a friend or anyone needs help. But if you are an empath or highly sensitive person, it becomes important to know when to say no – in other words, when people are taking advantage of you. Narcissists (who often only think of themselves) seem to seek out empaths, in order to get others to do things for them, knowing that it’s difficult to say no.
If this means helping someone when they are sick or walking a dog of an elderly neighbor, that’s not a good time to say no. But if someone is constantly asking you to do things that they could do themselves (or find others to help), then it pays to learn how to balance their needs, with a little self-care. Cabin crew are always told to tell mothers to put the oxygen masks on themselves, before putting one on their babies. If you don’t look after yourself, you can’t help others.
- The Empath’s Tookit is a guide by Anna Sayce, for the overwhelmed empath. If you feel the emotions of others vividly and feel stressed in crowded places or around noisy people, this book is for you. Anna is also an empath and has years of experience in helping people to identify their energy and use it for good to help, but without getting drained yourself.
- Say No to Social Media, Say No to Waste, Say No to Meat and Say No to Plastic are four little guides, all packed with simple tips to make it easy to say no!
- Can I Say No? is a book by Stephanie Preissner, who had been a people-pleaser all her life. Follow her journey as she turns from a life of endless cake-baking, unwanted second dates and unrealistic work demands to discover boundaries. Is ‘no’ always the right answer? And how do you find the right balance?
- Learn to say no politely. Be honest, but don’t give too many details. This video by Annemarie shows you how.
- Lysa Terkeurst has a great post of 10 ways to graciously say no
It’s okay to say no. As long as you learn the art of doing so graciously. Andrea Reiser
