Today is Day 28 of the Just For Today Challenge – 31 Days To A Better You. Only a few more days until we have completed the Challenge which means that it’s time to get serious about making the final days of the Challenge meaningful to you.

If you are like so many people in today’s society, you’re pulled in so many directions that you’re stressed out, frustrated, and running from one high priority, can’t miss, must-do thing to another. Well, Just For Today, we are going to change that feeling. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Doormats are only good for one thing – to get trodden upon.

You, my dear readers, are not doormats.  That means that you are able to use your voice and say the word NO to anything that you don’t feel like doing, don’t want to do, or doesn’t in some way advance your goals or enrich your life. 

In other words, you get to choose how you spend your precious time on earth.

If you don’t want to chauffeur the neighbourhood kids to school, you can say No. There doesn’t need to be any explanation if you don’t want to give one, either. It’s totally valid to Just Say No. Be polite, but firm.

If the PTA made it clear that just because you organized the bake sale last year and it was a huge success that they expect you to do it again this year (and you don’t want to do it), you are allowed to say ‘No, thank you, I have other time commitments’. Don’t worry, they’ll get someone else to do it. But not you. You will be busy working on other things that you do want to do and that are meaningful to you. You can certainly buy some baked goods to support the school, but you don’t have to be the one running frazzled for weeks organizing it.

If you joined some hobby club that you don’t feel like going to anymore because for whatever reason, you can say to them, ‘No, I won’t be coming to the next meeting as I have other interests now’. I’ve had to do this and guess what? They may miss you for a meeting or two, but then the group gets on very well without you. It’s not a big deal to leave a hobby club when it doesn’t suit your schedule, your interests, your financial situation or whatever, anymore. We’re all adults and no one should guilt you into doing anything you don’t want to do.

You can also say No to any project that lands on your desk. You have to be diplomatic about this (especially if your job is important to you), but you are allowed to say’ No, I can’t do this given my current project workload’. Let them come up with a priority for you if they really want you to do that extra project. Normally, something else will have to be taken off your plate to accommodate the new project – this is what you want as your talents and time are valuable and you have only so many hours that can be devoted to work. The rest of the time is yours to do with what you want.

Saying No to anything that doesn’t move you forward in your path in life is totally acceptable. You don’t have to feel guilty about saying No, either. When you value your precious time, guess what happens? Other people value your time, too.

There’s that saying that we teach people how to treat us. So, if you are the type of person who can’t say No and allows people to dump on you, then you have taught people that it’s okay to do that to you. So, Just For Today, you can re-teach people that you are not a doormat and they can’t treat you like that.

Say No to things that you don’t want to do anymore or to any time-wasters in your life, will make a huge difference. Instead of being the doormat where everyone comes to you because ‘you know how to do everything’ doesn’t cut it anymore. Flattery won’t get them anywhere. Show them once, and then let them figure it out on their own. You have better things to do.

My time, your time, is very valuable. We all have the same 24 hours in the day. If you are doing things that are wasting your time and that you no longer want to do or be involved in (i.e. telemarketing calls, chauffeuring, fire-fighting at work, volunteering, etc) means that you can’t be doing things that you do want to do in life.

Can you just imagine how much time you will have freed up in saying No to those things that don’t benefit you and don’t enrich your life. You could be working on putting more meaning in into your life, rather than be stressed out running from one after-work activity to the next. Your resentment will go way down and you’ll feel more self-confident knowing that you are valuing your time, and ultimately yourself.

What are you doing that you know you no longer want to do? Who has been taking advantage of you and your kind heart? Which activity are you going to say No to today, without feeling guilty about it? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Thanks!

Disclaimer:  Do not quit your job if you don’t want to do it anymore. I’m not advocating anything like that! I’m hoping that you will be able to say No to something in your life that is a time-waster so that you can concentrate on those things that have meaning in your life.

For a list of all of the Challenges, see the Just For Today Challenge page.

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Tagged as: Just For Today Challenge, Just Say No, Relationships