Why saying no could save your sanity… and your business.

In Aesop’s fable, The Man and His Two Sweethearts, a middle-aged man, whose hair had begun to turn grey, courted two women at the same time.

One of them was young and the other much older. The elder woman, ashamed to be courted by a younger man, made a point of pulling out some of his black hairs whenever he visited.

The younger, on the contrary, not wishing to become the wife of an old man, was equally zealous in removing every grey hair she could find.

In the end, between the two, he ended up bald.

Moral of the story: try to please everyone, you please no-one.

Your life is hectic

It’s a challenging role being a business owner. Customers have questions, demands, expectations. Staff have problems they want you to fix. The government, ATO, Local Council, Fair Work all have policies, forms, and penalties if you don’t comply.

Every time you are meeting other people’s expectations. Saying yes to them, at a cost to your own time & well-being.

And Covid-19 has ramped that through the roof.

It’s why one little word just might save your sanity.

The power of no

It feels odd to say no. For many of us, we want to please others. After all, as social beings, our survival depends on the good will of others. Saying no can leave people with a sense of guilt or embarrassment.

For business owners this can be doubly so. We are meant to be opportunistic, problem solvers, ambitious.

Yet.

By saying “No” you are unconsciously saying “Yes” to your self-value: I am putting myself ahead of you. No sets boundaries. It says within here what I choose matters.

It’s why people who try it for the first time report mixed emotions but also a profound relief: “you feel better for it”.

Other more tangible benefits:

• It gives you more time – for the things that matter. That you have chosen.

• It increases your self-confidence. After all, nothing beats saying I am worth it.

• It gives you more control in your life.

All three are known factors in a happier, healthier emotional life.

Saying no ironically gets you more respect from others.

So, give it a go.

When a member of your team come to you with a problem, ask them to come back with possible fixes for your input.

When a potential customer starts haggling about money, say thank-you but you are in business. “We all have to make a living”, your prices are fair and try their luck down the road.