10 reasons you should learn to say NO

First of all saying NO has a bad reputation and we often confuse it with negative feelings.

The word “NO” is an extremely powerful one. It is the purest form of negation, often times associated with negativity. This is where the bad rep of saying NO comes from. I wrote this just to clear the air and embrace the NO. So here we go!

10 reasons you should learn to say NO:

1.Balance is everything!

It is equally as important as YES because just a mix of the two can bring you balance

in life. You must say NO just as much as you say YES to create the world you want around you.

2. A little negativity never killed anyone!

On a serious note, positivity became such a trend in entrepreneurship and business, especially startups, that it seems you should only say YES. In business or life you have to learn to prepare yourself for bad moments or failure, it is of the most importance. So, there is no harm in throwing some angry NO’s here and there. In business a pessimist is just an optimist anchored in reality.

3. It is the word of the picky!

NO is the word of aristocracy. Refusal is for the few, for the chosen! Why would you rob yourself of the pleasure of being very choosy with the things that come into your life or business. You should be the dictator there, it’s your life, your business, you are light and darkness! You decide! Show some attitude, show some balls! Say NO!

4. It’s shorter than YES!

Sometimes it’s ok to take the shortcut, the road with least resistance just because you can. Easier said, easier done!

5. NO means action, just like YES!

We have this wrong perception that NO is a non-action response, that it is static, but it’s not, it can mean just as much action as a YES. It might actually require more action than YES because it could mean taking a different and lonely path. You refused help, a proposal and so you have to do it without assistance.

6. Saying NO requires balls!

To say NO means that you have the courage to oppose. We are taught many times to say YES as a positive reaction, to adapt to the social environment, to experience positive business engagements but many times it ends in forgetting who we are or what we want to represent.

7. You begin to know yourself better!

Experience is gathered by going deep into different situations and getting through new and unexpected challenges and they are always associated with saying YES to the new. Even if I agree with that to some degree, I have to say that many of these experiences can be stronger if experimented on your own. Knowing yourself never meant drowning in crowds, but always in dealing with adversities and problems by yourself. That is how you begin to gather and build upon yourself or your business.

8. NO is not lonely!

Despite what I have said earlier, saying NO is not a loners sport. It is just a sport for the few, so you will have a group of people, it will just be smaller.

9. It’s not always the best, but it’s always yours!

I can’t lie and say that it will always be the best path, we already established that it won’t be the easiest, but you will feel better in the long-run. There is a feeling of strength and power in doing things your way, even if in the end you fail. It’s that sense of “I did it my way” like the big man said that made any entrepreneur get out of bed in the morning, even if the day to come is supposed to be dreadful. It’s the “I own my own destiny” feeling nothing can replace!

10. NO means power!

NO is not bad or negative, NO is powerful. Sometimes power can be scary and intimidating but only the great can truly master it. Life and business are games of control and they are impossible to control, this is what makes them amazing. NO won’t give you control, NO will give knowledge, and that is priceless.

Ok, now on a more serious note I know that some of the reasons from up here are funny, but the essence of what I am trying to say is that we have to learn to say NO. I’ve heard many people saying that most of the people around go into default NO, but I don’t think that is true.

We are very much trained to go into default YES. It is the way a society works, in order to participate you have to say YES, otherwise you become an outcast. Social media made this participation policy even stronger and added pressure to the equation. It is, by excellence, a participation and involvement society, but many times is the missfits and the outcasts that produce the most remarkable changes.

Nothing was ever build by respecting and following the norm, so learn to take the road you want. I do believe that many times it’s a feeling game, you have to act on a hunch even if it doesn’t sound much like informed decisions. I see it like this: If I learned something, it wasn’t futile and learning is the key to life, or business.