Do you ever have one of those days that just does not seem to end? I hope that none of you have to deal with the occasional 14-15 hour work day. If you do, I feel for you. It seems to happen to me about once a month or so and if you’re like me, it’s by your own choice rather than being required by your job. Is it really necessary to push ourselves that hard? Jusin Wise took Seth Godin’s blog about saying no a little further, but I wonder if that is what I really need to do.
I am comfortable with my job and what my talents afford me to do there, so does saying no to certain tasks provide me other opportunity? In my experience I have been given less opportunity when I don’t step up. My passion is music so I tend to jump at the opportunities to play when they arise. Does saying no to my what I am passionate about really afford me other opportunities or does it just frustrate me. I know I can say no to myself when it comes to working extra hours instead of just finishing a project the next day, but I have a tough time seeing other places/times when it is appropriate for me to say no.
How do you say no? Seth mentioned that saying no can help you say yes to important opportunities, but what really got me was this:
The choice: You can dissipate your gift by making the people with the loudest requests temporarily happy, or you can change the world by saying ‘no’ often.
So my question is not only how do you say no, but how do you say no often?