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Saying No

This is an useful read for anyone who needs to come up with nice yet firm ways to say No. The other advisory that I have found useful and passed along to younger people is to pause a little before saying Yes or No, no matter how strong the impulse to pull the trigger and how obvious the response might seem at the moment. Depending on how the ask is phrased, the timing relative to your mental state at that point, the response may prove to be an emotional one. The passage of time, even if only a few hours, allows the ask to percolate a bit deeper and we are able to be more objective. 

In my younger years, I found myself too eager to say yes and sign up for projects for which I had no time or particular passion for. It was with the aim of "learning and growing" from the real-world experience. I might have learned a few things here and there from such over-zealousness to say Yes to things but in hindsight No would have been the better response for many. I also learned as I grew older than I need to be good for my word and if I am not I fail and disappoint myself a great deal. Being able to say No when needed is the right way to build a track record of always honoring commitments. None of these lessons were learned the easy way for me so I hope those who have heard me speak candidly about my mistakes don't make them.

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