No is a Complete Sentence. Period.

Why is it so hard to sometimes just say no? I think it is because we grew up thinking we had to explain ourselves any time we didn’t say yes?

For me, for so long, I simply had no clue that NO was a complete sentence.

I always felt the need to explain my reasons for turning down invites, dates, events or whatever else I just didn’t feel up to going to. I would literally spend hours practicing my explanations to whoever I felt I owed them to. It took years of therapy and coaching from professional pattern breakers to push me over the guilt bridge and to JUST SAY NO just because… I recall my mom/teacher/soccer coach/dad telling me that “just because” wasn’t a reasonable answer, ever.

These days, I know so much better. There are so many things (especially pre-Pandemic) that I felt obligated to either participate in OR come up with amazing logical reasons not to. I wasn’t aware that I could say (and mean) things like “I am unavailable” OR “My energy is low and I need to recharge”.

I had a lot of thoughts on this topic the past few days as I geared up to prepare to meet a deadline for something I had committed to. I realized that this particular…