Today’s Mandala Message: Say Yes When You Mean Yes
This week I’m working through Principles #42 and #43 from Jack Canfield’s “The Success Principles” entitled “Just Say No!” and “Say No to the Good so That you Can Say Yes to the Great” respectively. I set my intention today to ponder how I’ve often said yes when I really wanted to say no. Canfield states: “To be successful in achieving your goals and creating your desired lifestyle, you will have to get good at saying no to all of the people and distractions that would otherwise devour you.”
I used to have a major problem with saying no. Thoughts of guilt and not being liked if I did, made me often say yes…only to have to suffer through it later or worse have to back out of it which made it much worse than if I had just said no in the first place. I now know that people would much rather hear no to begin with rather than the deal with the disappointment of me reneging later.
I’ve learned to take a moment to process the request or the distraction before replying by asking such self-reflecting questions as: do I truly want to do this, am I able to do this, or do I have the time to do this? I still find myself feeling bad on occasion for saying no, especially if it’s for someone I care about; but in short order I quickly become grateful for taking care of myself by saying no.
A good mindfulness practice would be monitor how often you say yes when you really want to say no.
So how about you? Do you tend to say yes when you really want to say no? Do you feel guilty about saying no? Are you afraid to hurt their feelings by saying no?
“One key
— Bill Crawford
to successful relationships
is learning to say no
without guilt,
so that you can say yes
without resentment.”
Blessings,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
All Things Mandalas
An Invitation
I invite you to color along with me this year as part of what I’m calling “The Year of Self-Exploration and Expansion” with all of my “Mandalas of the ___” (day, week, month, year). If you’re interested in more of a self-exploration approach to coloring, check out my “Coloring Mandalas as Meditation”. You can download this mandala at MandalaoftheWeek.com.
Mandala of the Day 