Hi

A month before NOvember, I asked two questions:

1. If you said no more often, what would you want to free up?
2. What do you find most challenging about saying no?

Answers to 1 were evenly split between Energy and Time.

Question 2 gave multiple choice options which I've organised by popularity.

1. I don't like to disappoint people (or hurt their feelings) (81.6%)
2. I don't want to say no because I enjoy new experiences and opportunities (39.5%)
3. I'm worried it could affect my prospects or reputation
4. I'm not organised enough to say no
5. I can't afford to say no; I need the money
6. I don't want to say no because I love being busy
7. It is not possible for me to say no. I don't have the option to say no
8. I'm not sure how to, I just say yes because it's easiest (5.3%)

Almost everyone responding, 8 out of 10, say the most challenging thing about saying no is disappointing people.

This isn't surprising. As humans, in society, we lean towards reciprocity but as a behavioural tendency it can become extreme and lead to a life out of balance. We will explore some of this in the worksheet.

Download the Week 2 worksheet



Good luck with the work. Let me know how you're getting on.

Yours,

Bruce

PS: I like reciprocity. For example, I'm hoping that you've shared your Day Crafting Newsletter link with 3+ friends. You can copy the 'share' link below and post it to any social networks or lists you belong to. Have you spotted you get 'prizes' for doing so?