No, Nope, Nada, No Thanks

 

"It's a real skill to become comfortable with other people being uncomfortable."

- Caroline Kelso/Made Vibrant

I read the following quote from an email newsletter by fellow blogger, Caroline Kelso of Made Vibrant. Caroline was writing about the struggle she felt to make other people happy and the responsibility she felt to people. Her thoughts echoed some of the same fears that Ethan and Reese have expressed to me about saying NO.

Saying NO is a real skill especially when others may not be happy with your response. But I've come to learn that a person's reaction is more a reflection of them in that moment than of you and your NO. And their discomfort, be it unhappiness, disappointment or frustration is for them to manage and not for you to solve.

Having said that, I do believe there are some graces to saying NO. I searched around the internet and found various discussions that address NO's on the kid level and on adult level....There's always something to learn, take a read.

Let Your Kids Say NO. Teaching Assertive Language Skills with Lori Petro

Teaching Children Refusal Skills by Leah Davies, M. Ed.

Three Nice Ways to Say No

Zen Habits : 7 Simple Ways to Say No

How do you say NO? Share in the comments, please, inquiring minds want to know.