It’s Ok to say no!

How often do you get asked for a favor? How about someone who wants to borrow money or something else from you? How about someone who wants to constantly talk about virtually nothing and waste a lot of your time?

I am sure you can think of a number of times that you maybe wished you would have said no. Well guess what? It is OK to say No. We all need to have boundaries.

Wikipedia defines personal boundaries as guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify for him- or herself what are reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave around him or her and how he or she will respond when someone steps outside those limits.

‘Personal boundaries define you as an individual. They are statements of what you will or won’t do, what you like and don’t like…how close someone can get to you’.

Now please don’t get me wrong. There are many times you will want to help someone or loan something or take some time and genuinely show somebody some compassion. That’s great. What I am suggesting in this post is to not allow yourself to get pushed, pulled, taken for granted or whatever outside of your personal boundaries. If you are starting to feel a little stressed over a relationship or an obligation, it may be time to back off or tell someone to back off.

And that is OK. It really is. Give yourself permission to do that. Draw your line in the sand and don’t cross it. And don’t let anyone else cross it. You will be amazed at the freedom you will feel when you do.

You don’t have to feel guilty and you don’t have to feel like you are being selfish. Some people will not understand. Some may even accuse you of being selfish. Let them think what they want. Just know that in your heart, you set a boundary and you are free.