Will you say no when others request you too much?

China
June 10, 2008 1:20am CST
When people request too much of me, I have a hard time telling them no without killing the relationship.Yet if I say yes to everything, I only hinder my productivity with work overload. Learn to say no is a situation many of us face. People give their requests to us and we aren't able to say no because of fear that saying no will ruin our relationship with them. Eventually that makes us feel overwhelmed. Of course it doesn't mean that you should be selfish and not help others. What I mean is you shouldn't help others in a way that will harm yourself. Learning to say no is essential to reserve your mental energy and be productive. Do you have tips or thoughts about it? Feel free to share them in the comments!
4 responses
@nee919 (22)
• China
10 Jun 08
I will choose according to my condition. If I have time and do not influence too much, I will try my best to help the one who requests me for help. I think that if you agree to someone, you should do the things best. If I'm busy with something I will say No and give him/her the reason. I think most reasonable people will understand. Unself-conscious people are not that many. Enjoy yourself!
• China
10 Jun 08
I think your decision on how to reply is rational. You must be a person of great principle. yes, do best if it is agreed or do not by saying no directly! Have a nice day!
• Philippines
10 Jun 08
If you can lose friends by saying "No", they're not real friends, are they? Why should their friendship depend on whether or not you can perform? Have you ever thought about the conditional quality of your relationship with these so-called friends of yours? Friends remain friends through thick and thin, it's supposed to be a give-and-take relationship. When it boils down to " we remain friends for as long as you keep doing this for me" obviously, some of them are just using you and you don't even suspect it. Then again maybe, they are not even aware that you are trying to keep them in the relationship by doing them favors, that is why you are now swamped with every request, whim and "can you do this for me?" Saying No is an exercise of your will to remain sane and effective at the same time. No one should have to put up with so many errands for other people. I assume you and your friends are all aduls so teach them independence by letting them live their own lives. Lose the "friends" who are only around for what you can do for them by saying no. You will know your real friends when they are mature enough to stay when you do say No.
@manu619 (450)
• India
10 Jun 08
Itz better tio say yes.. Or withdraw yourself by saying any good reason. no a plum reason..
• China
10 Jun 08
Thanks for your response! But sometimes you can't bear if you say yes. Saying yes should be within your ability to help them. Also I think a friend need to be self-conscious. Have a nice day!
• China
10 Jun 08
Hi,yes it is hard to most of us to say no to our friends when they request,in me,but I say no when they request too much,that I can not bear.or afford to,you know,we can not do everthing for them,we just say what we should say,That it is.
• China
10 Jun 08
thanks for your response. What you said is quite correct! I think we should learn to say No to these unreasonable requests from others. Also I think a person should learn to be self-conscious if he/she demands too much of others. I think it is better to lose a friend like this than to say yes unwillingly! Have a nice day!