The full version of this article was first published at: Why you should start saying “no”
Saying “no” is a valuable tool when you are an entrepreneur and business owner. A good friend of mine, Robert Harrion, who survived an arduous battle with cancer, relayed a lesson he learned through his courageous battle. You must say no to the things that do not align with your life purpose. If you do not have a life purpose explicitly defined, find one. When you look back on your life, I am sure there have been moments that you have regretted saying yes to something when you should have said no. I bet you had a gut feeling that it was the wrong decision. Here are four reasons why you should stop saying yes to everything. It’s the best way to manage your energy. Managing our energy is as important as managing our time (see an entire post about this here). A fundamental limitation of every human is the need to recover energy that has been exhausted. If we do not, our bodies and mind will eventually break down. Using your energy on tasks that you should have said no to will divert your energy from tasks that are most important to you. I highly recommend reading “The Power of Full Engagement” by James E. Loehr for more on this subject. It will provide you with more opportunities. This might seem counter-intuitive at first, but it’s not. When we say yes to the things that don’t align with our goals and aspirations, we’re saying no to potential future opportunities…
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