Are you stressed at work? Do you have trouble saying no? How can you best handle the pressure to meet your goals? And how can you learn to say no, overcome problems and maintain your physical and mental health? Check out the CBN Debate below with my full participation on the importance of knowing how to say no.
At the end, I will leave the audios of the debate…
Here are some excerpts from my talk about knowing how to say “NO”:
“Focus is knowing how to say no. The person who says ‘yes’ to everything is unfocused. Focus means saying ‘no’ to many things so you can concentrate on what really matters.”
“The biggest problem is not saying ‘no’, but giving up your priorities to meet secondary demands that arise all the time.”
Focusing on what really matters
“We can’t do everything, because our resources (time, energy, etc.) are limited. Therefore, we need to make intelligent use of these resources and, to do so, we must be clear about our priorities.”
“The big problem is that people in general don’t have this clarity and that’s why they waste their time on the wrong things.”
The illusion of productivity
“Movement is not progress. You can cross a series of tasks off your notebook and still get to the end of the day without having accomplished anything significant.”
“Want to increase your productivity? Instead of asking yourself what you should start doing, ask yourself what you should stop doing!”
“The secret is to make a proactive effort to eliminate everything that is unnecessary and is getting in the way so that you can focus on what is essential.”
“We have difficulty saying ‘no’ because of three barriers: a culture where ‘no’ is not well received by others, a more submissive personality structure and a lack of ability to say ‘no’.”
Dealing with stress
“Stress is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s like that old saying: ‘the difference between medicine and poison is the dosage.’”
“The total absence of stress is negative, as it creates complacency. Stress, in good measure, is essential for our growth.”
“Fatigue results from intense effort. Stress results from pointless effort.”
“We can solve fatigue by resting. Stress can only be solved by making structural changes, whether in our attitudes, habits or decisions.”
“What’s wrong with a woman choosing to be a full-time mother if that’s what fulfills her? Likewise, what’s wrong with a woman deciding not to be a mother to focus on her career? Or even wanting to balance the two. There’s no right or wrong. It depends on what SHE wants.”
Definition of Success
“My definition of success is a combination of three things: an individual’s ability to achieve excellence in themselves, to transform their life into what they have always dreamed of, and to contribute in a meaningful way to the world around them.”
“This is my definition of success, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have YOUR definition of success clear. Only then can you know what you are pursuing in your life.”