Having Trouble Saying No?

Written by Claudia and David Arp, MSW

If you have trouble saying no, you have trouble! Let’s look at the perils of over- commitment and how to avoid them.

We don’t know about you, but we’re both activists and it’s hard to say no. Then we get over-committed and find ourselves fatigued and stressed. It’s especially hard to say no to people who need our services. But we’re learning. Just this week we were asked to take on another commitment — and we said, “Not this time.”

Over-commitment is an enemy of strong marriages. It’s amazing that so many sensible and reasonable people become involved with so many other activities that they become strangers to the people they love. People who are over-committed continue to take more customers or clients, more committee work, more administrative responsibilities, more moonlights, more classes — you get the picture!

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Stop and take a serious look at your lifestyle. Are you over-committed? If the answer to that questions is yes, decide to start saying no before the enemy – over-commitment – eliminates you. Believe it or not, this is one battle you can win!