The art of saying no

Our generation has mastered the art of overbooking ourselves. 

We fill our calendars with work, classes, plans and side projects until there’s barely room to breathe. 

I catch myself doing it all the time, saying yes to things I don’t actually have time for, just because I don’t want to disappoint anyone or miss out.

It’s almost like being busy has become a default setting and slowing down feels like breaking some unspoken rule. 

Saying no sounds simple, but for a lot of us, including me, it sounds impossible.

We’ve grown up in a culture that glorifies busyness, where a full calendar feels like proof that we’re doing something right. 

When looking on social media, it feels like everyone is doing something and it makes me feel that I should be doing something too. 

The problem is, constantly saying yes eventually catches up with you.

Trust me, I would know. 

When you say yes to everything, you start to lose sight of what actually matters and end up focusing more on just having plans than on what’s truly important to you. 

It’s like we’re stuck in this cycle of wanting to do it all even when we know we can’t. 

For me, it came to a point where I was saying yes to five different things just to figure out which plans I’ll actually show up for, but the truth is we are never supposed to do that much in the first place. 

I would get anxious just thinking about the list of activities I had throughout the day, waiting for the time I would finally get home.

I was never happy because I was more focused on how much I was doing instead of doing what I loved. 

If I have learned anything in college as someone who is constantly busy, with a google calendar that may shock some is that once you start saying no, things start to feel lighter. 

Your days don’t feel as rushed, you finally have the space to relax and actually enjoy what you do. 

Trust me, it is not an easy task to say no to someone you want to spend time with, but it is always better to have intentional time than just to rush to make it to your next appointment. 

I’ve learned that saying no doesn’t need to sound harsh and majority of the time it doesn’t feel like that at all.

It can be as simple as saying “I would love to, but I just can’t this week.”

It’s about giving yourself permission to rest without feeling guilty. 

The more I practice it, the easier it gets and the more I realize people respect honest boundaries. 

Saying no doesn’t mean you’re missing out, it means you’re making room for the things that actually matter to you and that is the true art of saying no.