?You need to learn how to say no,? my colleague said, patting me on the arm. I?d just given her a lengthy apology for declining her invitation to a business lunch, because, as I explained, I felt I just had too much on my plate as a small business owner and the parent of two young kids.
For years, ?just say no? was the advice I heard over and over again, whether I was grappling with professional challenges or the juggling act of parenthood. Even though the advice often seemed to come with a subtext?say no to everybody else, so that you can say yes to me?I never doubted its wisdom. After all, I?d spent far too many hours in pointless meetings, or making last-minute Hallowe?en costumes, or working overtime on some project proposal, all the time thinking, why did I agree to this"
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7 positive alternatives to "No"!But saying no is never easy, especially for women. We?re trained to make other people happy, or afraid of looking selfish, or worried that if we pass up on one opportunity, nothing else will come along in its place.  Even if we end up exhausted and resentful, that can still feel less frightening than uttering that powerful and most precious of two-letter words: NO.
It took a major life crisis for me to see that ...