The Greatest Word in the English Language

I had dinner last night with a friend of mine and we ended up talking for a couple of hours. We talked about the basic stuff (work, family, friends) and then got into some deeper topics (faith, love, life, happiness). As we spoke, he asked me what my biggest weakness is. Without even thinking, I told him that I have so much trouble saying, "No." As I said that, he smiled and nodded and said that he was my age when he finally understood the power of that word (he's 39 now). He continued by saying that "no" is the most liberating word in the human language.

As we spoke a little bit more, he explained that through the word "no," we find out who we're really important to, who cares about us, who genuinely understands us, and who our true friends are. He said that if someone becomes angry or upset with you for saying no, they assume that your time is less valuable than theirs. This conversation really resonated with me because I thought about it all night and all day at work.

Who's to say that their time is more precious/valuable than mine? Although I love doing things for other people, I really need to start doing things for me. When requests come my way that interfere with personal plans, I need to learn to say no. I have a right to say no. I have a right to be happy. I have a right to do what I feel like my time should be used for. I have that right. Why should I be expected to compromise that right?

Going forward, I am going to attempt to do things for myself. I am going to work towards happiness and I'm going to try to not be taken advantage of. I don't mean that I don't want to give to others and I'm not saying that I don't want to help others anymore. All I am saying is that I need to do things for me and begin to enjoy life a little bit more.

Once I know how people react to my saying "no," I will know who truly cares about my best interest and my well-being. I don't want people to think they can't rely on me. That's not the purpose of this post. I just want people to understand that I can't be everyone's everything. Once that is understood, I feel like I will be much better off.