Learn to Say 'No'

A common cause of stress is having too much to do and too brief period in which to do it. And yet in this situation, many people will in any case agree to take on additional responsibility. Learning to say "No" to additional or unimportant requests will diminish your level of stress, and may also enable you to grow more fearlessness.

To learn to say "No", you have to understand why you think that its troublesome. Many people think that its hard to say "No" because they want to cause and are attempting to be decent and to be preferred. For others, it is a fear of conflict, dismissal or missed openings. Keep in mind that these barriers to saying "No" are all self-created.

You may feel reluctant to react to a request with a straight "No", at least at the outset. Instead think about some pre-prepared phrases to let other people down more tenderly. Practice saying phrases, for example,

"I am so sorry yet I can't commit to this as I have different priorities right now."

"Now isn't a decent time as I'm highly involved with something. Why not ask me again at… .

"I'd love to do this, yet … "