This is a YouTube video titled "The Art Of Saying No" containing a conversation recorded on November 14, 2020. The discussion features Ask AI Mark and another speaker exploring the challenges and importance of saying no with kindness and integrity, especially in balancing personal commitments and new opportunities.
You talk about saying no as a really important way of actually helping yourself. Often, when your heart says no and your mouth says yes, there's a huge cost to that for you personally. I think many of us struggle with that. We have to learn how to be in integrity, to be able to say no with love and kindness, but to really take care of ourselves. And I think that's, like I said, someone said saying no to someone else is saying yes to yourself. So how do you recommend people do that? Because I know it's a challenge for me. People are now even having more difficulties working from home and trying to balance school and work and many more things. So how do you get people to the polite and loving no?
Yeah. And I find that it's easier for East Coasters than West Coasters. I mean, we all come from a people-pleasing culture in America in general, but no very difficult word. We want people to like us. We want to help our friends. We want all those things. And, I would say that for me, the filter I put all of those questions through becomes my life garden. And so, once I visualize my life garden, how much water it takes to manifest all the things that I do. And, you do a lot. I do a lot. I mean, we're busy people. So, it's like I'm constantly watering a number of films and books. And, all these things take a lot of time, energy, and effort. And so when some new opportunity comes up, I look at all the things I've already said yes to real quick, including my wife, my kids, my fitness, even my dogs. I mean, I have so many things that take time during my day. And then I have to ask myself, what do I have to say no to to make this a yes? And if this thing is so important to supplant one of my former yeses, and stop watering it to allow for this to happen, then that's a conscious decision. And look, life brings new things and we have opportunities to go in directions, that's fine. But I have to make room somewhere else in my garden. And in keeping that visualization, it helps me from impulsively saying yes to everything.
