The Power of NO; The Power of YES

Image from: cheezburger.com/
We live in a hectic time. Many of you have a job (or two), a husband/wife, kids, activities for the kids, activities for work, housework, relatives and more. Then we have the technology that lets people contact us 24/7. So when do we have time for ME. When do we have time for our own exercise time, our own relax time, our own down time without the guilt. You don't have to get as mean as Spongebob above but....
This is where the "POWER OF NO" comes in! In order to be successful at your health & weight loss plan (& life too), you need to learn the power of NO! You can't be the end all for everyone out there. Yes, you can be there for them BUT you also have to be there for yourself. I learned this the hard way so believe me, I have been a person that did not take this advice myself. BUT, I can tell you that if you don't put yourself first when you need to, nobody else will do it for you!
As you get the endless requests to go out tonight/this weekend or come to this evening meeting or help out with some event coming up.... take stock of your own needs & wants. I am not saying to never help out BUT just to put yourself first at times so that you can accomplish what you need to do for yourself! We all know too much stress in life leads not only to an unhappy person BUT it also effects our ability to lose weight. It increases the cortisol in the body which can lead to weight/body fat gain, especially the belly fat/middle. SO, reduce the stress by SAYING NO TO SOME THINGS & DON'T TRY TO BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYBODY! YOU ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT!
Food..... JUST SAY NO! We all know about those "special occasions" & we just went through the holidays. Learn to say NO! Me, I don't care if somebody says to me 10 times, "go ahead & eat it cause just this one time is not going to hurt you" OR "you don't need to worry". How many times do you hear that in a week, a month??? If you go out to eat too much, you will hear that a lot! I make my own decision on when I do & do not want to splurge on a food & I do not let anyone else deter me!!!! YOU HAVE TO LEARN THIS! Saying NO to the food pushers!
Sabotage & friends/family: Unfortunately, some of our friends & family might not like that we are losing weight and getting healthy. We all have those friends that we could count on to go out and eat with us. Well, once you start to lose weight, that friend or friends may not like that & try to sabotage you. It is unfortunate but true. Family can do this too. At some point, you may have to say goodbye to certain friends that do not support your new healthy lifestyle. We may not be able to do that with family BUT we can set boundaries & learn to say NO to them & let them know they can either support you or say nothing. SAY NO TO ANYONE THAT TRIES TO SABOTAGE YOU. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH SUPPORTERS, NOT NAYSAYERS!
THE POWER OF YES! By saying no in the situations above & many more, you are saying YES TO YOU! That you are just as important! You are only going to be better for others if you take care of yourself!!! Check out MizFit on this! If you love yourself enough, you will learn to say no to make a better you! The power of YES to yourself. YES to making yourself better for you & therefore everyone around you!
Short story we can all relate to: A fellow blogger or two (or more) were saying that it is hard to read all the blogs you want to read & comment on them as well. I responded that I felt the same way. Sometimes I just feel stressed not getting to them all. I want to read them all BUT I also want to comment on them all cause they are so great. And then I do that & get nothing else done in my own life that needs to be done. Here is a perfect example we all can relate to. I am sure we all have been here & I think we need to learn to say NO at some point. It is not that we don't read them... but we may not be able to comment all the time. I am still working on this one!
What are feeling about wanting to get to all the great blogs out there?








Heh heh... I know this wasn't the major point of this post, but I had to comment anyhow.
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Wow! I'm tired... I never have so many mistakes in my comments. I meant:
...and let it slide if I get behind. I can always pick up again whenever I have time again and just hope that I haven't missed too much.
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266, I have done what you did too! I hit submit & forget to spell check. Not a pretty sight when I do it!
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Ive gone a bit wild with this too so far this short new year.
BOUNDARY CRAZY.
Drawing in sharpie.
loving every NOminute of it.
Im so worth it and so is my family.
xo xo,
Carla
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Yes you are worth it & your family too! You have learned the lesson well!
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Jody, I have eagerly been awaiting this post, and it lived up to the expectations. I admit, I have a lot of trouble saying "no". I want to do, be, and experience everything. Of course, that is impossible, so I have to prioritize. That doesn't mean that I don't struggle with it though. I do, every single day.
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Steve, I struggle with it too, every day just like you! I need to figure out how to prioritize & manage my time better. I am not good at that BUT I also have to, as one blogger put it, "just step away from the computer or else"! Like weight loss, the principle is easy but hard to do.
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Thank you for this post! What an awesome reminder! That is EXACTLY what I am trying to do for myself this year. And as far as getting around to all the blogs. I try but that is one thing I have to say NO to sometimes or I can't fit in the others!
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Jules, so glad you visited & liked this post! A good day to say yes to reading for you!
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"Yes, you can be there for them BUT you also have to be there for yourself" - Good for you Jody, that statement is something I realized very early on.
As I stated in my recent blog post on "creative writing" (http://bit.ly/8w7Ai4). I don't bend over backwards, I lend out a hand instead. There is BIG fucking difference
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FJ, thx! I like what you said about lending out a helping hand. I will check out your latest post after some snooze time!
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The power of no - it's like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets!
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I think they call it the terrible twos because that's when we first learn the power of no! Seems it easy to forget as we get older. Great advice, Jody! Let's call it our second childhood, as we relearn the power of no
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Dr. J, I am all for a second childhood but just the play times.. not those harder teen times!
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I'm so fortunate not to have serious food pushers in my life. Or maybe not so fortunate, depending on how you look at it. Last week my parents invited me to lunch and my mother asked if I had a "splurge pass" in the wings. When I replied that I did not, she chose a restaurant with a big salad bar and not much else I like.
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i've always been a "people pleaser" so saying no never seemed like an option. but i've learned that by saying no, i'm putting myself first for once in my life, instead of always trying to make others happy.
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You go Cher! Time for you!
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