Can you say "No"?

[Nensii]

It’s in our nature to be socially obliging, and the word no feels like a confrontation that threatens a potential bond. But when we dole out an easy yes instead of a difficult no we tend to overcommit our time, energy and finances. You don’t have to waste time wavering over an excuse when you can learn to say "No" directly. I had a problem with saying "No" to people for a very long period of time. But not after I realized what is really important - to do things that will make you feel happy. If you don't want to do something because you don't like it, don't be afraid to say it. 

[acepaid001]

They say that the capacity to say "no", for no reason at all , is the measure of authentic freedom. Sometimes, we have the tendency to please other people in order to satisfy human conventions or rules of civility. There is no problem with being civil because that's actually being respectful. But there are times when we try to consider the good of others, more than our own, to a fault. We don't want to offend but end up being vague ourselves because our "yes" was actually a "no" and vice versa. I believe it's healthy, not just for ourselves but for others as well, to just give our "nays" or "ayes " when we feel like it and not for any other reasons. 

[conligus]

For me personally, it was really hard to say "no" to anyone. 

This started to change, when I got the job. There it was essential that you developed that skill, because otherwise you were basically eaten by co-workers. 

I would say that this is skill and as any other skill you need to practice to develop it. I would suggest that you start saying "no" first to some small things with small impact and then when you get confortable you will be able to say "no" also to all other things.

[JaneSt.Claire]

I think it is natural to be more obliging when we are younger.  I was the same way, but as I matured I learned that you cannot over extend yourself.  I had to teach myself when to say "No", and when to say "yes" to people.  Saying "no" still isn't always the easiest thing for me to do, but I do it.

[franco3113]

We all anticipate pressure for saying "no", due to the need to come up with an excuse. We realize we simply can't say "no", with no explanation to accompany it, most of the time. As an animal lover: I certainly find it hard to say "no", not just to my dog's needs, but his wants as well.

[Abid]

Its human nature - we want to be agreeable, we want to be liked, and we want to be kind.
Saying no is actually an art, to start saying no we need to practice it first.

We must ensure that we say no  to things that we are not supposed to be doing. We have to be polite while saying no and should provide a reason for saying no but we need not to elaborate it. If we justify our no too much then it may seem like we are lying.

Sometimes we fall in trap of saying yes just because others are saying yes. Before copying others we must think about the things that we are loosing - our time, money, health.... nothing comes for free.

The easiest way to say no is to pass the work to someone else who might want to perform it.