No.

No. I said no yesterday. No to a good thing. No to an important thing. No to something I’ve done several times before. My “no” caused disappointment to the voice on the other end of the line. Maybe it was even discouragement I heard. How many other people said no? But I still said no. Sometimes no is a good thing to say even when it doesn’t feel like it. Even when you are disappointing someone.

I could have said yes. I could have added that responsibility to my life. It was not a huge responsibility. It probably would not have taken lots of time. However, I know things the other person doesn’t know. I know that my life is busy transporting four other people to and from their jobs and to and from their activities. I know that I have two jobs. I know that the week she was asking me to add something else I have a paper due in my master’s class, and I am in charge of a big event that weekend. And one more thing in my life would overflow the jar.

What jar you ask? Each of us has a limited amount of time – 24 hours a day, 7 days in a week. It’s limited, like a jar. When the jar is full, there is no more room for anything else. When the jar is full, stress is the end result because for sure something will happen that takes time and pushes something else out of the jar.

I have a tendency to second-guess my no’s. This is one of those times. Maybe I should have said yes. But then I remember the other good and important things that are already scheduled that week. No was the right answer this time. Not every time, but this time.

Do you ever say no? How do you decide when you should say no and when you should say yes?