The Power of Saying No: Setting Boundaries for Well-Being

(light music) Headspace Studio. Hello, it's Eve here. Welcome to a brand new week and to Radio Headspace. I hope you had a lovely weekend and were able to get some downtime. I was meant to meet up with a friend recently that I hadn't seen for a while, but unfortunately on the day we were supposed to meet, I woke up with a cold. I felt so bad and even contemplated still going because I really wanted to see her, but she messaged and actually said she was thankful I'd canceled because she was feeling really tired and exhausted and this gave her an excuse to actually get some rest. We often don't think that the person we're saying no to may also benefit from it as well. The problem with always saying yes is that we often take on or agree to weigh more than we have the energy for. I'm what I sometimes refer to as a recovering people pleaser, so saying no does not come naturally to me. But we're going to explore some ways to build boundaries and practice saying no, so that you can strengthen that muscle. We often equate saying no with this idea that it's selfish or wrong, and that by saying "no" we are letting someone down or we are even being rude. And when it comes to saying no at work, one of the biggest fears is often around looking lazy, uncooperative, or even a fear of being replaced. But the reality is, is that people who set boundaries are often seen as the most professional and respected. And being an effective leader actually means saying no to a lot of things. It truly is a skill, and it's not just about saying no to the things you don't want to do. What it is about is developing those skillful boundaries and protecting your energy so that you can carry out work, spend time with friends and family, doing hobbies without feeling completely burnt out and exhausted. So let's practice some scenarios together that can ease you into setting boundaries. So if saying no off the bat feels too difficult, you could take the "not right now" approach. So say, a more senior person on your team comes to you and asks for help on something. Instead of saying no, you could try saying something like, "I'd love to help, but I'm currently focused on a different priority. Can we revisit this later?" Or, "I want to make sure I do a great job on this. So could we look at a timeline that works for both of us?" This way you're not denying the request but are showing some assertiveness and that you care about doing a good job. One of the best bosses I've ever had would ask me each week in our one-to-one about how my time was being split and if I was over capacity. This meant she had great visibility into what I was working...