I'm one of those who failed to see the asterisk mark! I seldom said "No" in my life... This may come across as a very positive point, but it is actually the exact opposite!
Why did I never say "No"; - fear of hurting people, fear of not getting something right if someone else does it, fear of not being acknowledged, to please the other person, to help the other person, to clear disputes, to get it over with, blah blah... the reasons are so many, but it all comes to the fact that I never mastered the art of saying "No"..
Yes it is an art! A very important one... If you don't learn to say No, you will be taken for granted and expected to do whatever it is that you did, and more; sadly with negligible appreciation.
I remember my friend Jayashree telling me about this movie called "27 dresses". She said she saw me in the lead character's role instead of the actress. She asked me to watch the movie, so that I can understand what I do from a third person's perspective just to make sure I can learn to say "no"...
It never really occurred to me that it was such a big deal before... and when I did realize it, it dawned upon me that I've lost a great deal of myself while doing things for others. But its hard to give up the habit overnight... It been a year or more I've ventured into the path of saying "No" and I still have a long way to go...For those similar to me, start it already.. better late than never :)
It's not about what you can do, it's about what you want to do!
P.S: I had a similar post in my older abandoned blog... Just felt like writing a better version here.
