Have you ever been told you are too picky?  Or are in the alternative, do you find yourself overwhelmed with saying “Yes” to often?        This article will not only explain why you should say yes to less, but you will find more successful you become, the more you should eliminate things from your life, stop doing some activities, and say no to tens of seemingly tempting opportunities daily. Why? Because you want to stay sane and actually have enough time and focus for the things that are the most important to you and truly deserve your attention and efforts.

Start Saying No More Often 

If you want peace of mind but also to be action-oriented and constantly move forward in the right direction, you’ll have to let go of the ‘say yes to everything’ mindset. And start saying no instead.

For starters:

• you’ll be removing people from your life instead of making new friends all the time, you just don’t have enough time for that;
• you’ll stop doing some of the things you’ve always been doing because they don’t give you the desired result and your time is better spent on other things;
• you’ll be selective when it comes to consuming information too. You don’t want to be overwhelmed, so you’ll be reading only so much daily/weekly and only by respected sources. You’ll stop watching meaningless videos, will unsubscribe from all newsletters, will stop checking out the news (and dare I say it including social media) all the time, and focus on your most important tasks for the day instead;
• other people will hear you say no to them more often than usual and may even get offended.
• constantly review your life goals and daily schedule and ask yourself the following questions:

1. What’s the 20% that gives me 80% of the results and what can I do to eliminate the rest?
2. Remove in your life what does not give you pleasure and or does not get you closer to your goals.

• practice daily planning with planning your day the night before.  Put at the top of your list the 3 most important tasks and tackle them first.

When You Should Say Yes

So when should you say yes, then?

Derek Sivers explains it best in this article: “If I feel anything less than, “Wow! That would be amazing! Absolutely! Hell yeah!” – then my answer is no.

To make this decision easier for you, ask yourself does saying “yes” to this person or request contribute to your bottom line spiritually, mentally, physically, financially or emotionally?  If the answer is “no” then you have your answer.

Now that you know that, sit down and do some brainstorming. Take your time and list your top priorities in every area of life, then see which area matters to you more than the rest.  The key is elimination so what is left is only what truly matters. Put that list in a visible place, go through it daily so that you never forget what’s truly important in your life. And so that you don’t get lost, confused, overwhelmed or worst stuck living out other persons lives, desires and priorities.

Saying yes to less means you’re living your life with intention, one day at a time, constantly doing things that improve you and are the right choice, making time only for what’s necessary and gives you result.

This is an amazing way to live life, and something few have chosen to do.

If you ever feel bad about saying “No” keep in mind some pretty successful people out there are saying no every minute (smile).

So what’s the takeaway?  It’s okay to be picky.  Be picky with your money, time, energy and especially the people you surround yourself with.