The Art of Saying No

Can I say 'No' to someone? Will it be okay if I say No...Ohh its rude if I say ‘No’! What will others think if I say No!
Have you ever faced this scenario? Honestly, all of us do it at some point of life or rather let me take the liberty of saying we do it every day, and may be every time. What is the thought process – Does the dilemma of our inner conscience always wins with strong opinions for not supporting ‘No’ as an answer or is it that saying ‘No’ is a taboo that projects a non social behavior. I always had a hard time saying ‘No’ , possibly because in my head the image of ‘Yes’ is better and more convenient while ‘No’ is negative, stubborn and selfish. Yes pulls a nice self image, with a question free zone and makes me look good even though the side effects of saying yes may be questionable. No matter how easy it is to say Yes, hard times demand for hard decisions and when there is no choice you tend to choose the hard option which in my case was saying – NO. It was spontaneous, and came with a relief. A relief of nothingness, a relief of free self image, a relief of making the right choice and not overcommitting. Saying No was the easiest thing. As easy as saying Yes. It made me also realize that like Yes, No is also a complete answer. All the reasoning I had was for myself and no one other  The key lies is in maintaining the poise and appreciating that its okay to say No. No is not a sign of arrogance, but of respect. A respect of humility of not overcommitting. In some places, a No may be acceptance to our inabilities. Be a child, accept you don’t know something and be open to learn. Saying No may be key to new doors that lead to freedom.