Don’t say Yes anymore.
How often do you say Yes?
Well, saying yes may sound much more positive.
Especially when a new year begins, your energy is high, you’re excited and will be more likely saying “Yes” to just about anything that comes your way.
It’s very easy to say yes, even to things that don’t align with your priorities and goals.
But…
You can’t possibly say Yes to everything.
Soon, you will have to pay the price of massive distraction, overwhelm and endless obligations.
That said, I’d like to propose adopting a simple idea by Derek Sivers: saying yes to less.
If it’s not a ‘Hell, Yeah!’… it’s a NO!
Saying “no” to almost everything so you can say “yes” to few things that matter most, things that will truly bring you closer to your goals.
For a healthier, happier and more fulfilling 2024, learn to set your priorities, stop unnecessarily pleasing others and say “no” without feeling guilty.
Here’s a list of 30 things you should say “no” for a happier life.
Read on to see what things that are not-so-important to you, work towards removing noise and conflict from your life.
Related reading:
- 100 Rules for Being a Maverick in Life & Business
- How to Win your Mornings and Win your Life
- 27 Proven ways to earn Amazon Gift Cards every month (#19 is my favorite)
- This is How I Quit my Job and Work from Home Full-Time
How to Live Your Best Life in 2024
Self
1. Comparing yourself to others
You won’t get any better by comparing yourself to the people succeeding.
Don’t get stuck in the vicious cycle, spend time on improving your skills, knowledge and abilities.
“Don’t compare your chapter 1 to someone else’s chapter 20.”
Action: Spend the same amount of energy trying to be the best version of yourself and improving yourself everyday, that you currently use comparing yourself with people around you.
2. Saying bad things about yourself
“I can’t do it”, “I’m so stupid”, “I’m so fat”….These are all negative thoughts that don’t do you any good.
Say “no” to this negative thought loop.
Be positive.
Instead of indulging in self-pity and negative self-talk, shift your focus, change your inner conversation and focus on solution.
“Don’t be a victim of negative self-talk, remember you’re listening.”
3. Being Passive
To get what you want out of life, you need to actively work to make it happen. You can simply just set your goals and sit around, hoping miracles will happen.
Be proactive.
4. Complaining
Stop complaining about things that you can’t control. Be thankful for what you have.
“If you don’t like something, change it.
If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
Don’t complain.”
5. Focusing on the past
Make peace with your past and focus on moving forward.
“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, what matters is what you choose to do from here.”
6. Always want to impress others
Although many of us are not aware of it, humans are constantly seeking for meaning, praise and recognition for their achievements.
But to truly living the life that you want, you should start making conscious decisions.
Asking yourself whether you’re doing it for yourself, or just doing it for the sake of impressing others.
“Being true to yourself is better than a liar just to impress everyone.”
7. Perfection
Perfectionism leads to procrastination, which leads to paralysis.
Humans are imperfect creatures.
You don’t succeed because you’re perfect.
You succeed because you acknowledged your weakness, choose to focus on your strengths and making one small change at a time, that’ll get you closer to achieve your goal over time.
8. Overthinking
Find your balance between thinking and doing. If you spend too much thinking, you’ll never get it done.
9. Resist Change
Change is painful. But to grow and evolve as a person, we have to be flexible to change with the ever-changing.
“Life happens. Adapt. Embrace change and make the most of everything that comes your way.”
10. Take things too seriously
Stop sweating the small stuff. Always look at the big picture.
Will it matter even matter tomorrow, one month or one year later?
“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.”
~Elbert Hubbard
11. Instant gratification
Living in the Age of instant gratification, we can easily satisfy our urges and be tempted by delicious food, fancy car, online shopping, overseas trips etc.
But to achieve long-term success, we should be more mindful, make deliberate choices.
Don’t become a slave to your desires.
“The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term, is the indispensable prerequisite for success.”
~ Brian Tracy
12. Pretending
Choose to be hated for your authenticity rather than being loved for your mask.
Habits
13. Watching TV
You should reduce the hours spent sitting in front of the TV. It just provides a short-term escape from reality which doesn’t help in improving your life.
“Every single hour of television watched after the age of 25 reduces the viewer’s life expectancy by 21.8 minutes.”
British Journal of Sports Medicine.
14. Reading News
Reading news doesn’t make you smarter or better-informed.
Most of what you read in the news is BS.
It doesn’t help you understand what’s really going on in the world.
It sensationalizes.
It alters your emotion and perhaps affects your behavior.
Time is better spent on reading a good book, either fiction or non-fiction.
“If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed.”
~Mark Twain
15. Social media
Disable all notifications and alerts. You might even want to consider deleting addicting apps such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter from your mobile phone.
Rather than relying on your willpower, make use of software like Freedom or Self Control to block the Internet temporarily so you can focus on what really matters during your productive hours.
“Less scrolling, more living.”
16. Check email first thing in the morning
I used to check my email and go through messages as soon as I get up. It’s a big NO! It kills productivity.
Once you open your inbox, all the new information and messages will flood your mind and you’ll get distracted.
Instead of focusing on what really matters, you will give away your attention and most productive hour to meet other people’s needs.
Health
17. Unhealthy food
Health is wealth. Avoid eating processed, unnatural foods with artificial chemicals.
“Nature is so smart, it put the medicine inside the food.”
18. Skipping meals
We need a balanced diet to get all nutrients for the body to function optimally. Don’t try to lose weight by skipping a meal, especially breakfast.
The key to good health is to eat better food, not less.
“Skipping a meal> Body in starvation mode> Overeating in next meal> Weight gain.”
19. Sacrifice sleep
Your brain never stops working.
While you sleep, your brain is actively doing its work- processing information, sorting memories and solving problems.
To perform at your highest level, you need to have a decent night’s sleep. Researches show that adults need an average of 7-9 hours for the brain to do its work.
20. Skip exercising
Everyone knows that exercise regularly is good for mind and body.
If you find it hard to get moving, try to do 5-minute plank workout one or two times a week.
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live in.”
Relationships
21. Toxic People
You become the person you hang out with.
Spend time with those who energize, inspire or challenge you. They’ll bring out the best quality in you.
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” ~Jim Rohn
22. Talking Shit About People
Judgments are negative. Gossiping is poisonous. Comparing to others is never, ever good. So stop putting negativity to the universe.
“Great minds discuss ideas.
Average minds discuss events.
Small minds discuss people.”
~Eleanor Roosevelt.
Work
23. Focus on results
Learn to focus on the process more than outcomes.
Focusing too much on the results will lead to you getting impatient, complaining and giving up altogether. Why not change your approach and focus on a journey you enjoy while working towards what you want.
“Set goals not for the outcome itself, but for who you get to become in the process.”
~ Jim Rohn
24. Motivation
Stop looking for external motivation. Start developing a strong habit of self-discipline and focus on making progress every day.
“You will never always be motivated. You have to learn to be disciplined.”
25. Sitting all day
Instead of sitting in front of your laptop all day, try standing up intermittently while you work.
26. Mundane routine
Don’t fall trap to this mindless repetition and called it life! You only live once. Do things that you like while you still can.
Try something new. Take a different route to work. Travel to somewhere you’ve never been before.
“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”
27. Never taking time off
Don’t push too hard on yourself.
Learn to listen to your body. Don’t be afraid to slow down or take rest.
Working yourself to the bone isn’t an effective way to run your business or your life.
“Take a rest. A field that has rested gives a beautiful crop.”~ Ovid
Others
28. Single-use plastic
Single-use things like plastic bags, coffee cups, straws and water bottles are everywhere. They offer convenience but at a cost.
Reduce plastic pollution. Choose reusable alternative in your everyday life.
“It’s just one straw, it’s just one disposable cup, it’s just one plastic bag” ~ 7.4 billion people.
29. Cluttered environment
Take some time to de-clutter, physically, virtually and mentally.
Start with your computer, your room and your workspace.
“Clutter is not just physical stuff. It’s old ideas, toxic relationship and bad habits. Clutter is anything that doesn’t support your better self.”
~ Eleanor Brown
30. Buy things that you don’t need/ can’t afford
Less is more. Less is better.
The truth is we don’t buy things, but rather we buy how things make us feel.
To impress others, to keep up the Joneses, to make us feel better about ourselves.
“We don’t buy things with money. We buy them with hours from our lives.” ~ Joshua Becker
Conclusion
Let today mark a new beginning for you in 2024.
Saying YES as well as saying NO to the right stuff is a skill that everyone has to master.
Give yourself permission to say NO without having to explain yourself.
By saying NO, you’ll create room in your life. Have some time for important things.
Say “Hell, Yeah!” to these- the people you love, the things you enjoy doing and the life you truly want to live.
These are just 30 things to say NO to in 2024.
I hope these ideas will inspire you to create your own list and start implementing it right away.
What do you want to say NO to for a happier and simpler life in 2024?
What other things did I miss?
Go on and let me know in the comments below.
We’d love to hear from you.
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