Stop saying "yes"

If your life is overfilled with commitments and you are feeling tired and overworked, you may have issues with saying "yes" and "no" in inapropriate times. Many intelligent people feel guilty when they are not busy, this can be a product of living in a society that encourages filling in every spare moment of your day with 'tasks'.

It can be difficult to say "no" when you don't have something specifically planned - the person asking often places pressure on you by saying "but you're not doing anything". The underlying message here is that your time - just for you - is not that important. If you don't value yourself, then you are more likely to feel guilty for saying "no" and then resent the fact that you're only giving in to appease this guilt.

The take home message - is that you HAVE to make YOU an important and valuable part of your life, otherwise how can you expect others to value you? If you need some time to yourself, it's OK to say 'I'd be happy to help another time, but at the moment I need some time to relax'. By nurturing yourself you help others because you are in a clearer frame of mind and can approach 'dificult' people in a more calm and rational manner.