Moving Beyond NO

It’s pretty much a given that most of us don’t handle hearing the word, “No” very well. We don’t like being stopped along the way of our chosen path. Sometimes, the word, and the emotion behind it, downright stings.

One of the most powerful words in any language is the word that means, “No.” It is typically used to stop something, whether it is an action (a small child about to touch a hot burner on the stove) or a conversation. Often, it’s one of the first words children learn to speak. Research has shown that our negative vocabulary is significantly larger than our positive vocabulary.

Many adults can’t handle hearing it, and as a result of their fear of “No,” they limit themselves in just about every way possible. How many times have you wanted to talk to someone, but decided not to do it because they might respond negatively? How many jobs have you not tried for because you feared they wouldn’t hire you? How many times have you kept yourself from growing because you believed you might fail?

These self-created limits are the result of the fear of rejection – fear of that little word, “No.”

But there are no real successes without rejection. Ask anyone, who has ever succeeded in life, how many times they failed, how many times someone said, “No way” to them, and how many times they kept right on going. You see, the more rejection you encounter, the stronger you will become – if you are on the road to success. You look at setbacks as temporary and you bounce back every time you take a negative hit.

So, the next time you run into that great big roadblock known as, “No,” ask yourself: “What can I learn from this?” You will move further forward if you can refrain from telling yourself that you can’t learn anything, and that it’s time to quit.