Are you always sure what you say "yes" to or could there be better?

[homesteadmamma]

Recently I was asked to be on the board for the library as a trustee. I was on the advistor board to get the library started and really enjoyed going door to door to get a petition signed to take to our town counsellors. So I didn't hesitate when they asked if I would like to be a trustee because I so wanted to make sure the library opened.

However its become a royal pain. It's come down to deciding what furniture is going to be put in the library, where the shelves are going to go, varnishing shelves, meetings and more meetings. Its come down to piddelly little things like whether a volunteer cleaned a roller brush right, etc. etc.

I'm now looking at whether I should have said yes or just volunteered in areas that I felt were more important. I'll sit as trustee until my term runs out, however I won't do it a second time.

Have you ever said "yes" and wish you had said "no" after you've done so? Do you feel you could have said "yes" to more important areas.

Thats what simple living is all about. Learning to say "no" so you can say "yes" in areas that you can do better in. I've learnt to say no in many areas and now I know I should have said no to this one too.

[Kimberlina]

I definitely say no, probably more than I should. There are also times, though, when I say yes and then wish I hadn't.

I'm a member of the local promotional association (for our village) and the guy who runs the thing (who doesn't even live here??? got to get the story behind that) is a bit pushy. I agreed to make bread for a bake sale, and he needed pies. So I ended up making bread and pies and cookies and something else. AND I WANTED to make things for the library, so I did. (Though none of the money ended up going to the library- it ended up going to Katrina victims, which is fine with me.)

My point is, I would have liked to make more for the library and not had to monkey with the darn pies for the promo association. I should have just told Paul I would make him the bread and left it at that. (Especially since then I had to walk from my house to the court house with bread, cakes, pies, and muffins, I think. Not an easy feat, let me tell you.)

[missmollymayhem]

I have a VERY hard time saying no to anything..... and people seem to KNOW that. I always get asked to do things and it seems that the "asker" already knows I'll say yes. I get upset with myself sometimes because I haven't figured out a nice way to "just say no"

[homesteadmamma]

The easiest way to say no is to say "no, not at this time". After a few times, people begin to leave you alone (more or less). We really don't even need an excuse to say no.