A people-pleaser's guide to saying no without guilt. Three practical scripts, one story about a boss who wouldn't take no, and why no is information, not rejection.
If you've ever said yes when every part of you wanted to say no, this episode is for you. Kathy opens Part 1 of the Building Your New Normal series with a personal story about a former boss who kept overriding her boundaries during one of the hardest seasons of her life, and what she learned about the difference between a reflexive yes and a real one.
Drawing on Kasia Urbaniak's concept of "the Smoosh" from her book Unbound, Kathy unpacks why saying no feels so loaded for high-achieving women who've spent a lifetime being agreeable enough to be liked and independent enough to be respected. She offers three practical "flavors" of no — the delay no, the clean no, and the relational no — that listeners can practice this week, plus this episode's twenty-seconds-of-insane-courage challenge.
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Until next time — keep investing in yourself. It is always, always worth it.
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