Next week is Thanksgiving, and the season of weird requests begins.
“I’m bringing my friend along to Thanksgiving dinner. She doesn’t eat meat, milk, eggs, wheat, vegetables that begin with a “b,” or anything red or brown. You won’t mind, will you–cooking her a special meal?”
“You are going to his parents this year? We have a tradition that you always come here for Thanksgiving, but go ahead. We can eat alone.”
This is the time of year when you brush off your spine and develop the ability to say, “No.” Even better is saying “No” and meaning it.
Of course you want to be compassionate, friendly and helpful. But right at the 
edge of those characteristics is a boundary. And the boundary marker is “No.”
If you have trouble saying it, you can add, “I’d love to help, but . . .No.” You do not owe explanations past that one word. It takes strength and courage to say it, and I’ve failed many times. And each time I didn’t honor my boundary, I paid a price. Sometimes I overextend what I can do and regret it. Sometimes I cave and say Yes and then do a bad job, which is worse than saying No.
You do not have to say, “I need to spend a whole morning in bed, so I can’t bake six pies for you,” because the other person will not accept that as a good reason. So don’t give a reason. Simply stick to “I’m so sorry, but No.” The holidays will run a lot smoother. And you will feel a lot healthier.
—-Quinn McDonald knows the power of paying attention to your limits.
QuinnCreative 