Practice saying no.

 Practice saying no.

For just one

week, say “no” to every request

for a personal favor, unless it’s

of life-threatening importance.

When anyone asks you for a favor

(other than, of course, “Could you

please save my life?”), say no. This

will prove to you that the world

won’t end if you say no, and will

teach you on a visceral level that

your personal power belongs to

you and not others. If this sounds

terrifying, it’s probably the right

thing for you to try. You can do it

- it’s just one week!

“You never do anything right.”

“You’re just a waste of oxygen.”

“You’re ugly.” “You’ll never

accomplish that.” “You suck.” If

these statements would be mean

and abusive if you said them to

someone else, and if you wouldn’t

be okay with someone else saying

them to you, then why are you

okay with you saying them to you?

Each time you say mean or

negative things about yourself,

you decrease your personal power,

because some part of you believes

what you say. Treating yourself at

least as well as you’d treat anyone

else is a good first step toward

reclaiming that power.

It’s something that you can

learn and practice. There is no

gaping chasm between you

and any world-changer you

admire; you can do anything

they have done. Begin with a

bunch of little baby steps, and

you’ll get there.

Here are some of those baby steps