Saying no can be a positive

0 Comments | USA TODAY, April, 2006 | by Judy Mandell

Some people seem to have little difficulty saying no -- like bosses refusing a bigger raise or actors who won't give interviews unless they have a new movie to promote.

"The rest of us," notes social psychologist Susan Newman, "have difficulty saying no to our children, no to relationships that aren't working, no to our bosses or to the friend who wants to borrow our brand-new car."

As the pace of society quickens, Newman says, there is an epidemic of yes-people, people who try to please everyone. "It often seems easier to say yes or slide along with the status quo," says Newman, author of The Book of NO: 250 Ways to Say It -- and Mean It and Stop People-Pleasing Forever (McGraw-Hill). "In the long run, it isn't."

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