SZ-Magazine: Ms. Radecki, many people find it difficult to say no. You too? I was accepted for the interview at least three hours and ten minutes after I wrote to you.
Monika Radecki: But I told you right away: only after my vacation.
When my colleague asked me to take on this topic, I briefly considered turning her down. My to-do list was pretty long.
You then agreed anyway. Why?
Good question. Probably because I didn’t want to disappoint my colleague. She would have had to find someone else to do the job first.
Can you see it. A first step in being able to say no is to pay close attention to the situations in which you tend to say yes unintentionally. We often shy away from saying no when we want to do someone a favor. We may fear that rejection will lead to consequences we don’t want. But are these consequences really imminent? And would they be as dramatic as you imagine? Would your colleague never have spoken to you again?