Since we were little children we are discouraged from using the word “no”. The word has this negativity it brings with it. Our parents tell us not to say it, we are afraid to say no to friends afraid they will not like us anymore. In school when we are drowning in school work we cannot just say no to a teacher when they give us another assignment. We just suffer and push through it.

But now we are in the working world. The real world. To be honest, the real world has more rules and restrictions than ever. My 10pm bedtime is a strict rule that is rarely broken. We now work in offices that have a chain of people in charge of us. Sometimes even my fellow employees who have been there longer have more say in what I do even though we may have the same title. My job title as an Administrator means I work for a lot of people in an office. From mail duty, logging in checks and finances, ordering supplies from Staples, etc.

People stop by my desk often and throw something onto my desk. I do the graphics and advertising fir the office so I have to switch from my creative mind making posters to logging in 40+ checks from donations received that day.

So when I was given a task that was outside of my job description I simply said no. Well, I said no in a very nice way. After a few minutes of going back and forth the other person backed down once they realized I was not going to go out of my way to get their work done. They wanted something done a certain way, and I was not going to volunteer or take time out of my workday to get it done. At first I thought I would get in trouble or feel bad after saying no. But that was not the case. I felt strong and powerful. This job is teaching me a lot, but I didn’t realize I would learn what I was capable of.

I think we should all make an effort to say no more often. It is a scary word at first, but it finally gives us some control of our lives. I encourage everyone to say NO more often. We can get our work done but just because we start at the bottom does not mean we are a doormat and people can walk all over us.