taking no for an answer

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: taking no for an answer 🙅 

you’ve probably heard, “no means no” from your parents as a kid when you didn’t listen to them and kept begging for a toy at the store.

well, that wasn’t a childhood-exclusive rule — no does in fact still mean no as an adult. 🤨 

there’s a difference between encouraging or convincing a friend to do something versus pressuring them into it and disregarding their discomfort. it all comes down to communicating and respecting others’ boundaries.

when someone firmly says no, take it as exactly that. people don’t need a justification for saying no or feeling uncomfortable. we’re allowed to say no, and other people should respect that.

i’ve already written a post on learning how to say no here. learning how to take no as an answer is a completely different story. it’s not a personal dig when somebody says no to hanging out. accept that they’re probably busy or tired.

honestly, maybe that person really doesn’t enjoy hanging out together — that’s a harsh reality that’s even rougher to come to terms with it. 😬 realistically, not everybody is going to enjoy our company, and that’s okay. there are people that do enjoy spending time together, so focus on nurturing those friendships instead of pushing one beyond boundaries, only serving to widen that distance in a human connection.

no is a valid answer! 🤷‍♀️ 

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