Why Saying No is Essential? - Minimalist and Frugalist

When you're a minimalist, there's one little word that most people have a hard time using. It's no. But why is saying no essential to minimalism?

Table of Contents

Recommended products

The example of the film “Yes man”

For those who have already watched the movie “Yes Man”, ultimately the movie gives the illusion that yes is the solution to everything.

In fact, during the film, when the actor said no to everything, he was sad and led a monotonous life. Until one day he was forced to say yes to everything, and his life became joyful and active.

This movie is a comedy. And in my opinion, in real life, saying no is much more effective than saying “yes to everything”.

Yes, a problem magnet

Imagine if you had to say yes to everything? What a disaster!🤭

For example:

A salesperson calls you for a lifetime loan? Yes!
A stranger asking you for $5,000? Of course!
A stranger offers to jump off a bridge? Yes
Your child asks if they can burn down your house? Yes, but under certain conditions.

👉 In reality, Saying yes to everything brings us a lot of problems. And no one likes to get into trouble. To avoid that, there is one essential word to say. No!

Learn to say NO!

according to an article¹ , 41% French people have a hard time saying no!

A few years ago. I too had a hard time saying no to people's proposals. There was a mixture of shyness, kindness and fear of disappointing.

👉 But I eventually understood that saying no means refusing what doesn't interest me. In reality, we don't say no to annoy others. We say no to set boundaries.

In reality, after all, if someone doesn't like my no. That's their problem, not mine.

Not saying no means accepting that our lives are in control.

The people we spend the most time with. It doesn't matter what the social relationship is. Whether it's a mother, a boss, a friend or a neighbor. They make choices based on their experiences. And end up influencing our lives. Sometimes, in an indirect way.

These people who influence us. They sometimes have good intentions and sometimes not. But in all cases, there is an important aspect to understand!

👉 We ourselves must set a limit for what is essential for us. And not others!

⚠️ In reality, too often, we accept the limits of others. But we forget to make our limits understood to others. !

And as a result, without setting boundaries, we automatically live according to the boundaries of others. As a result, we are rarely happy with other people's boundaries.

👉 To sum up, without no, we have no self-determination😐

NO to some aspects is YES to others!

I'm sharing an example I had in my previous job that helped me understand the importance of no!

One day I came to my manager and said:

“I’m not good at some parts of my job, but I’m good at others. Can we switch some of the tasks around?”

In fact, in his employer's head. He translated what I said:

"You are paying me for work I am not good at. Wouldn't you rather pay me for work I am good at?

Then we agreed that I would spend more time on more essential work tasks for me. And actually, we both won 😊

Me, because I worked more often in a field that I liked (that's why I was good).
Him, because he has a more productive and motivated employee. With the same salary.

👉 In addition, I later realized that the tasks I refused reduced my stress at work.

That makes sense!

We are more stressed when we do tasks we don't like. On the contrary, when we like our work, our tolerance to stress is higher.

👉 This example is perfect to understand that refusing certain aspects automatically means devoting time and energy to other aspects that are more important to us. 😊

NO to some aspects is YES to others – Leisure

⚠️ Note that this example does not focus only on employment. But also on leisure. For example:

Saying no to a date means saying yes to having more free time for yourself.

Refusing to spend time with acquaintances means having more time to spend with loved ones.

Refusing to clutter your home with stuff means less cleaning (and therefore more free time)

To sum up, if you know how to say no, your schedule will be freer and less stressful! Favoring the essential!

The NO also has a financial impact!

In this blog we also have a frugalist spirit.

👉 No, that is, to refuse. This is essential in the financial impact! For example:

Refusing to go to a bar every day means increasing savings rate

Refusing to have a sports car means reducing car-related expenses

Changing insurance to save money means having more money to invest

🔺In reality, knowing how to refuse is one of the bases of frugality and minimalism 😉

Conclusion

Accepting everything is not being frugalist or minimalist. In fact, accepting everything is often a recipe for trouble.

Therefore, knowing how to say no has a lot of benefits. For example:

Setting Boundaries for Others (And Yourself)
Self-determination
Reject uninteresting offers
Avoiding certain stresses
Opening doors to more advantageous and personal proposals
Better management of your schedule

In conclusion, saying no is essential to living a balanced, happy and personal life. 😉

Subscribe for the latest news

You have a frugalist or minimalist project and you want a training? Click ”here”.

My pages

Lastest Post

How does this blog live?

Overall, this blog lives on sharing a frugal and minimalist lifestyle.

For a question of transparency towards the readers. All recommended products are in order to make life cheaper, simpler and to promote the essentials.

Basically, my only income with this blog comes:

Trainings that I realize
Promo codes for the products I use
Donations that readers make in exchange for neutral information.

About me

I decided to create this blog to develop and help readers who are looking for a simpler and more economical life.

Compared to before, I was a person who consumed a lot until the day I realized that my consumption made me sadder and poorer 😑

Now I prefer the minimum of my needs to be happy and achieve my financial freedom.

Without realizingI started to focus on saving and investing to depend on a boss for as little time as possible and to speed up my personal projects.

For several years I have felt happy and I have become richer in a way that I would never have imagined given that I have an average salary in Switzerland.

It is for this purpose that I decided to create this blog. In order to share and learn with other people who seek freedom and simplicity 😉

Are you rather minimalist or frugal Jonny?

I am as minimalist as I am frugalist. However, there are situations where I lean more towards an art of life.

To conclude, I think the most important thing is to feel comfortable in your lifestyle 😊

Minimalism and Frugalism

Your basket (items: 0)

Why is Saying No Essential?