60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday: Take a Tip From a Toddler: Say No!
Stories From Women Who Walk · 2026-03-02 · 3 min
Episode notes
Hello to you listening in Auckland, New Zealand ! Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga. As the oldest of 7 children I learned early on the innate wisdom toddlers bring to the game of life. They know how to say No! And then the world shows them the error of their ways. We grow up saying Yes when we mean No! What changed? We were taught that saying Yes is right, good, proper, helpful even and saying No! is just plain wrong. The problem is the more we say Yes when we mean No we forget how to make choices in our own best interest and well-being. This self-sabotage robs us of our ability to choose wisely, of our personal power, of our legitimate right to say No! with certainty, confidence, and clarity. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with saying Yes so long as we agree with ourselves, are not limited in our options, feeling compelled, or thinking we will be rejected or worse. It takes practice to practice saying No! As you get better at it you will come to value saying what you mean and meaning what you say.