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Key Takeaways Professionals should gauge offers based on alignment with personal goals and values, rejecting misalignments guilt-free.
Prioritizing is crucial: Saying “not now” can be an effective method to manage a congested calendar and maintain focus.
Offering genuine well-wishes or constructive advice when saying no preserves relationships while safeguarding your own interests.
If you’re a busy professional leading a successful business or team, you probably get a lot of offers and invitations. The more successful we become, the more people tend to notice. This leads to increased bids for our time. Vendors, partners and peers become increasingly eager to get on our calendars and try to sell us things we don’t want or need.
Oftentimes, this interferes with our already perfectly laid plans and goals. If you’re in this situation, here are five things you can say (and do) when you’re being heckled — without the guilt or stress.
1. This doesn’t align with my goals or values
The people who proposition us are often more interested in their own goals than ours. Each week, I receive countless messages promising to help me find qualified leads, start a podcast or grow my business in a variety of ways. The problem is, I don’t currently have expansion goals — or goals to do any of those things.
Before you say yes to anyone or anything, ask yourself: “Does this align with my current goals or values?” If the answer is no, then you already know what you need to do, and there’s no harm in saying that the opportunity simply isn’t congruent with the pursuits that you’ve already committed to.
2. I have more important priorities
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