The Luxury of Saying No

How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?

Free for use under the Pixabay Content License. Image Credit: aitoff

Something that a lot of people don’t want to talk about is what a luxury saying “no” is. As long as we’re living in a capitalist society that forces us to exchange our minds, bodies, souls, and time for money in order to live and pay for basic necessities, then saying “no” will always be a luxury for people that are living paycheck to paycheck.

Now, that aside, whenever I’m able to do so, I love saying “no”. Do I want to go out and spend my valuable time with people I don’t like? “No.” Do I want to engage with people whose sole purpose is to steal my energy and my time? “No.” Do I choose to have people in my life who don’t treat me the way I treat them? “No.”

Do I want to go out and spend my valuable time with people I don’t like? “No.” Do I want to engage with people whose sole purpose is to steal my energy and my time? “No.” Do I choose to have people in my life who don’t treat me the way I treat them? “No.”

Say “no” when you can, and say it as often as possible. The older I get, and I’m inching closer and closer to 30, the more I realize how precious our time on this planet is. The days sometimes seem endless but the years fly past like dandelion seeds on the wind. Here and then gone, in the blink of an eye. The people you love grow old, and then die. You go from being young and healthy (if you’re lucky) to telling a complete stranger in Walgreens about your eczema (true story).

You go from being young and healthy (if you’re lucky) to telling a complete stranger in Walgreens about your eczema (true story).

Yeah, we have to do a lot of crappy things to stay alive. You have to eat and swallow 💩 from your boss who you hate and smile and simper at coworkers you’d sooner push down a ravine. You have to feed the machine. But when the machine is done with you, and you’re lucky enough to have anything left, then what you do with the rest is up to you. It’s my goal and purpose moving forward to only spend my time in ways that bring me joy and enrich my life, and enjoy as many precious moments with my loved ones as I can. I wish the same for you.

Thanks as always for being a faithful reader of The Voracious Bibliophile. If you like what you see, please like, comment, follow, and subscribe to my email list to get notified of new posts as soon as they drop. You can also email me at fred.slusher@thevoraciousbibliophile.com or catch me on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest @voraciousbiblog. Keep reading the world, one page (or pixel) at a time.

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