Refusal Skills

Learning to say no seems like a really good skill. I wonder how good each of you are at telling people no. Being able to say no to people in a way that still respects them is called being assertive. Sometimes people need to say no, and sometimes we have to even tell ourselves no. We do this every time we make a choice. A choice, or a decision, requires that we say yes to one thing, and no to something else.

In the Textbook, it tells us that this skill is called a Refusal Skill. As you are learning about yourself and what you want in your life, getting better at refusal skills will be very beneficial to you. Throughout your life, these refusal skills can turn into leadership skills as you use them to help protect your values and beliefs, and to be able to voice your opinion on various issues.

It can be very scary to voice your opinion, especially in bigger groups of people. It brings up a lot of emotions, which causes stress, and as you know, sometimes people freeze in those situations and end up not speaking up. I encourage you to think about that as you do today's journal topic.

Today's Journal Topic:
Describe a time you have had an opportunity to use refusal skills. Did you tell the person or people no, or did you not speak your mind? What was the result? Did they listen to you? What feelings did you have as you spoke up? Were your afraid, or did you feel more confident? Maybe your feelings changed as you started speaking, and even though your confidence was low at first, as  you started speaking, you gained more courage. Be as descriptive as you can about the situation.