Many people will tell you, “In order to fight overcommitment syndrome, people have to learn how to say no.” But remember this: What will lead to more and more people accepting your "no" at face value is when you develop a reputation and build a track record for saying no at the right times, for the right reasons.

A good no, well decided at the right time, is a huge favor to everybody. It saves everybody a lot of time and trouble down the road, when yes is going to turn out to have been a mistake. People will remember.

There’s nothing quite like a no executed at the right time. No is all about opportunity cost, freeing up opportunity for good yeses: shutting down or delaying something to make room for something else.

Every good no makes room for a better yes.

Yes should mark the beginning of a collaboration—the next steps in a working relationship. Yes should mean that a well-formed ask was made and carefully considered. Yes should mean we are about to embark on a good idea together.

But so often yes is sloppy. It’s handled haphazardly, or comes in an offhand way—“Yes, of course!”—without a full understanding of........

© Psychology Today