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The Boston Globe: "A Harvard professor argues that the secret to a better Boston -- and a better nation -- is to learn the creative power of rejection"
5 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I am really glad I read this article. I have this problem a lot, and I know many of my friends do as well, especially in this program. Learning to say no is really important, and it was brought to my attention that I didn’t say enough of it about two years ago. Since then I have been trying to find a good balance between saying no when I need to, but still doing enough work to a.) keep busy and b.) not let others think you are lazy or unmotivated….I’m still working on it.
I agree with Alana, it is a huge challenge that most of us are struggling to overcome. I know I rarely say no to things, which is why I tend to be stressed and confused. However, I am clearly working on only biting off what I can chew and going from there.
I think the managers in this program should have a class related to this. We all became a manager because we love to work with a lot of people. But sometimes it really does take a toll on us for being "abused" by the love of working. I think the problem of always saying yes comes when you 1) underestimate the load of work that you'll have, 2) have to do it becuase the director of the show is brother of the production manager that you worked for, or something. This is a really interesting trait of this industry. The connection with people may be the opening door that you start in the business, but also can be the closing door for ending your carrer (figuratively saying).
This article, I think, can really help to remedy a lot of the problems that we have in our department in terms of over-working and taking on too much for the time and energy that you have. The stigma of saying no is very true and I feel that the right verbalization of "no" is a great start to fixing problems before they come up. It really goes well with the "dare to be stupid" idea, it can lead to conversations that may not otherwise have happened.
If you just can't say no it just causes more problems because the odds are so good that you're not gonna care about what it is. Don't be afraid, just say it.
5 comments:
I am really glad I read this article. I have this problem a lot, and I know many of my friends do as well, especially in this program. Learning to say no is really important, and it was brought to my attention that I didn’t say enough of it about two years ago. Since then I have been trying to find a good balance between saying no when I need to, but still doing enough work to a.) keep busy and b.) not let others think you are lazy or unmotivated….I’m still working on it.
I agree with Alana, it is a huge challenge that most of us are struggling to overcome. I know I rarely say no to things, which is why I tend to be stressed and confused. However, I am clearly working on only biting off what I can chew and going from there.
I think the managers in this program should have a class related to this. We all became a manager because we love to work with a lot of people. But sometimes it really does take a toll on us for being "abused" by the love of working. I think the problem of always saying yes comes when you 1) underestimate the load of work that you'll have, 2) have to do it becuase the director of the show is brother of the production manager that you worked for, or something. This is a really interesting trait of this industry. The connection with people may be the opening door that you start in the business, but also can be the closing door for ending your carrer (figuratively saying).
This article, I think, can really help to remedy a lot of the problems that we have in our department in terms of over-working and taking on too much for the time and energy that you have. The stigma of saying no is very true and I feel that the right verbalization of "no" is a great start to fixing problems before they come up. It really goes well with the "dare to be stupid" idea, it can lead to conversations that may not otherwise have happened.
If you just can't say no it just causes more problems because the odds are so good that you're not gonna care about what it is. Don't be afraid, just say it.
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