Dear Maria Headley

Dear Maria Headley,
Really? Yes to everything?
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice idea.
I could probably use a little positivity in my life, but that’s where we define things a little differently.
Saying yes to everything doesn’t make you a positive person or happier.
It makes you a pushover.
Your boss asks you to stay late? You hafta say yes to that?
A guy at a bar asks you if you wanna go back to his place? You say yes?
It’s not like I’m pulling these examples out of nowhere. These are common occurrences.
It’s happened to me at least two times. And the last one? That’s happened more than I care to say.
I say no. I say not saying yes.
I say no to my boss. My time is just as valuable as anybody else’s.
I say no to the guy in the bar because I’d like to think I have more self-respect than that. Okay, well, I haven’t always said no to the last one… but you get the point.
“No” isn’t a dirty word. And “yes” isn’t a magic one.
So take your Oprah Book Club sticker and suck it.
Sincerely,
Calhoun