A friend invites me to a meeting, even though I am tired? I go. A colleague asks me to help with a task at the last minute? I take it. Even if everything inside was screaming: 'Enough!', I smiled and said 'yes'. It seemed to me that refusal was rude, that people would turn away if I was not convenient. But one day I broke down.

It was an ordinary evening. I was sitting over the work that I took on at someone's request, although my day was already scheduled. My phone was ringing off the hook with messages, and I realized: I was not living my life. That was the first time I said 'no'. A friend invited me for a walk, and I answered: 'Sorry, I can't today, I want to rest'. She was surprised, but she accepted. And you know what? The world did not collapse.

From that day on, I began to learn to refuse. At first, it was scary - what if they think I am selfish? But the more often I did it, the easier it became. I realized: 'no' is not about anger or indifference, but about respect for yourself. People who love me accepted it. And those who were angry just left - and I'm happy.

Now I have time for myself: I read books, walk alone, drink coffee without rushing. My energy no longer leaks into the void. Saying 'no' is like setting boundaries beyond which my life begins. And I'm happy that I finally found it