Yes to conversations I didn't want to have. Yes to being there for people who wouldn't be there for me. I thought saying no meant I was mean, or cold, or not a good friend. I thought if I didn't make myself available, people would leave. 😔

But you know what happened? I got exhausted. I got resentful. I started to hate people I once cared about, not because they did anything wrong, but because I had given so much of myself that I had nothing left. I was running on empty, and I was blaming them for it. That's not fair to them or to me. 💔

I'm learning that saying no isn't unkind. Saying no is actually more honest. When you say yes to something you don't want, you're lying. You're pretending to be someone you're not. And that's not a real friendship or real love. Real people can handle your no. Real people don't need you to destroy yourself to prove you care. 🙅‍♀️

I had this moment where someone asked me to do something, and I said no. And instead of losing the friendship, we actually became closer. Because I was finally being real. I was finally being myself. And that person got to know the real me instead of the exhausted version of me that says yes to everything. ✨

It's weird how saying no actually opens doors instead of closing them. It sets boundaries that actually help people understand who you really are. And the people worth keeping around? They get it. They respect it. They love you more because you're not disappearing into their needs. 💕

Why did it take me so long to understand that protecting my own peace isn't selfishness, it's self-respect?