In episode 44 of the Energy of Money Podcast, titled "How to Handle Your Addiction to Saying Yes," Dr. Maria Nemeth explores the tendency many individuals have to constantly say "yes" to others' demands and requests. She delves into the underlying motivations and consequences of this addiction to pleasing others and offers practical strategies to break free from this pattern. Dr. Nemeth begins by emphasizing that saying "yes" excessively stems from a deep-seated desire to be liked, approved of, or needed by others. It often stems from a fear of rejection or a belief that one's worth is tied to their ability to fulfill others' expectations. However, she highlights that this addiction to saying "yes" can be detrimental to one's own well-being and can lead to burnout, resentment, and a lack of personal fulfillment.
No matter how hard you try, it's almost like the yes starts coming out of your mouth before you know what you're, you're saying. But what if we started to train ourselves to say yes, but saying yes to what? So if I love saying yes to, what can I say yes to? Let's say someone asks you to do something. To be on a board or a committee and they talk about it and it's so inviting and you wanna say yes, but instead of saying no to him or her, what if we paused the conversation and turn and focused on something else that we want to say yes to, which is more important than this other request.