41 Things You Should Say "No" To For A Happier 2019

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41 Things You Should Say “No” to for a

Happier 2019
Danny Forest Follow
Dec 21 · 6 min read
A lot of people think happiness is about saying “yes” to the right stu . Well,
that’s one side of a coin. There are many things we say “yes” to that we really
should be saying “no” to.
For a happier 2019, try saying “no” to the following things:
Personality
1. Mediocrity
You’re almost always better than you think you are.
“I’d rather choke on greatness than nibble on mediocracy”—

boldomatic.com
2. Procrastination
Stop thinking, start doing.
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear
never beginning to live.”— Marcus Aurelius
3. Talking Shit About Yourself

Be positive. Don’t seek loathing, seek improvement.
“Just remember; someone loves everything you hate about

yoursel ”— Frank Ocean
4. Sel shness
Be a giver. Be happier.
“Sel sh people end up having only their self.”—

lovequotesmessages.com
5. Perfection
Don’t waste time on perfection. Great is good enough.
“Perfection is the enemy of progress.”— Winston Churchill
6. Excuses
Ask why three times and you’ll know the real reason.
“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who

have the habit of making excuses”— George Washington
Carver
7. Always Comparing To Others

Spend time on self-improvement over fascination over competitors.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.”— Theodore Roosevelt
8. Impulsive Decisions
Think deeper.
“Impulsiveness is the enemy of deep thinking”—

askideas.com
. . .
Health & Sleep

9. Unhealthy Food
The more you eat healthy, the tastier the food gets.
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live
in.”— quotesofdaily.com
10. Skipping A Meal

Your brain needs all the good nutrients it can get to function optimally. Eat
better, not less.
“Skipping meal -> Starvation -> Over-eating ->

Weight Gain.”
11. Taking The Car

The grocery store is 15 minutes walk away? Walk to it!
“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to

walk very far.”— Thomas Je erson
12. The Snooze Button

Be so focused on achieving your goals and set tight deadlines and you won’t
ever think about snoozing anymore!
“You Snooze, You Lose”— smart people
13. Partying Every Night

Enjoy a party, but don’t forget your goals, and resting of course!
“Everything in moderation, including moderation.”—

Oscar Wilde
14. Stimulants Before Bed

Don’t get in the way of a good sleep.
“Sleep is the best meditation”— Dalai Lama
. . .
Productivity
15. Long Commute
Waste as little time as possible on non-productive activities.
“If you have to commute, read or listen to a book, or a

podcast.”
16. Distractions
When comes time to be productive. Shut any distractions down.
“You can’t do big things if you’re distracted by small things”

— picturequotes.com
17. Blockers Of Personal Progress

Bad friend? Block. Net ix? Block. Video Games? Block. Unblock when comes
time to unwind.
“I hate watching an episode a week, I’m more of a season a

day kinda person.”— pinterest.ca
18. Reading Things You Don’t Enjoy

Seriously. You don’t have to nish everything you start! The author won’t
know. Stop reading shit things, there’s too much great stu out there!
“Life is too short to read a bad book.”— James Joyce
19. Completing Useless Things

Plan things. Organize priorities. Do the ones that matter.
“Nothing is less productive than to make more e cient

what should not be done at all.”— Peter Drucker
20. Planning Things That Don’t Need Planning

Planning is great and all, but don’t forget to execute!
“Just do it!”— Nike
. . .
Relationships
21. Takers
Say “yes” to givers. Give yourself.
“Know the di erence between those who stay to feed the

soil and those who come to grab the fruit.”— pinterest.com
22. Social Media

Uninstall the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram apps from your phone. BAM! I
gave you back an hour of your day!
“Never before has a generation so diligently recorded

themselves accomplishing so little.”— pinterest.ca
23. Talking Shit About Others

Always be honest. Don’t be a hater.
“Don’t do unto others what you don’t want others to do

unto you.”— unknown
24. Listening To Complaints About Others

Gossiping is poisonous. Avoid people who spread it.
“Who gossips to you will gossip of you”— Turkish Proverb
25. Naysayers
If someone doesn’t have time for you, don’t nd time for them. Relationships Top highlight
are mutual.
“Naysayers have little power over us — unless we give it to

them.”— Arianna Hu ngton
. . .
Work-Life Balance
26. Bad Routines
Don’t get stuck in a non-productive routine. You can change things around.
“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too
heavy to be broken.”— Warren Bu ett
27. Meetings Without An Agenda

These tend to last too long and have no focus. No sense of direction. Avoid
them.
“Disorganization can scarcely fail to result in e ciency.”—

Dwight Eisenhower
28. Overly Long Team Meetings

Bring people back on track or leave. Seems rude, but in the long run, people
will thank you for it.
“Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing.”— Miles Davis
29. Bad Clients

To hell with the good money. If a client is not good to you, focus your energy
on the good clients.
“It is better to starve than get a bad client.”—

Massimo Vignelli
30. Good
Say “yes” to great.
“Good is the enemy of great”— Jim Collins
31. Cluttered Environment

Have a clean workspace, both physically, mentally and on your computer.
“Clutter is anything that doesn’t support your better self.”—

Eleanor Brown
32. Responding To Messages Ad-hoc

As much as possible set blocks of times to answer messages.
“Emails get reaction. Phone calls start conversations.”—

Simon Sinek
33. Doing Life Stu At Work

Give your full attention to your work, it won’t go unnoticed.
“You can always nd a distraction if you’re looking for one.”

— Tom Kite
34. Doing Work Stu At Home

Give you full attention to your family, it won’t go unnoticed.
“When you work, work. When you play, play. Don’t mix the
two.”— Jim Rohn
35. Doing Things You Can Delegate

Find your superpower, delegate the stu that’s outside of it.
“As much as you need a strong personality to build a

business from scratch, you must also understand the art of
delegation.”— Richard Branson
36. A Bad Business Partner

Communication is key. Work things out or walk away.
“I can’t control your behavior; nor do I want that burden…

but I will not apologize for refusing to be disrespected, to
be lied to, or to be mistreated. I have standards; step up or
step out.”— Steve Maraboli
. . .
Other
37. Your TV And Couch
Make your environment uncomfortable so you can focus on the things that
matter.
“I’ve made it to the couch. There’s no stopping me now!”—

coolfunnyquotes.com
38. Waiting For Things You Don’t Need To

Co ee machine? A tra c light when there are other options? A le upload?
Just do something else!
“You can’t recycle wasted time.”
39. Things That Don’t Work Towards Your Goals

Question the things you do. Better yet, question it before you start it.
“If it’s not a Hell Yeah!, it’s a no”— Derek Sivers
40. Comparing Apples To Oranges

Don’t waste time comparing things that don’t compare. It’s it’s quanti ed or
quali ed using a di erent set of attributes, it’s not the same thing!
“Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world. If you do

so, you are insulting yourself.”— Bill Gates
41. Your Cellphone

Top productive people set their phones on Airplane mode for most of the
day.For me, it has become a brick of sorts.
“Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also

be the biggest party pooper of our lives. It interrupts our
own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or a
daydream, to imagine something wonderful, because we’re
too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria back to the
o ce on the cell phone.”— Steven Spielberg
. . .
Conclusion
Feel like saying “no” now?
You can start right away! Reading this article on your cellphone? Just toss it!
Learning to say “no” is a skill. Practice it. Master it. Say “no” to the right things
in 2019 and you’ll be happier for it.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading, sharing and following! :)
This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest

entrepreneurship publication followed by +401,714 people.
Subscribe to receive our top stories here.
Productivity Self Improvement Life Lessons Personal Development Inspiration
6.6K claps 32
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Responses
Write a response…
Applause from Danny Forest (author)
Michelle Matthews
This deserves a million claps! Thanks for the list, everyone needs a reminder
once and again.
84
Cheboi Cheboi
“When you work, work. When you play, play. Don’t mix the two.” — Jim Rohn
I needed this reminder seriously!!!! Thanks for this list!!
65
George J. Ziogas
#42. Learning to say “No”…
The power of “No!”
I love what one of my mentors says,
“The world doesn’t need your explanation on saying ‘No’…I don’t give
explanations anymore…I just say, ‘I can’t do it. I hope everything is well’”…
Thanks on a great piece Danny Forest.
61
Arin Basu
… Just when I thought listicles are crap, comes a cracker of one. You take the
prize of the best listicle!
80
Shibhu Kumaar
Some of the items on your list I de nitely needed to read from another
person. Gave me a validation of sorts to my personal conclusion on some
matters.
53
Manjunath Rajamanickam
What an exhaustive list! Particularly say no to car if the trip is less than 15
minutes is a good one, to avoid unnecessary lifestyle diseases!
93
Brian Pennie
SUPER list Danny
56
Kashif Choudhury
Fantastic. Loved the Derek Sivers quote.
I actually follow it.
“It’s either Hell Ya, or no”.
Everything in between is mediocrity :)
54
JD
Excellent work Danny!
50
Eleni Pirgionas
41 Things You Should Say “No” to for a Happier 2019
Love this article. Thanks for inspiring me
50
meena Ram
Learning to say “no” is a skill. Practice it. Master it. Say “no” to the right
things in 2019 and you’ll be happier for it.
Thanks for great article with beautiful quotes. What a great way to start
2019:)
Enjoyed reading each word in your article and wishing you and everyone a
happier 2019:)
Whoever reading this will de nitely get inspired and take steps to make our
journey more happier and beautiful:)
50
Carlo Vincetti
I will say you hit it pretty well on all of these, but one.
I may have more groceries than I can carry.
ty
50c
50
Isaac VanDyne
“Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing.” — Miles Davis
Straight up genius. True with regard to both music and life.
50
bri asch
thank u for this
50
Yulia Semenova
That’s the great list, thanks for sharing!
Can I also add some things to say “No” to in 2019?
1) Waste (food, water).
2) Single-use things (bags, co ee cups, tableware).
3) Overconsumption (less is better).
50
Tradebearings For Bearing Enquiry,Bearing Products

That’s the great list, thanks for sharing!
50
Freda Boone Wright

Excellent…. My goals for 2019. Thank you for this brutally honest opinion
and list. I enjoy being a part of this group, and nd so much encouragement
and energy from it.
50
Bartek Białkowski
I love the fact, that sometimes only few words in right place can change way
you understand life.
Great post with greater quotes, thank you Dude!
50
Mary Holden
Thanks for turning NO ON for me…and us!
50
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HOME EDITOR'S CHOICE WRITE FOR US GET SMARTER AT BUILDING STARTUPS

41 Things You Should Say “No” to for a

For a happier 2019, try saying “no” to the following things:

“I’d rather choke on greatness than nibble on mediocracy”—

3. Talking Shit About Yourself

“Just remember; someone loves everything you hate about

“Sel sh people end up having only their self.”—

“Perfection is the enemy of progress.”— Winston Churchill

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who

7. Always Comparing To Others

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”— Theodore Roosevelt

“Impulsiveness is the enemy of deep thinking”—

Health & Sleep

10. Skipping A Meal

“Skipping meal -> Starvation -> Over-eating ->

11. Taking The Car

“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to

12. The Snooze Button

“You Snooze, You Lose”— smart people

13. Partying Every Night

“Everything in moderation, including moderation.”—

14. Stimulants Before Bed

“Sleep is the best meditation”— Dalai Lama

“If you have to commute, read or listen to a book, or a

“You can’t do big things if you’re distracted by small things”

17. Blockers Of Personal Progress

“I hate watching an episode a week, I’m more of a season a

18. Reading Things You Don’t Enjoy

“Life is too short to read a bad book.”— James Joyce

19. Completing Useless Things

“Nothing is less productive than to make more e cient

20. Planning Things That Don’t Need Planning

“Just do it!”— Nike

“Know the di erence between those who stay to feed the

22. Social Media

“Never before has a generation so diligently recorded

23. Talking Shit About Others

“Don’t do unto others what you don’t want others to do

24. Listening To Complaints About Others

“Who gossips to you will gossip of you”— Turkish Proverb

“Naysayers have little power over us — unless we give it to

27. Meetings Without An Agenda

“Disorganization can scarcely fail to result in e ciency.”—

28. Overly Long Team Meetings

29. Bad Clients

“It is better to starve than get a bad client.”—

“Good is the enemy of great”— Jim Collins

31. Cluttered Environment

“Clutter is anything that doesn’t support your better self.”—

32. Responding To Messages Ad-hoc

“Emails get reaction. Phone calls start conversations.”—

33. Doing Life Stu At Work

“You can always nd a distraction if you’re looking for one.”

34. Doing Work Stu At Home

35. Doing Things You Can Delegate

“As much as you need a strong personality to build a