Michelle is a 29 year-old marketing genius. The word is circulating among the 355 employees of the firm where she works.
If you want something done well, give it to Michelle. If you need help with your own work, go to Michelle. She is fast, knowledgeable and she gets results. Most of all she is really nice.
But Michelle’s own projects are falling behind at the mercy of a multitude of requests from all parts of the company.
Wednesday morning.
Michelle has blocked off 2 hours to finish an important project for her boss. Today is the deadline.
Within the first 15 minutes:
Knock, Knock!
“Yes”
Door opens slightly, “Got a minute?”
“Yes, come in for a moment.”
Thirty minutes later the intruder leaves, and Michelle’s anxiety soars as she realizes she is far behind on her promise and will not be able to finish in time because she was too weak to say no.
She is annoyed at herself and the stress sends abnormal impulses to different parts of her brain. Her blood pressure is up, her cortisol is up and she is beginning to get the usual pains that signal the onset of an episode of her irritable bowel problems.
By the end of the day she is frazzled and the cytokines that the immune system uses to fight off disease, are nowhere to be found. Stress has eaten them up.
Three days after, Michelle is in the clinic with a vicious cold.
Her chest is tight. She has a voracious appetite for sugar and fat. Her body is inflamed and irregular impulses race from her midbrain down over the surface of her heart giving her palpitation.
The extra cortisol and adrenaline from frustration and stress push up her cholesterol and precipitate an attack of abdominal pain.
And as if that is not enough, Michelle is suffering from depression and suppression of neurons in her brain. She hates herself for not being able to stand up to other people.
After a 5-day absence she is back at work.
As is her habit, she blocks off two hours for her most important project. She has hardly got started when:
Knock, knock!
“Come in”.
“Got a minute?”
“NO”
The door closes and a wave of relaxation flows through Michelle’s body accompanied by a delightful sense of relief.
In two hours, Michelle is happy, cheerful, healthy and free of stress. She has finished her project and feels like a big weight has been lifted off her back, all because, during her illness, she discovered a little word … NO.
Do you have the courage to say no, or do you have to get sick first?