Evening Standard

Life coach Lily Silverton on the power of saying no

Source: Corbis via Getty Images

Dear Lily. I’m so worried about offending people that I’ve become a bit of a people pleaser. But I’m on the verge of burning out. How do I say no?

Dear reader, 

There’s a phenomenon in known as “Negativity Bias”, which in essence shows us that the responds more fiercely to a negative ­stimulus than a positive one. It’s only trying to keep us safe – from a survival standpoint, feeling and remembering painful encounters helps us better avoid them in the future.

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