I Don’t Do Shit That I Don’t Wanna Do

When the average person gets asked to do something and they don’t want to do it, they decline with:

An Explanation: “That sounds great, but I have to blah-blah-blah so it wouldn’t work. Sorry!”

A Blatant — But Ultimately Believable — Lie: “I would, but I have to watch my daughter all afternoon.”

A Blow-Off: “I will definitely call you as soon as I’m back in town!” (You don’t hear from this person. Then you check their Facebook and see they’ve been back for a week and a half.)

If someone asks me to do something that I’m not interested in, here’s my response:

“No.”

The conversation is over. The stunned stopped-in-their-tracks silence/look this response generates is priceless and worth it for you to try at least once. I promise you will want to use it again and again.

It was about 2-3 years ago when I read a blog post (or may have been in a book) by I-don’t remember-who and they shared this very principle. I adopted it and my life has improved tangibly since. Anything I’m asked to do that I don’t want to do, I don’t do it. I tell people no, with no equivocation.

Of course we all have responsibilities. You may have some things in your day you hate but you have to do them. And that’s understandable. But take a look at those things: you made them that way and have only yourself to blame (kids who are living under the roofs/out of the wallets of their parents: this post is not directed at you. But it will be soon). Your job was your choice. Kids? You made them. Everything outside of actual human care-taking can be changed or altered to your liking, if you want that change bad enough.

Wouldn’t it be great to spend an entire day doing exactly what you wanted to be doing? Not just the weekend or a holiday, either. The chance is out there. Most likely, it starts with how often and easily you can say, “No” without flinching.

Written By Dre Baldwin