Who has not dealt with contractors or service providers who assure you that a certain job will be done on a certain day at a certain time?
You take time off, reshuffle your schedule or ask someone to be there for them.
No one shows up.
They set a new date, same thing happens.
It might be time to say no to another postponement and look for someone else.
At work you might be asked to contribute to birthday or retirement gifts for people you barely know.
Why can't you turn down the request?
On a personal level, some friends or family members might expect you to drop everything when they need something and it tends to be a one way thing.
Time to set limits.
Neither time nor money is unlimited.
Your health and sanity might be at risk.
So in all these instances, how do you say no nicely?
Real Simple in Thinking you are a bad person for saying no is a symptom of "the disease to please" offers a few sensible suggestions.
Samir Bharadwaj in Learn How to Say No Nicely (July 09) notes that it takes practice.
I used his Stop Icon as an illustration.