N is for No Thanks! (Primary)

The brainy bit!

Our bodies are amazing - they take us through our days, our lives, helping us bend, walk, run, dance! Yet, did you know that our bodies & our minds are connected in so many ways, more than we even Saying No can sometimes be super difficult! We may even find ourselves thinking no, no, no, no and actually saying yes! Our brains sometimes hear the word NO & freeze up we might feel disappointed, frustrated, angry even yet when we hear the word YES, our brains think more positively, are more open, creative

No, Maybe, No, Definitely Maybe, But NO

Sometimes when we say no, we think we’re being difficult, that our friends might like us less, we might even get told off for it! Sometimes when we say no, we actually want to say yes but we’re scared & make up an excuse! Being clear on what we want to say is all part of being resilient.

Fun things to practice

With practice, we can train our brains to know what to say and do, let’s take a look at some options:

1. Say no with kindness! Saying no to something because you really don’t want to or can’t do it, can seem harsh but we can soften it by being kind. Imagine yourself saying ‘thanks so much for asking, I just can’t do this right now’. You haven’t actually said the word no but you’ve got your message across kindly and gently!

2. You can leave the door open to something if you’re not quite ready! If you want to say yes but need more time, your no might sound something like ‘Thanks! I’d love to do this, I just need a bit more time to sort things out, can I come back to you?’ You’ve still said no without using the word no, you’ve bought yourself some more thinking time

3. Sometimes we just don’t know what to say! Is it a NO or is it a YES?!?!

If this happens to you a lot, take a moment

Feel your feet on the floor

Take a deep breath in - count to

Practise saying yes - how do you feel?

Practice saying no - how does this feel?

Sometimes our bodies and our minds just need a moment to get in touch with how we really feel. Giving ourselves some time, some space, can often let the answer make itself known to us. Sometimes this is called getting in touch with our intuition, our gut instinct.

And if this still doesn’t work, be honest & say ‘I really don’t know what to say at the moment!’

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The not-so-small small print

There is none! Simply return to this part of the website daily to get the next part of the practice.. No payment or subscription required. This is a resource we are sharing with all of you through the website and aiming to help our youngsters, in the various stages of their lives. This program contains information and practices that are aimed for two different age groups and we intend to mostly post the primary level information in the morning and the secondary level in the afternoon. Please leave us a comment and let us know how you are getting on or get in touch if you require additional support.

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