With fear of rejection from other people as one of my greatest anxiety drivers, I can relate a lot.
One of my favorite learnings about the topic recently though is that saying "yes", "maybe" or even just staying silent is effectively the same as saying "no", just in other dimensions: and vice versa.
Saying no to nuclear means saying yes to coal.
Saying yes to doing something I don't like because I don't want to offend someone also means saying no to being honest and enjoying myself.
Just embracing that the vast majority of decisions have the potential to offend — but that this offense is also not my own but the recipients' feeling, originating from _their_ belief systems that I have no control over — was immensely liberating to me.
One of my favorite learnings about the topic recently though is that saying "yes", "maybe" or even just staying silent is effectively the same as saying "no", just in other dimensions: and vice versa.
Saying no to nuclear means saying yes to coal.
Saying yes to doing something I don't like because I don't want to offend someone also means saying no to being honest and enjoying myself.
Just embracing that the vast majority of decisions have the potential to offend — but that this offense is also not my own but the recipients' feeling, originating from _their_ belief systems that I have no control over — was immensely liberating to me.