Tried saying no to a church bake sale request and nobody yelled at me

I've been part of my local church in Akron for about 6 years and I always say yes to bake sale donations, even when I'm swamped. Last month I had a huge work deadline and just told the coordinator I couldn't do it this time, no excuses. She just said okay and moved on to the next person on her list. Has anyone else tested the boundaries of automatic social obligations and found it way easier than you expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

paige42714d ago

Hold on a second here. You're framing this like you broke some huge rule, but really you just set a basic boundary and nobody cared. Volunteers are usually just happy to get a yes or no so they can keep moving, they aren't keeping score. You probably overthought this whole thing way more than anyone else did.

williamhill14d ago

Did you actually feel that weight lift off your shoulders when you finally told them no, or did you just feel silly after? I've been in that spot where I thought I was causing this huge drama by saying I couldn't help, then I realized the person just shrugged and moved on to the next person. Curious if the relief came after you said it or if it was more of a slow realization over time.