Aw Yeah Nah

3 min read

“Aw yeah nah” is an Australian idiom, meaning literally…oh! yes! no! It is perhaps amusing in the way that it really says nothing at all. It displays a lack of commitment to yes or no .

Henry Cloud and John Townsend in their book ‘Boundaries’ (Oct 3rd 2017) teach us about the importance of  “when to say yes and how to say no.” Our commitment to yes, means that we choose to open our lives to let something in. Our commitment to no, means that we limit our exposure to something that we choose to keep out.

This boundary process of yes and no is of our free choice so that it can open and close as we see fit. It needs to be flexible but not double minded. To say yes when we mean no, or to say no, when saying yes would be beneficial, is to lose sight of my own needs.

What is the reason I might say yes when inside myself I want to say no? Could it be a fear of some sort? I wonder what the answer is for you the reader? What would happen if I told the truth and said no when I mean no? Would it mean that I was now being honest ?

Moving into greater self control in this way needs to be practised in small ways to begin with and within the safety and security of safe relationships.

 Take heart and courageously care for the needs of yourself!

Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

(You will need to start with the safe people in your life, not the scariest!).