Many people have told me to say yes to everything while I have also heard about people who got burnt out from saying yes to too many things… so it left me wondering, which YES rule should I follow?

I have simplified it down to only saying yes to opportunities (new things that you can learn from) instead of saying yes to everything which would make you a “Yes Man/Woman” and that can create a space where people will take advantage of you.

As a co-op student, tasks and opportunities seem to come hand-in-hand because of my limited professional experience. Whenever I am asked to do something, I don’t hesitate to take it on because everything seems to be a novel opportunity at the moment. However, I am aware that as I grow older and become more experienced in what I do, I will need to say no to the little things. This doesn’t mean I am not going to offer a helping hand to my peers; it means that I will be more cognizant of how I prioritize my time.

From speaking to various managers, I have found that they have all gotten to where they are now because they didn’t shy away from challenging opportunities. This is so important because a lot of them said that they had no idea what they were getting themselves into and had very little knowledge or experience when they were offered such opportunities.

Say yes to new opportunities. Say no to wasting your time.