How 'Bout No?

So you're in a situation and ask for my opinion, I give it to you. You think about it for 2.1 seconds and keep on whining about how "stuck" you are.

Don't bother me, I don't want to hear it.

A friend of mine, we'll call X was asked by a friend for a favour, it was a yes or no kind of question. Granted there are always variables that need to be considered, but it was also one of those "If you want to, say yes. If you don't want to, say no." Simple, right?

For me, yes. It's something I don't even need to think about if I don't want to do it. For X, no. X thinks anytime you say no you're being rude so therefore X must say yes even though it's not the answer X wants to give but how can X be rude and say no when it's a friend asking for a favour, even though they're not close but have known each other for a long time, and how can anyone be so rude as to say no to their friends and not fulfill the favour and besides, there are some sort of family ties, and said friend is a really nice person and makes some good ravioli and what are we talking about here???

You see how I could have so little patience for something as trivial and melodramatic as this.

Please understand that the word "no" itself is not a bad word. It's neither rude, disrespectful nor mean. There are two answers in this world, "yes" and "no", and it is totally OK to use either one of them provided you have a valid reason. All X has to do is say "Thank you for asking but I have to turn it down because: (I don't have the time/I'm not the right person for the job/of conflicting schedules/etc.)." There's no need to spin to make your answer sound better, no need to go nuts overthinking something because you're afraid to tell the truth. There are other people in this world from whom to ask a favour, y'know.

You don't need to agree with me or take my advice but let's not go in circles discussing the topic to death. When I've heard your situation 4 or 5 times already and it looks like we're rounding the corner into the 6th lap, you need to let it go. I've said my piece and at this point you're just looking for pity and pissing me off and I don't want either. Please learn to say no, it won't hurt. I promise.