Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
What stops you from saying no, when you know it would benefit you in the long run? According to Dr. Sunita Sah, author of Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes, there is a huge cost to being afraid of saying no.
“If you always bow your head to others and go along with that, if you always disregard your values, it affects you emotionally, physically, you know, spiritually. It affects you even physically. You can become unwell and depressed and anxious..so it has these major costs that we often don't think about,” Dr. Sah says.
In this episode, Dr. Sah sits down with LinkedIn’s Jessi Hempel to discuss how to navigate authority, and actionable advice on establishing boundaries in the workplace and everyday life. Dr. Sah delves into human behavior and the psychology behind why we follow bad advice and obey societal expectations.
Subscribe to the #HelloMonday newsletter for more on building a work life on your own terms. bit.ly/HelloMondayNewsletter
#linkedinnews
#boundaries
#psychology
#workplace
0:00 intro
4:20 What is defiance?
7:20 What is the danger of saying yes?
8:30 How do we think about this more sort of on a spectrum and less as a binary?
16:30 The gift in your work is that it invites us to think about moments in which we do not consent, but we are choosing to comply because it is the right and safe path. And I want to explore that idea a little bit.
18:36 What was your process of researching for this book?
22:41 Let's unpack insinuation anxiety
31:23 Conclusion
What stops you from saying no, when you know it would benefit you in the long run? According to Dr. Sunita Sah, author of Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes, there is a huge cost to being afraid of saying no.
“If you always bow your head to others and go along with that, if you always disregard your values, it affects you emotionally, physically, you know, spiritually. It affects you even physically. You can become unwell and depressed and anxious..so it has these major costs that we often don't think about,” Dr. Sah says.
In this episode, Dr. Sah sits down with LinkedIn’s Jessi Hempel to discuss how to navigate authority, and actionable advice on establishing boundaries in the workplace and everyday life. Dr. Sah delves into human behavior and the psychology behind why we follow bad advice and obey societal expectations.
Subscribe to the #HelloMonday newsletter for more on building a work life on your own terms. bit.ly/HelloMondayNewsletter
#linkedinnews
#boundaries
#psychology
#workplace
0:00 intro
4:20 What is defiance?
7:20 What is the danger of saying yes?
8:30 How do we think about this more sort of on a spectrum and less as a binary?
16:30 The gift in your work is that it invites us to think about moments in which we do not consent, but we are choosing to comply because it is the right and safe path. And I want to explore that idea a little bit.
18:36 What was your process of researching for this book?
22:41 Let's unpack insinuation anxiety
31:23 Conclusion
