Maybe costs more than no

Yes moves you forward, and so does no. Maybe is the one answer that keeps you standing still, and it feels like careful thinking the whole time.

Picture a family that has lived in Dubai for ten years and still plans to move back home next year. Every summer they look at schools and flats back home, return to Dubai, and say the same thing: maybe next year. Their Dubai flat stays half furnished and the children never fully unpack. A plain no, years ago, would have let them buy the good sofa and settle in.

Most of us have a maybe like that. It might be a job we keep half considering, or a project we bring up every few months and never start.

Saying no feels like losing something. Usually it gives something back: the time and attention you were saving for a choice you were never going to make.

Saying yes feels risky, and it is. But it is the only way to find out whether the thing works.

Maybe feels safe because it can never be wrong. That is exactly why people hide in it. It can never be right either, and the years keep passing while you weigh it.

So when you mean it, say yes. When you do not, say no and move on.

A clear no is not a failure. A maybe that lasts ten years is.