How to Stand Up For Yourself | Dr. Sunita Sah | LHS Classic

About this episode

Dr. Sunita Sah discusses the challenges of standing up for oneself and the importance of assertiveness in maintaining personal values.

There are moments when you know something does not feel right, and yet you still hear yourself saying yes. You go along. You stay quiet. You tell yourself it is not worth making an issue of it. I’m revisiting this conversation with Dr. Sunita Sah because it speaks so clearly to that experience, and to the very real reasons it can be so hard to stand up for yourself. In this episode of Love, Happiness and Success, we talk about what gets in the way of speaking up, saying no, and staying true to your values when there is pressure to do otherwise. Dr. Sah, a physician, organizational psychologist, and author of Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes, shares why so many thoughtful, capable people struggle with assertiveness and personal boundaries, especially when being agreeable has been rewarded for so long. We also talk about the hidden cost of compliance, her research on “insinuation anxiety,” and what it looks like to practice speaking up in a grounded, honest way. This conversation offers a powerful reminder that standing up for yourself is not about becoming harsh. It is about staying connected to your values and trusting yourself enough to act on them. Episode…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby

Guest: Dr. Sunita Sah

Topics covered

• assertiveness
• personal boundaries
• self-advocacy
• compliance
• values

Keywords

• assertiveness
• boundaries
• self-advocacy
• compliance
• values
• insinuation anxiety
• saying no

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes

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