No

There really is power in positive thinking. People really do have trouble with "no," beyond being assholes. I knew that. I took the defensive driving class that explained the problem with trying to steer away from a tree. (In a skid, you should steer towards the gap between the trees.)

I've interacted with small children who showed me the value of saying "walk slowly" or "touch the kitty gently," rather than "don't run" or "don't pull the kitty's fur."

Nevertheless, for some reason I didn't stop with "just trim 3 inches off the bottom." I went on to tell the hairdresser, "I don't want it tapered, and and don't even try to get all the split ends off the sides. Just 3" shorter, straight across the back, ok?"

I feel very foolish. And not just because so much of my hair is too short to go into my braid.