Fascinating how the world swings in different directions. I feel everything I read these days has become about how to be better at saying no. To people that don’t make you feel good about yourself, to things that don’t make you feel good about yourself, to time wasters, to people pleasing, to bad food, to shopping for things you don’t really need/want, to all those ‘shoulds’.
What if we made this positive instead and started focussing on the good yesses instead of the bad nos? I know yes isn’t my best thing, I’m actually pretty good at saying no these days. So now I’ve practiced no and trained myself to do it well, I think it’s time for me to starting practicing yes because I’ve swung a bit too far to one side.
Over Easter I said yes to some things for something different and loved most of them (not all of them but that’s a good learning as well). I said yes to the beach early in the morning, I said yes to a movie that we had to rush to, I said yes to a football game when I didn’t really feel like going, I said yes to a lunch with some family and it’s probably one of the best Easters I’ve had (a post written on Easter gratitude is here if you are interested).
What if we said yes more often to things and people that make us feel good? Yes to fun, yes to reading a book, yes to a bath, yes to a walk in nature, yes to getting outside instead of watching TV, yes to an adventure, yes to learning something new, yes to practicing new skills or habits, yes to super food, yes to buying a book or a card deck that makes us feel good, yes to a documentary or inspiring podcast, yes to a last minute picnic on the back lawn, yes to a massage, yes to cooking, yes to meditation, yes to looking after ourselves better, yes to putting our needs as a priority, yes to ringing an old fun friend, and most importantly yes to all the incredible free stuff in the world – the beach, art galleries, street art, parks, trees, street festivals, a cup of tea on the grass, exercise, beach volleyball, planning/researching a holiday?
What if we said yes to all the opportunities that came our way whether we thought we were ready or not? I know an amazing woman who decided years ago that she would say yes to all opportunities that came her way – she lives an incredible life and has achieved so much more than she ever thought possible. She’s incredibly fit and healthy, goes on wonderful holidays and has been on quite a few Boards and generally feels great about herself because she has learnt so much and stood up when it matters. And all these things have helped her increase her confidence and increase her skills and expertise. Interestingly, it’s these things that have also made her life so big that it’s been a huge help when disasters have happened along the way. It’s given her more coping mechanisms and other things to fall back on. She is truly an awesome human being from saying yes.
Imagine who you could be if you said yes? What would it be like to say yes even if you didn’t think you were ready? Could choosing yes make you happier? Might you be a different version of yourself by the end of the year if you started practicing yes?
Be kind to yourself.
Wx
