Say Yes to Yourself
Just hearing or seeing the word YES! brings a smile to my face. To anyone’s face actually. Seriously, just say it and watch what happens. It’s a beautiful word with so much meaning. It’s the permission we give others to do something but most importantly, the permission we give ourselves. Though sadly, we often live in the “no”.
No thank you, I’m busy. No thank you, I’m too tired. No thank you, I’m sick. Ugh, just writing it down makes me feel shitty about every opportunity I missed out on because of the word “no”. Was I really too busy? Maybe. Was I really too tired? Probably. Was I genuinely sick? Sure. That’s not the problem. The problem comes when we aren’t those things. When we’re hiding away. We can’t always be sick, tired, or busy. Can we? Well, maybe but generally speaking it’s more complex than that.
I used to be terrified of saying yes. I didn’t know it at the time but saying yes to something or someone always felt like a huge commitment. What if I changed my mind? What if I didn’t follow through? What if I this or what if I that. Sound familiar? I would get so caught up on the “what if I flake and fuck it up” narrative, that I wouldn’t even give myself a chance to try. I was stuck in the “no”. And when it really came down to it, I was just scared. Scared that if I did change my mind, got sick or whatever, that I’d let someone down and they’d be hurt. Or, even worse, I was afraid that if I put myself out there, I could fail or be rejected, and that would hurt. No thanks!
If we’re honest with ourselves and believe me being honest with ourselves is hard, we’d quickly realize that it feels safer to just say no. But if we want to get to where we’re going, is this getting us there? The truth is, saying yes is easy, people do it every day. People do it tired, sick, busy, and very afraid. So, what makes those people so different from you or me? Are they super special, superhuman individuals? Probably not. They’re probably just like you and me, afraid to be rejected, scared to let someone down, and really comfortable in their uncomfortable comfort zone. Yet, there they are…saying yes to all sorts of stuff.
I don’t know about you but all this reflection has me kind of pissed at myself for missing out. Starting today I’m going to say yes to something that scares me and I’m going to say yes to it wholeheartedly. Let’s face it, with the way things are going these days, saying yes is a gift and I just can’t pass that up anymore. I hope you’re ready for a hell YES too!