Tough (Question) Tuesday: What can you say “yes” to today?
In the past 2 years, I’ve been focusing a lot on saying “no.” As a people pleaser, saying “yes” came easily & too quickly & often got me where I didn’t want to be (or gave me agita in trying to un-yes it). Now, “no” comes easy, & I find myself blocking out what I want to say “yes” to & convincing myself I don’t have the time, or that I have a higher priority that is more deserving of my attention. Things that are important to me are slipping away, or not getting the attention they deserve.
So, join me in answering the question:
What can you say “yes” to today?
See you in the comments section!
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December 8th, 2009 at 7:34 am
Hey, that’s my painting! What a nice surprise when I popped over to your blog this morning.
Today I’m saying yes to me to-do list. Instead of letting it stress me out, I’m going to choose to know that I can accomplish everything if I have a good attitude about it and see everything on it in a positive light. Thanks for the reminder this morning!
December 8th, 2009 at 7:35 am
saying YES is a new rule that i’m attempting to live by. while in the past i’ve said ‘yes’ too much, lately i’ve been saying ‘no’ way too much.
saying YES is one of the ‘tenets’ (or intentions) that i’m using to help live a more purposeful life. i have a tendency to focus on the negative and say no for numerous reasons (out of fear, out of being too realistic, probably several other reasons i don’t quite know yet), and i’ve recently started working on getting out of the habit of doing so.
saying YES has the ability to open me to the world–and thus opens me to more possibilities, opportunities & the chance to learn about myself!
December 8th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Jess – Yup – your painting inspired this question! That is because you are awesome. I love that you’re seeing your To Do List as a way to enjoy the journey & have a good experience, as opposed to it bogging you down. You might want to go one step further & see how/if you can make some of the tasks extra fun. Maybe while you’re retuning emails you listen to some Justin Timberlake? He makes everything fun for me
Krista – That’s me, too! I’ve been so focused on saying “no” that I forgot what I wanted to say “yes” to. You bring up a great point in assessing WHY you’re saying “yes” or “no”, & deciding which direction to go in based on that answer. If you’re saying “no” out of fear only, then maybe it’s time to turn that into a “yes”! I’m thinking that, instead of agreeing to or turning something down right away, I’ll give myself time to think about it & tell that person I’ll get back to them. That’ll take me out of the pressure in that moment & really give myself the space to think about what I want to do. Unless they ask whether I want ice cream or chocolate. In that case, I will say “yes” right away.
Thank you both for beating me to the punch! I’m going to say Yes to bringing my family & friends back into my life. Even though they haven’t said so, I feel like I’ve been neglecting them lately – not calling as much as I want to, not returning emails as quick as I’d like, not letting them know that I’m thinking of them. So, every day I’ll make sure I connect with someone that I miss. Yes yes yes!
December 8th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Just had a mini epiphany that ties in well with this question and a lot of the ideas already suggested by Krista. Thinking about the new year, I realize that I kind of let me down this year. I’ve let fear hamper a lot of my possibilities and just haven’t really let myself live my dreams. Or even attempt my dreams. Thinking all of this, obviously, is a bit of a bummer. But then this question “What can you say ‘yes’ to?” gave me a way to reframe it more positively: I can say YES to do-overs, to the joy of the experience, to my dreams. There’s not an expiration date on these things; you can always say YES.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
This IS a great New Year’s question, Angelique (pats self on back). And make sure you pat yourself on the back for seeing that you haven’t “run out of time” & that your dreams are still feasible! Take a deep breath, shake out the vampires, & start fresh. Doesn’t that feel nice?
December 9th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
isn’t this the truth! i’m a master at bouncing back between the yes and the no extremes. just hoping one day i’ll figure out how to land in the middle!
December 10th, 2009 at 9:24 am
Aimee – The first time I heard Danielle LaPorte say that “Balance is BS”, the more I see evidence of that. At that point she was talking specifically about time management, but I can see it in the Yes/No conundrum too. There must be a reason why the pendulum swings, & there’s absolutely no way to have an equal amount of X and Y in your life at all times. This question, for me, is just opening up some things that I’ve been shutting out when I really want to make time/say “yes” to them, and to reconsider how I can bring those things into my life.