What does your week look like?
How often can you say a book has changed your life? How is it one word can have the power to exert such an influence over one's life?
Today is a quick lesson in "Yes". Several years back, I rented a comedy to watch with my husband. I was expecting a slapstick comedy with no real substance. Boy, was I wrong!
We certainly laughed and enjoyed the movie, but once we turned it off, we talked about the subject for quite a bit afterward. It opened up a dialog about how WE wanted to live our lives. Pretty deep for a Jim Carrey movie!
The movie “Yes Man” is about a man that was known to his friends as always saying no to everything. After attending a seminar he basically promises to only say yes, and enter in the comedy! Intrigued, I researched the movie and found it was loosely based on a true story written by Danny Wallace.
I, at one time, was a yes person. In no time at all, I found that saying yes meant overextending myself, which made me feel overwhelmed and a bit depressed at letting everyone, and myself, down. So I embraced the power of saying no, and that certainly took quite a bit off my plate.
But saying no too often almost made me feel like a shut-in. Invites became less, the TV became a standard event, and that led to snacking and boredom. I guess you could say, too much of Yes and too much of No seemed to have similar outcomes.
After watching the movie, my husband and I decided to start saying Yes more and supporting each other to make the decision a positive one. We found that saying Yes together was powerful!
How would saying Yes to that strange friend’s party be a good idea? Great question! Because I said Yes and went to that party, that friend confided in me how much it meant that I came and that they were feeling so down before the party. Even though the party was quiet, I had fun and brought joy to someone’s life. My schedule was clear, so it brought joy to my life too!
Now, by saying yes to the scary things, those really caused the long-term changes. Scary things for me, were invites to things I was scared to do, like exercise! My friend Amy asked me to join her for a workout at her gym AXIS Training Studio.
What if I’m too out of shape? What if I can’t keep up? What if I look ridiculous? But I still said Yes!
Now, 50 pounds later, I can say I am glad I said Yes! Not only did I enjoy myself, I lost the weight, and now I work here!
My challenge to you is this: where in your life can you say Yes more? Is there something that scares you that you KNOW you need to do? Grab a buddy, get a support system, and get ready to see some fantastic changes!
Think about it this way, how is saying Yes to eating right, exercising, and feeling amazing NOT going to benefit your life? If you truly want to feel fantastic and meet those fitness goals of yours, try saying Yes and get ready for some awesome changes!