Thursday, April 17, 2008

Improv to Yes.

Great article. Much more at the link.

The Power of Yes: A Simple Way to Get More Out of Life ∞ Get Rich Slowly:
"...I made excuses not to do things because I was afraid of what might happen if I accepted.

I made a resolution. I decided that instead of saying “no” to things because I was afraid of them, I would “just say yes”. That became my working motto: “Just say yes”. Any time anyone asked me to do something, I agreed to do it (as long as it wasn’t illegal and didn’t violate my own personal code of conduct). In the past six months, I’ve put this philosophy into practice in scores of little ways. But the power of “yes” has made larger changes to my life, too, has exposed me to things I never would have done before.

* Soon after I started saying “yes”, a GRS reader offered to provide free wellness coaching. My gut reaction was to say “no”. But I caught my negative thinking. “Just say yes,” I said to myself. So I did. Working with Lauren, my wellness coach, has been an amazingly positive experience.
* One of my friends works as a career counselor at a nearby university. Recently he asked me to present a talk to graduating seniors about the basics of personal finance. Normally I would refuse out of hand, but only because I am afraid. I said yes. Though the presentation fell through, the copious notes I made will serve as the basis for many future articles.

...

* A close friend asked me to go see a band I’d never even heard of. On a Thursday. At midnight. This was totally outside my comfort zone, but I said yes. The experience was fantastic. We had a great conversation, and then I got to discover The Black Angels and their wall of sound.
* I don’t know anything about table tennis, but when my former soccer coach stopped by to recruit me for a local club, I agreed to join. It’s been fun learning the sport, and getting re-acquainted with his family. (I was once good friends with his son.)

These things will seem minor to the extroverts here. But for me, these were big steps. These experiences were new, and I wouldn’t have had them if I hadn’t forced myself to just say yes."

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