Hello and welcome,
And today's word for living your best life is the word yes.
Are you playing small?
Are you stuck in routines,
Avoiding new experiences,
Or afraid to take risks?
Perhaps you're frightened of shining too brightly in case somebody else worries that they can't shine as brightly as you.
Well,
Saying no protects our energy.
Saying yes opens doors to growth and adventure and transformation.
Of course,
I say this carefully,
But we only want to say yes to things that we deeply desire and want.
Otherwise,
Of course,
The word no has a very powerful place in our life.
But saying yes to life and saying yes to adventure and saying yes to opportunity and saying yes to learning and saying yes to some things that do make us a bit nervous can transform our lives and the depth with which we live our life.
It's about trusting ourselves and embracing the life that we have around us,
And it's about stepping out of fear and into possibility.
So I'm wondering today as you listen to this,
What have you perhaps in the past been afraid to say yes to?
Are there any things you said no to in the past that you wish you'd said yes to?
Why did you say no?
And what opportunities might come your way if you opened yourself up more to possibilities?
When we look at people like Richard Branson,
A billionaire entrepreneur,
He has a famous rule,
Say yes,
Then figure it out later.
His willingness to embrace risk led him to build an empire spanning music,
Airlines,
Space travel and more.
Oprah Winfrey is another nice example where her career exploded because she said yes to opportunity.
Even when she felt unquantified,
She took chances.
She trusted her instincts and stepped into her greatness.
And sometimes when we're at a low point in our life,
There's not very much left to lose in our mindset.
So saying yes can really lift us out of things.
Imagine if you had lost a job role or you were in a life transformation phase and an opportunity came your way.
Just think how that one yes could transform the shaping of your future.
Our psychologists tell us that saying yes to new experiences rewires the brain,
Which makes us much more adaptable,
Creative and resilient.
And of course,
That's absolutely imperative for living our best life.
Many studies show that people who say yes to social and career opportunities tend to be happier and more successful in the long run.
And the term yes man,
The yes man,
Are you all familiar with that term?
That originated from an old Hollywood stereotype where studio executives only agreed with powerful producers that saying yes for the right reasons is about empowerment of your own,
Not blind agreement.
So I'm going to offer you three options today,
Three different areas how you could bring yes more into your life.
The first one is try and say yes to one new experience each week.
Try something different.
This all ties in again to being an adventurer,
Whether it's a new hobby or a networking event or speaking up in a meeting.
Just say yes and see what happens.
Number two,
Trust yourself that little bit more.
Self-belief is so important.
Confidence,
So,
So valuable.
Fear often makes us hesitate and say no to things as if we couldn't possibly do that.
No,
I mustn't.
But remind yourself,
Please,
That you are capable of handling whatever comes next.
This is your life and you need to choose to live it if you want to live your best life.
Number three,
Stop overthinking.
It's often procrastination that leads to no.
What overthinking,
What the right thing would be to do,
Leads to a no.
If an opportunity excites you but scares you at the same time,
It's probably the right move.
Say yes and figure out along the way how you're going to make it happen.
And we're going to end on a quote by the wonderful Paolo Coelho.
When you say yes to others,
Make sure you are not saying no to yourself.
