Just say "YES!"

I have this amazing friend, Lydia, and one of my favorite things about her is that she always says “Yes!”

“Hey Lydia, wanna try out this new restaurant?”

“Sure!”

“Hey Lydia, you should check out this hot yoga class I’ve been going to.”

“I’ve never tried it before. I totally wanna go!”

“Hey Lydia, let’s dress up as clowns to volunteer at a hospital for children!”

“Yea, it sounds like a good cause, plus I love to play dress-up. Count me in!”

“Hey Lydia, I bet I can beat you at a crab-race all the way to the other side of the beach. Last one there has to sit on a jelly fish!”

“Bring it on, sucker!”

Now don’t get me wrong, Lydia isn’t apathetic or just a complete door-mat. If I were to ask her to do something against her values, or ask her to vote for a candidate she didn’t agree with, she would certainly stand her ground. But what’s so inspirational about her is that she doesn’t let anything hold her back. She’ll give anything or anyone a chance.

On the other hand, I’m sure we all know somebody whose natural disposition is to disagree:

“Wanna go to the grand opening of this new club?”

“Ugh, I’m sure it will be totally packed. I always get my drink spilled. I’m tired.”

“Hey, you should apply for that new job!”

“There’s no way they would hire me. I don’t even have experience.”

“Why don’t you invite that guy you like to my party?”

“Nah, I don’t think he likes me. That would be so awkward.”

In college, I took this acting/improv class and one of the lessons my professor taught us was to always say “Yes.” If you we’re doing improvisational theatre, and your fellow actor started out a scene by asking “Hey! Aren’t you that famous T.V. game-show host!?!?” You should say something along the lines of “You’re damn right, I’m Louie Anderson and you’re the next contestant on Family Feud!!!” If you we’re to say “Ummm… no, that’s not me,” then the scene would just end or lose momentum. Improvisational theatre is a lot like real life. In real life, we don’t always know what’s next. We don’t always know what to expect and we don’t always know how things are going to turn out.

If something unexpected happens and you hesitate and let fear, laziness, or pride hold you back you might miss out on a great opportunity. Let’s say you get a new boss at work. It might be your instinct to think “well, I liked my old boss,” or “why should I listen to this new guy?” or “what if my new boss doesn’t like me?” My advice is to say “Yes!” Let your default be to go for it and to try something new. Give life the benefit of the doubt. Who knows, your new boss might have a lot to teach you; they may really appreciate the hard work you do and promote you more quickly than your old boss would have. If someone invites you to try something new, go for it! What do you have to lose? Step outside your comfort zone! As far as I’m concerned, life is too short to say “No.”