How about you? Are you a “yes” or “no” kind of person? Unfortunately, many people I meet give themselves a whole list of “no’s” before they ever even think about a “yes.” Instead of thinking up all the possible reasons you can do something, maybe you come up with all the excuses why you can’t.
You know the usual culprits:
- “I don’t have time to work out.”
- “It costs too much to eat healthy.”
- “I don’t have the skills or ability to be successful.”
- “It is impossible to get to sleep on time.”
- “I don’t deserve for good things to happen to me.”
All of the above are just examples of saying “no” before looking for a solution to say “yes.” Saying “yes” isn’t just trying new things, it is ultimately taking ownership for your life.
I used to be much more of a “no” kind of guy. But in order to succeed, I had to figure out how to add more “yes” to my life. A habit is nothing but action that has become automatic. Want to break out of your “no’s” and try the “yes” habit? Here’s a little technique that helped me. Next time you are about to say, “no, but” consciously replace it with a “yes, and.”
5 Areas To Replace Your “No List” With A “Yes”
- Work – When presented with a new challenge, start off with “Yes, I can try it, and here are some ways I might be able to do it.”
- Exercise – When you are debating to skip another workout, instead say, “Yes, I can get to the gym today, and I can also go for a walk right now.”
- Family – Before you give your family a “no, but I am too busy,” replace with a “Yes, I can help you now and I will get to my work later.”
- Sleep – Remove the classic, “no, but there are not enough hours in the day” and say, “Yes, I can get to sleep on time and here is how I will schedule my day to make it happen.”
- Nutrition – Instead of saying “no, but” healthy food is either too expensive, too hard to eat all the time, or not tasty, say “Yes, eating healthy is something I can do and here is a list of my favorite healthy foods.”
Don’t come up with reasons why you can’t do something. Think “yes” and maybe you just might pull it off. You will be happy you did. If I never said “yes” to Sutton Royals, I would have never met that team. If I didn’t say “yes” to the team, I wouldn’t have helped those athletes and myself. If I didn’t write this, you wouldn’t have a new way to think this week. The major lesson I learned once again:
Great things will rarely happen if you are only expecting bad things for yourself.
True, saying “yes” takes a little more courage. I understand when you say “yes” you will not be sure what is always going to happen. But you can be certain of this: when you first say “no,” nothing will.
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