Say YES!

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Helen Keller

No is the first word most two-year olds use to differentiate themselves from others, especially their mother. It's no wonder it's one of the first words they use! They hear it often enough.

If you're a parent, think about the number of times you've said no to your child. Its initial utterance was, most probably, a means of keeping the child safe from touching dangerous objects or hurting themselves in some way. Electrical outlets. Glass ornaments. Hot stoves or dishes. Running at the pool. Running across the street. Jumping off the roof. Jumping into hot water.

As the child matures, No becomes a statement of independence. When asked a question, a teen's emphatic response will most often be, "No." "I will not go to church." "I will not take the garbage out." I will not listen to you." "I will not do what you say..."

No comes in many forms. "I can't. I won't. I shouldn't. I couldn't. I will not." It lurks in nooks and crannies of our minds, chattering away like a monkey in a tree, throwing out tidbits of half-baked ideas and information as if they are the facts. As if it knows exactly what it's talking about because it can see the future, even if we can't. It chatters incessantly about the impossibilities, holding us back from seeing possibilities. No can be a big stumbling block on the road to creating dreams come true.

For such a tiny word, No packs a powerful wallop. No can stop us from leaping. It can stop us from crossing over from the dark into the light. It can keep us from claiming our right to live a beautiful life. It can prevent us from claiming our power. It can keep us from seeing what we can do when we give ourselves permission to say, the one word that can set us free. No doesn't want to be free. No wants to be safe.

Playing safe never got to second base with one foot on first.

Helen Keller said it well. "Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure."

Saying YES! exposes us to the possibilities. It exposes us to the willingness to check out options, to give ourselves permission to try new things so that we can learn and grow. YES! doesn't hear 'mistake'. YES! hears, "What can I learn from that experience. How can I grow?"

YES! cuts off alternatives to failure because YES! is about succeeding, no matter what we do. There's no 'trying' in YES! There's only success.

YES! is about willingness. The willingness to do something, see something, be something beyond the limiting beliefs that would have us believe we can't. Being willing is a state of being. It is something you possess. It exists inside you, it is part of you and can never be taken away.

YES! opens the door to our willingness and never slams it shut in our face with the vehement negativity of "No way!" Instead, 'no way' becomes the beginning of the journey leading us forward, leading us into the possibilities of life beyond our comfort zone, on the other side of maybe. "No way will I let this get me down." "No way will I stop." "No way will I be defeated." "No way will I give up on my dreams."

I like YES! YES! is my watchword for today. YES! I can. YES! I will. YES! I am.

The question is: Are you willing to let go of No and step into the limitless possibilities of YES! Are you willing to claim your power?