I know yesterday’s Challenge was to Just Say No. Now, I’m telling you to Just Say Yes. What’s up with the flipflop? Well, for the 28^th day of the Just For Today Challenge – 31 Days To A Better You the challenge is a little a different from yesterday’s in that the idea is to Just Say Yes to those opportunities that come your way which scare you and in which your first instinct is to say No to. We got off to a great start yesterday by saying No to the time-wasters and activities that do not advance our goals in life. We did this so that we will have the time and energy today to say Yes to the great opportunities that life has in store for us.

I must admit that I’m really bad at saying Yes to people and opportunities in my life.  Although, I’m getting better at this, I still struggle. When someone asks me to do something with them, my first inclination is to say No. Why is that? I think we get into our comfort zone (or rut, whatever you want to call it) and it’s much easier to let opportunities to socialize, to challenge ourselves, to move out of our comfort zone pass us by. The status quo is so easy – you don’ t have to do anything!

You don’t have to face embarrassment, rejection, your fear of failure, or the myriad of other emotions that appear when you say Yes. It’s much easier to say No, isn’t it? But, what does that get us? Not much. We stay within our little comfort zones where it’s nice and cozy and familiar. We don’t get to meet new people, have new opportunities, and new adventures. In short, we don’t grow as human beings. We’re stuck doing the same ole, same ole. Yawn.

Have you seen the movie Yes Man  with Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel? It’s a very interesting movie and is based on a memoir called Yes Man, One Little Word Can Change Your Life written by Danny Wallace detailing his year of saying Yes to everything where one would have said No. Can you imagine a year of saying Yes to so many different things? Carl, the character in the film, says Yes to various opportunities and studies Korean, bungee jumps off a bridge, learns the guitar, takes flying lessons, befriends his boss, bonds with his friends, and many more activities. We get to see how saying Yes more impacts Carl’s life whereas he was a lonely and depressed divorced man who had a very negative view on life, to where he became a more attractive and positive human being just by saying Yes to the opportunities that presented themselves in his life.

I really enjoyed the movie and the message it had to start saying Yes to more things in life. I won’t go as far to say that the movie changed my life, but it certainly opened my eyes to what could happen once you start saying Yes to different things in life.

Isn’t it true that to obtain different results, you have to change your thinking and perspective and maybe do something different? That’s where the challenge of saying Yes comes in. Change your default inclination to saying No to new opportunities, new challenges, and new people in your life. Say Yes and see what happens.

Just For Today, say Yes to something that the universe has delivered to you. Keep your eyes and ears open. When something in your life happens today where your first response is to say No because maybe you are a little scared to say Yes, accept the opportunity and see what happens. You may fail or you may have the best experience of your life. You won’t know if you automatically say No. So, Just Say Yes.
 
I’ve learned that the more I say Yes to in my life, the easier it gets and the more enjoyment I’m receive out of it. I’m not going to say Yes to everything that comes my way, I think that’s just foolish, but I am trying to dampen my automatic No when I can easily say Yes to more things in my life. I hope the universe delivers some amazing opportunity for me today to say Yes to because I’m ready and willing to change.

What can you say Yes to in your life right now? What excites you and scares you (in a good way) that if you said Yes to, it could really make an impact on your life? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Thanks!

For a list of all of the Challenges, see the Just For Today Challenge page.

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Tagged as: Just For Today Challenge, Just Say Yes, Opportunity