I am risk averse. I live below my means. I conduct thorough research before making any decision. I drive the speed limit. I follow the rules.
So, when as a single mom at age 47, I decided to quit my fulltime, well-paying job at a good company with a great boss to be my own boss, I jumped in a pool of fear and potential failure so deep and vast I thought I might drown.
I haven’t drowned, yet, but…
As a freelance communications professional, life is literally a blank page with a blinking cursor. With my natural inclination toward guaranteed safety, the white space can paralyze me. I don’t want to screw up. I want to be competent and provide value. I want to pay off my mortgage before the year 2046. I soon realized I would sink like a cinder block if I didn’t figure out a way to propel myself into appreciating the uncertainty.
And one day I heard a motivational speaker talk about seizing the day. That one familiar phrase sparked in me the inspiration I could use to thaw my feet frozen in anxiety and doubt.
I’ll just say “Yes.”
“Do you want to join the neighborhood book club?” Yes.
“Can you help with the 5th grade graduation?” Happy to do it.
“I have an extra ticket to this event--do you want to go by yourself?” Sounds like fun.
“Do you want to foster a dog?” Yes, I’d love to help.
“Will you be the team mom for the baseball team?” Sure. (Maybe say no to that next time!)
“Will you help the HOA with its social media?” Yes, that’s a great fit for my skills.
By saying yes without the overwrought analysis or the “I’m too busy” excuse, I find the anxiety and doubt melting away. Even if I wake up scared, I try to flip that narrative and cultivate expectancy. I am developing the discipline of saying yes.
Near the end of the movie Castaway, Tom Hanks’ character contemplates the unexpected course of his life with the most exhilarating, frightening question: Who knows what the tide could bring?
I don’t know, but I’m ready to find out. That’s why I’m saying yes! Are you?
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