The Importance of Saying Yes

I believe that we need to get into the habit of saying "Yes" more than "No." Too much in the work place we say, "No." Too much at home we say, "No." When my younger brother was about three, he said "Yes," to everything. My two older sisters and I loved asking him questions, like, "Do you want to eat poop? And he would say very enthusiastic, "Yes." We would laugh, and ask him if he wanted to eat snakes, "Yes," he would say. We loved it.

Well I am suggesting that we need to work on saying "Yes," more often than, "No." From a great book by Gordon MacKenzie called, "Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace."

One time after I'd told my Paradox story at a conference, someone in
the audience asked:

"Did you always tell people their ideas were good?"
"Yes."

"Were all the ideas good?"

"Almost all."

" What about the ideas that weren't good?"

"They were almost good."

"Wouldn't that destroy your credibility- saying every idea was a good idea?

"The person I was visiting with wouldn't know I told everyone else the same
thing."

"But why tell someone an idea is good even is it isn't?"

"In any large corporation, rank-and-file workers who put forward truly new
ideas have the deck stacked against them right from the beginning. Most
companies are peppered with people who are very quick to say "No." Most
newly hatched ideas are shot down before they even have time to grow
feathers, let alone wings. In saying "Yes" to all those who brought their ideas
to me, I was simply leveling the imbalance a bit. And it worked. People who
have a deep passion for their ideas don't need a lot of encouragement. One
"Yes" in a sea of "No's" can make the difference.

For the sake of dreams and creativity let's all practice saying "Yes." For the sake of our happiness and peace let's all practice saying "Yes," to ourselves.

To have a better world we need to be more positive than negative, and "Yes," is much more positive than "No".

Think about that.

Jana Ruth
Author of Laugh and Live Happier: P.L.A.Y.S. for Life
www.janaruth.biz
www.onewomanslaughter.com
www.onewomanslaughter.blogspot.com