What Can You Say "Yes!" To?

I recently made a commitment to a 21-day community phone-based meditation. I was a little concerned about making this commitment as the call was at 7am - a bit early for me. But I was excited about the meditation I’d experienced and was looking forward to joining the meditation community that was being created.

So I jumped right in and began my 6:30am wake up time and 7am meditation. What I quickly remembered was that this was one of the things that I *hated* about working in the corporate world - alarm clocks! But I was committed and I was enjoying the meditation. At day 9 though - I hit a wall!!

I woke up that morning tired, grouchy, resentful and pissed off at having made a commitment I wasn’t sure I could keep. I had no idea what to do about it but I had a plan formulating in my brain. The only problem was it felt like I was breaking my commitment. I felt icky.

My brain started off saying what I couldn’t do and I focused on the “No’s”. The further I went down this path the more I felt like I was dropping out of my commitment. Finally I was asked one simple question: “What can you say ‘Yes!’ to?” I felt like a light bulb had gone off in my head. It was such a simple shift!

So much of my life and work is about asking that simple question - “What can I say ‘Yes’ to?” It changed the whole feeling around this meditation. I wasn’t breaking my commitment I was just saying the parts that worked for me. When it came right down to there was only one part that I couldn’t say ‘Yes!’ to - the 7am phone call. But I had an alternative and I was ready and willing to use it! Everyone involved was excited to hear my plan and fully supportive too!

The next day I woke up feeling refreshed and excited about my alternative plan and I used it for the best meditation yet! Saying ‘Yes!’ instead of ‘No!’ had shifted my entire energy around the project and I was ready to continue.
When struggling with details and solutions I find it usually most helpful to focus on what I want or need and what I’m willing to do. This time around I just needed a little outside perspective to shake things up a bit and make sure that was my view.

So how do you say ‘Yes’ instead of ‘No’? The simplest way to start is quite simply to listen to you body - is it energized or depleted? Now take that observation and switch it around if necessary - ask what would energize you. You might even seek some outside support or perspective to help you see the big picture. From there it’s as simple as finding out which parts make you shout ‘YES!!’

Then...well...say ’Yes!’ and proceed with the plan.