YES!!! How often do you say it like that? Bold and with lots of exclamation points!!!???
Throughout the month of August I have been sharing my theme of YES!! This week I want to go a bit deeper about the yes you say to yourself and what it might lead to.
In my coaching practice I use the VIA Character Strengths assessment with my clients. One of the 24 strengths is ZEST! This is how they describe the essence of zest:
ZEST
“You approach life and experiences with excitement and energy. You often look forward to the day and try to fully participate in life rather than view it from the sidelines. Your zest may connect closely with your level of activity and your physical health.” viacharacter.org
When you start to say yes to yourself more, you will build more and more positive energy. This energy naturally leaks into every area of your life- you can’t stop it!
To grow the level of zest, you can see that saying yes to things you enjoy that are good for you, putting yourself in circumstances to stretch yourself, and getting your body moving are essential. Like the theme of last week’s blog- you don’t need anyone’s permission, but your own.
Do you look forward to the day? If not, write down all of the reasons you do not. Write it by hand. Then go back through and write the opposite of those things. These are the first clues to the changes you might want to make in your life. Looking at that list- what is one thing you can either change right now, or ask someone to help you with? Do it, right now! Even doing one small thing will start you on your course.
Catch that- asking for help is also saying yes to yourself!
One thing I know from almost 19 years of being a life and business coach- you hold the keys in your hands. I KNOW you can take that first step that leads to the next, and then the next…..
One fun challenge you might want to think about taking on is playing the Yes Game! It is the idea that you say yes to whatever is offered to you- opportunities, experiences, gifts, favors- our first human inclination is to say no to these things- when you play the yes game you have to say yes. Play it for a day, a week, a month. Some people play it on a trip, or at work or during a weekend. There is no rule about the details, you get to make that up.
What happens when you start to say yes to yourself more:
-Your life becomes more interesting, and you have more to talk about.
-More energy and enthusiasm.
-You allow others to contribute to your life, which is a gift to them.
Everything is an experiment. When you experiment, you aren’t sure of the outcome. That is the beauty of it. You get to learn more about yourself and what you want to say yes to by saying yes to some things you wish you hadn’t. Give yourself a chance to experiment and experience fully. And have fun doing it!
What will you say yes to starting right now? What have you waited long enough for, and now it is finally time to say a big YES!!!???