I am convinced that if each and every one of us said “yes” more often, we would have already come to realize something Danny Wallace discovered in his book. Life is short, and when we say "no," it is often to something that might be beneficial to us and others.
How many times are we offered the chance to donate to a charity, volunteer to help others out, or join a food pantry, etc.? Ninety percent of the time we say “no.” How many times do we make excuses to get us out of doing something good for others?
Typical excuses include: I don’t have enough money, I don’t have any change, I don’t have enough energy, I don’t have enough time, I’m a horrible person and don’t want to help others, ad infinitum. I mean, these are all perfectly normal excuses. But do you get the most rewarding opportunities out of life by sticking with what’s normal?
I would say never. I would also say the world would change considerably if people only committed to say “yes” more often where they would have once said “no.” Maybe that means something as simple as going out with our friends when we feel a little tired. Maybe that means eating breakfast with someone if they ask us even though we are not morning people. Maybe it means thinking about someone other than ourselves by meeting a need.
What makes us think we know what life is all about? When we say “no,” we assume the thing we are saying no to has no value for us.
I know it sounds crazy. I certainly don’t measure up to the bar I’ve just raised. But we have someone who has gone before us. Danny Wallace said “yes” to everything that came his way for six months. That is insane. He even followed advertising – and anyone who knows how many ads we are bombarded with today knows how crazy that is. Granted, the ad has to ask a specific, yes or no question, but that is still a lot of ads. Needless to say, he lost a lot of money. But it is also important to remember that he was a lot richer in experience, not to mention his book sales.
Danny Wallace and his book Yes Man helped me see just how often I said "no." Since then, I’ve been saying “yes” a lot more often. At the time I finished reading the book I was at the University of Iowa and really didn’t have any friends. I had only been there a month or so.
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