Say "Yes"!

In Australia, when you try something, you 'have a go'. This doesn't mean you'll be great at it, or that you'll always necessarily like it, but you do try it nonetheless.
When we were children, we were told to try things, lots of things, from new food to new activities and even new friends. Somewhere along the way, I think we get a bit stuck. We tend to focus on the comfortable and familiar and our world shrinks a bit, becoming smaller and more insular.
 This isn't intentional, and sometimes quite reasonable...if you don't like Brussel sprouts, you probably won't have to keep trying them in order to confirm that fact.
But--what about the things you've not tried and maybe passed up because you thought you were too big, too small, too old, too young, too whatever?
Over the past few months, I've tried to say 'yes' to trying different things. Here's just a few of the things I've tried:
1.) Consecutive games of laser tag
2.) Rock wall climbing
3.) A massage from a franchise that specialises in massages
4.) Shooting real guns
5.) Joining an art association
6.) Cognac
7.) Hiking uphill in the snow in tennis shoes
8.) Watermelon iced tea
9.) Wine tasting in the Willamette Valley

Some were big and some were small, but I've found that trying any new thing requires a mindset of 'yes' instead of 'no'.

There is a Jim Carrey movie called 'Yes Man' that takes this to the extreme. His character is required to say 'yes' to every opportunity presented to him, sometimes to his detriment...but, what if we tried to say 'yes' to something new every day? What if, when presented with the option, we said 'yes' to a different flavour, 'yes' to that suggestion our kids make, 'yes' to catching up for coffee or drinks with a friend, 'yes'to that idea rattling around in our head that seems impossible? 'Yes' to a new hat even if we don't normally wear them, but we just love the colour?

Once you say 'yes' for awhile, I think it comes as a bit of a surprise how often we actually say 'no', and deny ourselves small gifts of surprise and delight, making our world a little less than it might otherwise be.

This year, I'm going to continue to say 'yes' to opportunities big and small, given the option. I encourage you to to say 'yes' to one different thing each day and see what might change...even if it's only discovering a new found taste for Brussel sprouts or a new love of hats.