Yes Not NO!

If it is your first reaction to say,"No" instead of "Yes", you really need to consider why you are responding that way. Whether we are teens or in our 80s we need to be willing to participate in life or it will just pass us by. Over and over I hear people complain that no one asks them to do anything, no one calls them. The truth is clear after you have said no to people often enough they give up and move onto a person who says yes!

We all have friends that we feel we have to reach out to or they would not even be in our lives. At some point it is not worth the effort. I know that there are people in my life that I try to stay in contact with and people that I ask to do things with and after a few no, not this times, I stop trying.

Today, I had my 3 grandkids over, who are all under 5, and you know, they said Yes to everything I asked them to do. Their enthusiasm for life and the various activities I came up with was contagious. Somewhere in the teens kids seem to lose their enthusiasm and that awful No word slips into their vocabulary. This can even continue into adulthood if they don't get a Yes attitude toward life. Today, almost all of our family went to breakfast. 1 member thought sleeping in was more important, so we were handed a big, fat NO. Hurtful, sad, and next time we may not try so hard. Begging gets tiresome pretty quickly.

Even older people have to be careful to say Yes to life or they end up sitting on the couch with a remote for company. My Mom got here this afternoon. She is a perfect example of the Yes personality that I am talking about and her life is fuller because of it. Her 70s have not slowed her down. Mom is always up for a trip and stays busy with a sorority, Red Hats, and a Widows Link. Today she drove over 500 miles to be here for Thanksgiving, got out of the car and had energy for the 3 little darlings that were so excited to see her. Others her age say No and not this time and I don't feel up to it and eventually are left alone and lonely.

Kids are the best at reading us for the Yes factor. They want to play, they want attention, they need us to be available to them. If we don't say yes and be available to play princesses or to toss the ball they will seek out someone who will say yes. That is human nature to avoid the rejection of the No and run toward the Yes person.

It doesn't matter if our reasons are legitimate or not the fact remains to be included in life we need to say yes to others and put ourselves out there to enjoy the adventure of life. So, I have decided to put a challenge out to my followers. Count up for a day or even a week if you are ambitious how often you turn others down and how often you accept their offers. If you are saying no more than yes then get out a big mirror and scold yourself. You are probably also wondering why you have less friends than you used to or why children seek others rather than you. The answer is a single syllable word that you have the power to change, 1 acceptance at a time. The saying goes turn that frown upside down. Another saying could be say yes even when you feel like saying no and see if you aren't blessed.

In Him,
Joyful
11-20-2010