When you consider all the times you hear the word no… are the nos coming from others or are they coming from you?
When we say no to ourselves, we stand in the way of our happiness, our path to greater love, success, and joy. When we say no to our dreams and passions we sabotage ourselves, often without realizing it.
We say no to ourselves for many reasons, but fear of failure tops the list. We shut down instead of giving ourselves the freedom and time to experiment with new ideas, opportunities, and even relationships. Another reason we say no to ourselves is because we don’t feel like we deserve the very thing we desire. We keep our aspirations secret, tucking them into deep pockets, locking them safely away, and choosing instead, to focus on the wishes of others.
It isn’t necessary to sacrifice self-love for the love of others. There’s plenty of love to go around.
We do deserve what we hope for. I deserve what I hope for and YOU, dear friend, deserve what you hope for. Caring for our needs, and pursuing our passions is not wrong. It’s healthy. And it makes us better able to engage in life and work, thus enhancing our relationships and productivity.
Still, we say no.
Just. Stop. It.
I first learned this lesson twenty years ago when I began saying yes to me and no to someone else. It wasn’t pretty, at first. Change is like that. But in the long run, I’ve become so much happier. I’ve learned that saying yes to me is a good thing because it leads to greater happiness, contentment, and overall life satisfaction.
So I began to make a practice of saying yes! I said yes to buying my first house all by myself. I said yes to adopting two children as a single mother. I said yes to another man after vowing I would not. I said yes to leaving a lucrative job to follow my passions.
My sense of satisfaction expanded with every yes, each new permission adding to the happiness of the previous one. What can I say? I live a life of joy and for that, I am truly grateful. But my life is what it is because I stopped saying no and started saying yes.
What are you saying no to?
What would it take you to turn your no into a resounding yes?
How wonderful will you feel when you finally have what you’ve wished for?
Enough already. Just say YES!
That’s when the magic happens. Because when you have enough self-love to say yes to yourself, your heart expands — giving you even more love to share with others.
Sheila Callaham is a best-selling author, motivational speaker, and success coach. Her hubby claims that not only does she practice saying yes to herself, she also strives to convince everyone else to say ‘yes’ to her, too! Connect with Sheila through your favorite social media venue.
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