Saying "Yes"

I figured that I would follow up on the post that Brian made about resolutions.  I'm not usually a very big fan of making New Year's Resolutions for the reason that Brian mentioned - specifically, people tend not to follow through with them, but I thought this warranted a quick note.  My resolution (if we want to call it that) is actually more of a life philosophy: say yes to more things!

I've not always had that philosophy, though.  I am actually a pretty introverted person who hasn't been comfortable with leaping before I look, but a few years ago I read a book by a British guy named Danny Wallace.  The book was called "Yes Man", and some of you may have seen the movie that was based on it.  As is often the case, the movie was okay while the book was fantastic.  I won't recap the whole book, but the central premise of the book is that Danny Wallace made a pact with himself to say "Yes" to every request - regardless of what it was - for the better part of a year.  In order to keep people from taking advantage of this, he kept this pact to himself, but it lead him into some pretty crazy adventures.  Some requests lead to small changes (e.g. "Fancy another pint?" leading to a night of drinking), while some lead to large changes (e.g. "Who's willing to go to Edinburgh for a comedy film festival?" leading to a job on British TV).  I won't give away the entirety of the book, but the central theme is that almost every great thing that has happened to each of us is the result of saying "Yes" to a request.  It's the kind of lesson that most self-help books try to convey, but does so with humor and a spirit that makes the lessons infectious.

What does this have to do with me, though?  Well, when I read this book the first time, I was at a pretty tough place professionally.  I wasn't a huge fan of the job that I had, and I was looking for some way to take control of my own life.  I had been offered a dream job, but one that would require a legitimately large amount of upheaval in my life - both financially and interpersonally.  I struggled with whether to take the job.  The book ended up being the catalyst for me to say "Yes" to the job, and since then my life has been better and different than I would have ever imagined.  What this has demonstrated to me is the power of opening myself up to the opportunities that present themselves.  The fitness goals that I've been able to set and achieve have been the result of that openness, and the objective of qualifying for the WTM with Brian, Danny, and our as-yet-to-be-found 4th team member, is another outgrowth of that philosophy.

As a final thought, I'm a pretty big fan of the Life Hacker website, and there was recently a post on there that raised an interesting point about setting up the conditions under which we actually try new things and make the changes that we'd want to see.  The specific post that I'd like to talk about starts with a great Oscar Wilde quote: "I am not young enough to know everything", but the focus of the post is on making sure that we stay "young enough" to try new things and take chances.  For me, this is a mindset that I try to keep every day.  Even though, at times, it's difficult to maintain the level of cluelessness that makes it possible for young people to try new things, that doesn't mean that it's impossible either.  After all, if we say "Yes" to opportunities that arise, we may just find a spirit of adventure that makes our lives richer than we ever would have thought before.  You may even find yourself addicted to Tough Mudders!