Thought for the Day: The Negative Power of No
There's a quirky movie with Jim Carrey called Yes Man and despite lack of box office success or critical acclaim, I liked it.
The main character has an amazingly unremarkable life including the boring job and repeatedly letting his friends down. He connects with an old acquaintance who brings him to a meeting where everyone there is all about saying YES... to everything in life!
So I ask all of you, what has "NO" done for you in business or your personal life? Do you feel satisfaction when you say it? Does it come from fear or anger?
Conversely, what does "YES" do for you? I think it does a lot. I can't answer those questions for you but when I answer them for myself I get a cold dose of reality that my NO's have hurt me in many cases and my Yes's have helped in ways I can only begin to imagine.
OK, so I realize life isn't a movie and you can't say yes to everything. So try this: "That would only be possible if..." That means something about the situation has to be different in order for you to say yes to this person's request. It puts the burden on the person asking, not on you to say no.
But whenever you can, say YES!
Comments (0)Subscribe to CommentsComment