Yes Days ~ Tips for Creating Fulfilling Days (Just for You, Dear Humans!)
Hey Humans, come closer. You need a YES Day! Not sure what that means, and why it is so important? Read on. I’ve recaptured some of the original Yes Days ideas and made them applicable just for my readers. You can do this. Let it be easy.
About 20 years ago, I started thinking of this concept of the Yes Day. A few years later, I began doing it with my family and writing about it. My earliest published writing about it was in 2004 when the Natural Child Project picked it up. It was then made popular when Jennifer Garner ran across the idea, through a children’s book that came out a few years after the work in NCP.
Now, a few decades have past and Netflix partnered with Jennifer and released the movie of the same title. It was heartwarming to watch and experience with my kids, and feel that tiny tinge of pride knowing that we had originally birthed the idea, and I had coined the term. That is always satisfying. But here’s the thing, as fun as the movie was, I think it wildly missed the mark. At the very least, it missed an opportunity. So, I am hoping to seize it and bring some additional thinking back to the concept.
When I speak to my clients and colleagues, and humans all around the world who are working to recover from the last few years, leaving many of us feeling blocked, disengaged, overwhelmed, and fearful, I keep coming back to my Yes. Because Yes is where opportunity is born. It is where we are not limited by the fears that get in the way.
In a conversation I had with Charles A. Smith, Ph.D., professor at Kansas State University, when originally documenting Yes Days those decades ago, he said, “Although saying “no” tells what not to do, only by being affirmative do we teach the skills that will be important throughout [our] lives. To make choices (and take responsibility for consequences) is an important element in developing a courageous spirit and a healthy conscience.” I think it still applies for adults who are feeling stunted in some way, for our next big steps in this divided world.
Humans of the world… here’s your call today…Make an intentional choice for yourself. Make today a “yes day,” a day in which you consciously choose to say yes to your soul, to honor your spirit, your desires, your choices. Today let there not be no’s, let there be no “I need to…”, “Time to go…”, or “One more minute…” and let (practically) anything go, for your heart, your soul, your spirit. Let. It. Be. Easy.
“I’m a busy professional, why would I do such a thing?” Here’s why:
Question Your Agenda.
Getting past reflexively saying “I just gotta do this thing” or “I’m so busy,” can be what it takes to create an environment in which we can say yes more often. When we are imposing artificially created “agenda” or expectations about what “has” to happen right now, we are reinforcing outside forces that dictate our direction in life. So consider holding a yes moment for yourself on the spot if there is nowhere you really have to be and then pay attention to the quality of each experience as it comes from allowing yourself the time and space to follow a soul guide instead.
Honor Sovereignty.
Sovereignty is by definition allowing one to gain authority over oneself – a lifelong goal of any whole person. If we consciously recognize that our ideas and desires, no matter how big, small, wild, or seemingly insignificant, are valuable and valued, then our confidence grows and magnifies. We are all entitled to be loved and to find strength in that love. One way we can give ourselves that ownership is to take control over our situations where we really can have that control, and our hearts and minds. Something is always within the locus of our control. Find that space, and embrace it.
Listen.
Yes days can give you the space and time you need to fully develop into the whole human being you strive to be. When we consciously choose to listen to our souls, it also provides us the opportunity to stay connected with one another.
You Can’t Please Everyone All The Time.
When you are part of a family, an organization, or any other “system”, you surely know that the adage “you can’t please everyone all of the time” rings true. One fellow Yes-dayer, reminded me, “These ‘yes days’ have been a reminder that even though we are a unit, we are all individuals and we need to take the time to work on each relationship because the pieces add up to more than the whole.” Understand that you can’t be everything to everyone in your life.
Consider the Ripples.
As we learn to intentionally say yes to ourselves, to the ebb and flow of the world, perhaps these yes days are only training for us to live a yes life. Even more so, perhaps our yes lives will be the impression left that in turn creates a yes world. Saying yes, affirming each of our souls is a gift to everyone in your life.
So go ahead, breathe it in, say yes to yourself, to your soul! Create the world you want to see by starting with your inner life and watch the blossoming.