Hello my lovely!

A very happy Saturday to you, have you had a great week?

Can I have a HELL YES?!

This week I am raising the subject of saying yes more often, particularly when opportunities arise, and also what stops us taking advantage of those opportunities.

Why, oh why do we often say HELL NO when we know deep down that HELL YES was the right answer?

No matter what form the opportunity takes, particularly in times of COVID-19 it is often easier to say no than it is to say yes but can you put a finger on why you sometimes say no instead of living it up a little with a yes?

I can think of a few words which apply to me, courage, fear, embarrassment and confidence, do any of these resonate with you?

I had one very such example last night. I was going to play Friday night twilight 9 holes of golf (nothing serious, think better ball, golf carts, Gin & Tonic, laughs, balls often going in the wrong direction, my kind of golf!) and I decided to hit a few warm up balls at the range beforehand. Off I go, club in hand only to find a row of men hitting their long shots high into the air and each ball seemed to make the most beautiful sound as it hit the club, a sound I can only dream of making when I hit the ball. There was a space for me, but did I go? No. Why? Because I was intimidated, I didn’t want to look like the beginner who would inevitably hit the ball left, right or not at all.

I cared what these strangers thought of me even though I had no idea who they were and knowing that at some point everyone is a beginner and has to learn. I didn’t get to warm up when I was probably the most in need, how stupid was I to let what others thought of me stop me from doing something I wanted? Afterwards I felt so childish, I should have just put my big girl pants on and got on with it. Note to self: Men hitting balls on driving range are too busy worrying about their own golf swing than to worry about mine.

When was the last time you did something that made you feel uncomfortable or scared you?
Go on, really think about it.

I’m pretty sure that if you looked back to the event you would see you didn’t let fear of looking a fool, excuses, embarrassment, discomfort or failure stop you. You consciously stepped up, put your big girl pants on and stepped into your inner badass and afterwards you were so stinking proud of yourself that it made the whole thing worthwhile. How do I know this? Because we are most proud of the things we worked the hardest for.

There is only one thing worse than trying and failing, it is the regret for never having tried in the first place. Don’t let your fear of regret be stronger than your fear of failure. Dare to take those risks so that you don’t have to spend a lifetime wondering “what if.” Be okay with making mistakes, be okay being the beginner, the imperfect, learning version of you. Focus on the things you can control, the choices you make from here on and the opportunities that lie in wait.

Can you think of an opportunity right now that has come from COVID-19 that is just waiting for you to say yes but you haven’t? Why is that?

Perhaps the situation wasn’t perfect, or perhaps you don’t have all the skills you believe are required, perhaps you were worried about what people would say by you putting yourself out there, or perhaps it was self -sabotage? Do I really deserve this, am I good enough?

Excuses, excuses, excuses. Stop giving yourself a way out through excuses. Don’t be me at the golf course. Think about how it feels to step into your full potential.

What does the next phase in your life bring you?

I know opportunity is one of them.

It takes courage to say yes, it takes courage to look at the opportunities in front of us, and seek out the not so obvious ones, because living in our comfort zone is nice, fluffy, like a bowl of ice cream kind of nice; it’s where we like to be, but living in our comfort zone doesn’t always serve us.

We may not be out of the woods and we will be staying in place for a while longer but don’t let paralysis due to uncertainty stop you from moving forward, open your mind and say a HELL YES to any opportunity that knocks on your door. After all, you never know where it may take you.

Wishing you a fabulous weekend,

Zoë x

P.S. I have written before about the benefits of saying no, but have you ever thought that saying yes is actually very similar to saying no? Check it out.