Ok, this is a super corny sounding blog post, but it’s worth sharing.

So, I ready Shonda Rhimes book “The Year of Yes” and it was actually quite fabulous. And it got me thinking, you know what, there are so many situations where I say no to things. And I kind of unknowingly decided to start saying yes.

It wasn’t like other things I’ve challenged myself to do, like take a break from caffeine or drink more water. I didn’t set a goal, it was just a mental shift that happened.

You see, I’m kind of a pretty shy person. I know my comfort zone and I like to stay safely within it, if not barely walk around the perimeter to see what’s out there.

And while there were bigger things I said no to because they scared me, there were small things I said no to on a daily basis, and I just ended up staying home instead.

Now, I’ve just started recognizing all the moments in which I would have probably said no before and decide to say yes.

I really do believe the energy you put out into the world is what you get back. If you’re closed off, you’re going to ignore or pass on opportunities.

It’s just been a few months now of this new mindset, but things have started happening that makes me wonder if they’re a result of me being more “open”.

Things that have happened since I started saying yes more:

+ did a podcast interview — I’ve done interviews before here and there but this one felt different. It just seemed to come together and happen quickly, and I don’t know how to explain it but I felt like I had more of an impact during it.

+ had several 1-on-1 coaching requests come through — I normally have these come through one here and one there, but I had three come through within a week or two.

+ have had several sponsorship opportunities land in my inbox — I get offers for plenty of junk or completely unrelated products, but there were a ton of relevant offers that came through.

+ few different speaking chances — It’s on my 2018 goals to speak in front of a crowd (no matter how small), and I’ve had two different people say “You should do this”.

+ a free entry into a few races — I mean it helps that my friends/husband are in the race world, but I don’t always take advantage of that.

+ I got to film two races — Granted one of them was Michaels race and I was more told that was my role, but then another friend asked me to film their race after that.

+ getting out and experiencing more — this is more of a general result of saying more, but hey, you get out and do a lot more by having this mindset rather than saying no and staying at home.

+ feel more confident — A lot of people, myself included, say no because we don’t think we’re good enough to do something. But I’m all about the mindset of “fake it till you make it” even though it’s sometimes hard to do it personally.

I’ve been quicker to say yes, or follow up on opportunities, and while it’s terrifying to get out of your comfy little box where you feel so safe, it’s also so much more exhilarating out here.