What if your life as you know it wasn’t there tomorrow
I am floored after discovering the documentary The Crash Reel starring the life of Kevin Pearce as a professional Snowboarder. I will go under the assumption that you have not and will not see this documentary, who spends time in front of them anyway right?! Well… Maybe you should make an exception this one time.
Major life evens do happen to all of us
The question might better be asked, what would you do if your life decided to take you on a 180° spin overnight. You may be a teen, a mother, a professional of whatever or possibly a normal kid living in Brooklyn when it happened. THAT event that turned life as you know it inside out and you had to find a new path. A new path in life which made you very uncomfortable. A path that would mean more work. A path which made you walk alone more often than not. Could you do it?
Stronger than we could ever imagine
We, humans, are much stronger than we initially think. Just look at the kid who grew up in the projects who now plays for the NBA, the mother who gave birth at the age of 19 and raised her kids all alone. How is this possible if we were not just that. Stronger than we could ever imagine. Knowing the strength of humans and the results we see around us today makes me wonder. Why do we decide to come up short most of the time. The will is not there to be 100%. The strength is forgotten. We turn a yes into a no.
Always say yes
Much like cocaine is addictive, so is a no. Once you start saying no you will abuse this word more and more and it starts early. My niece is almost 3 and she is an expert at saying… NO. Do you recall the last major life event you missed due to a no being in the mix somewhere? Did you lose out on that big promotion? Maybe you lost the chance of your dream woman due to saying no to yourself. Did you have a dream of living in a different country? Sorry man, but you said NO. Granted, we cannot say yes to everything as that would do a lot of harm to a lot of us, but the idea of always saying yes and be open to something new intrigues me. Change is not always bad. Change can be amazing, scary, but amazing.
Real world examples you ask?
I was supposed to leave the United States of America on April 29th, 2013. I was done after 11 years here. I had lived a life many would have said no to but I was glad I said yes more often than not. I had the chance to live in 3 different states, 3 major cities, graduated from college, started my own company, ran a hockey rink in southern California, coached a hockey team which changed me for the better and gave me life long friends. I felt that I had lived and packed my bags, said my goodbyes and bought my ticket “home”. This was a 180° from the life I had known for the past 11 years and it made somewhat sense.
3 days prior of my departure I got the opportunity many dream of. An email with a simple question: Do you want to come to New York? Granted lots of work are behind that email, but how did this email reach me 3 days prior to leaving this life behind forever? A no sayer would smile, be happy for the offer and continue with the planned route. To quote my mother, “Why do you always have to be different”, I said yes. I thought about the decision for all of five minutes and it was an easy decision. My whole body screamed out Hell Yeah and another 180° from the already life altering 180° I made a week prior had begun.
What ties this all together?
Life is life and will continue to be life weather we like it or not. Kevin who was a successful snowboarder had his life altered but he chose to say yes. Yes to fight and keep going. Although I do not know Kevin, I am fairly certain that he was a yes sayer in most things growing up. Dare to be different in order to reach the desired results. He is no longer a professional snowboarder but he is pro at life. Pro at fighting battles we all fear to fight.
The teenage single mother was also a yes sayer. She made it happen. She fought through all the negative connotation that comes with both being a teenage mother as well as single mother. Yes, she is a yes sayer. Three completely different individuals who simply believed in the same philosophy of saying yes more often than they said no.
Think twice
Next time it is your turn to say either yes or no ask yourself this…
What happens if I do say yes?
Something that started out as being inspired by a documentary turned into a text rambling about saying yes. The important part I took away after watching The Crash Reel was that the experience is usually worth the fight, the struggle, the long nights alone. Being able to act on your dreams is a fulfilling feeling of pride. Not the pride you get when you win a game of ping-pong. The pride that is much deeper inside of you. Internal pride. You can do and be anything you set your mind to be but the difference between the one who is living his dream and the one who doesn’t might be as simple as a yes or a no.
Just say yes. It is a good feeling.
oh, and be nice. Smile often and spread some damn joy.