You can be yourself. It’s okay to sit in the back of the room at a conference if you feel more comfortable, it’s okay to never introduce yourself to new people. It’s okay to say no. “No thank you.” “No I don’t want to sit with you in the front, I will sit by myself in the back.” You can also say yes to sitting in the front.
Saying yes can change your life.
I like to sit in the back of the room, I don’t feel comfortable with people sitting behind me. I sit in the back of the room, or on the sidelines.
When you are worried about what is behind you, you can’t see what is in front of you. Click To TweetJeff Goins, the founder of Tribe Writers, an online course to help writers find their voice, and get published, holds a conference, Tribe Conference, in Franklin Tennessee in the fall, Tribe Conference. This year was the third year he had the conference. The first two years I sat in the back.
This year, this year, I didn’t want my anxiety about people sitting behind me to control my life.
Don’t look back, embrace life in front of you.
This year I sat in the front row.
This year, I wanted to say yes. Yes to being brave, yes to opportunity, yes to being seen.
Marsha Shandur, a story coach in Toronto, says yes, yes, at yesyesmarsha.com Marsha is very much herself, she embraces the word yes, and tells stories to engage with people’s hearts. From stage, she encouraged us to say hello to new people and to embrace who we are.
How do you see yourself? Do you like to try new things? Are you comfortable creating?
Where will you put your name below?
Yes Yes ________________ (insert your name here)
Or are you
No No _________________( insert your name here)
My name has been on the second line in black ink, No No Pamela. This year, I am writing my name on the first line. Yes, yes, to trying something new. To risk inperfection.
Well, really, it is to risk being seen. Nothing is perfect.
Why do you say no?
Did you stop singing because you are worried the sound might not be in tune?
Did you stop drawing because your cow looks like a chicken?
Did you stop going out and meeting new people because you didn’t know what to say?
Saying yes doesn’t mean you have to always say yes. No, you don’t have to bake 65 dozen cookies for the social event on Sunday, and of course, you will say no if a stranger wants to borrow your car. And no, you won’t come and clean my seven litter boxes.
This yes is different. This yes can change your life. This is the yes you say when you want to try something new, when you step forward into being who you know you are. This is the yes you say when you want to be brave, when you want to be you.
“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” — Richard Branson
Say Yes
Say yes to try to new things.
Say yes to opportunity.
Say yes to meeting people.
Say yes to you.
And you is good.
Saying yes is an action.
The speakers at the Tribe Conference encouraged us to say yes. Yes to writing, yes to creating, yes to being brave, yes to finishing.
Some people wait for clarity before they act. Clarity comes with action. — Jeff Goins
What will you say yes to?
Maybe it is saying yes to attending the Tribe Conference next year. Look for me. I will be sitting in the front row.
Where will you sit?
xo
Pamela
p.s. I am an affiliate for Tribe Writers. I don’t recommend anything I don’t love, or anyone I don’t trust.
