“By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer’s best of weather
And autumn’s best of cheer.”
-   Helen Hunt Jackson, September, 1830-1885

September feels like the end, but in other ways it is just the beginning.  September has a new year kind of feel.  Who amongst us has not thought at some time this summer….”in September I will start_______.”  That is probably why so many of us groan and sigh that September is upon us.  It means it is time to get our butts back in gear.  We set ourselves up with big expectations that we are going to do this, start that, and accomplish all that we did not during the lazy days of summer.

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Feeling Stuck? Use this word, and change your life.

On that historic day, November 4, 2008, we witnessed President-elect Obama, give one of the greatest leadership speeches of our lifetime.  In that speech, we heard about the power of YES. “Yes we can”.  Obama tells us that yes we can “have a world of opportunity and possibility” and that, “there has never been anything false about hope.”  In order for us to capitalize on hope, there must be action. Saying Yes is one way of creating more action.  As a life coach, I encourage people to take action by uncovering the fears that keep them stuck and unable to move forward…and say yes.  If you want to discover what it is that is holding you back, start with this simple exercise. 

For the next week, pay attention to the times you say Yes in your daily life.  Are you saying Yes more than you are saying No?  In what areas of your life are you saying Yes more often? Is saying Yes easy for you, or are you the type who really needs to think for awhile before committing?  Conversely, maybe you will discover that Yes comes freely, often flying out of your mouth, only to regret it much later.  Read more

Last week I gave you the assignment of Saying Yes More Often.  I am willing to bet that some of you didn’t find many things to say yes to.  You may have wanted to ask someone for a date or ask for that raise, but neither situation presented itself. You may be wondering how is it possible to get more opportunities to say yes.

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What made your list?  Last week I asked you to make a list of five things you would like to say.  I asked you to be aware of how withholding stops you from being spontaneous and sharing your thoughts freely.  This could be anything from being able to say what you want to say, from thanking or expressing love, or hurt, or asking for help.  What made your list?

When fear is running our lives we withhold to protect ourselves.  We don’t say things that make us uncomfortable.  We don’t like feeling exposed or vulnerable.  So we hold back, we wait for the other person to show a card first.  We hide, avoid, and keep quiet, carefully holding our cards to ourselves.  Ask yourself, what is the ace you are holding on to right now?

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Did you find a couple of excuses that you are using a little too often?  Did you notice that “I’m too tired” is your common response?  Did you hear the bit of resentment you are hanging on to in the “Why bother” response that you caught launching out of your mouth 3 times a day.  I encouraged you to dig deep to find the excuses that you use most often.

So now that you are aware of your excuses, ask yourself, if this was true and I did it anyway, what would be the worst thing that could happen?  Would I lose something, or expose something? What is your best guess of what would happen if you put the excuse or reason aside?  Sometimes you may find a hidden opportunity to make a change.

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