Status quo, equilibrium, routine, day-to-day, no change, same ‘ol same ‘ol…all words for how to keep things on an even keel. Sometimes that’s good. Slow and steady can feel good, and can even be helpful, especially during tumultuous times.
However, there are times when stepping out on a ledge and saying yes may be just the thing you need to shake up your world.
For instance, statistically, women don’t say yes to applying for jobs unless they feel they are 100% qualified; men will apply if they feel they have 60% of the qualifications (Lean In from an internal HP study). When you dig into the numbers, one of the things you find is that women (again, on average), have a lower tolerance for failure. (HBR, 2014). Women are not applying for jobs because they do not think they will be the successful candidate. This happened at a much lower rate for men.
When you get outside of applying for jobs, there may be less of a gender issue. There is comfort in not rocking the boat. It is easier to keep your head down and keep things as they are.
However, Wayne Gretzky, famously said: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
I think about that quote a lot. When I am playing small, or saying no, or let's face it after 2.5 years of a global pandemic, when I am more familiar with what’s up next on Netflix than what my neighbors are up to, I am basically not taking a shot. I am saying no to possibility. Even when I am not consciously saying no.
This week on the podcast, Sherry Essig and I talk about Saying Yes to Yes (and sometimes yes to no, but doing so consciously). Please listen in to hear about some of our own experiences saying yes and how to cultivate a practice of being just a bit more open to the possibility of yes.
