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What about those “No’s”?

Just as there is powerful energy in “Yes”, there is also energy in “No”. Try these on:

  • “Well, ah …, hmm. No.”
  • “No, but …”
  • “No, I couldn’t do that – it scares me.”
  • “I so wish I could, but no.”
  • “No, not now.”
  • “No way! How dare you?”
  • “Absolutely not. That would never work for me.”
  • “Thank you for asking. No.”
  • “No.”

Practice again with those “No’s”. Can you feel the energy in each? The next time you make a choice and the answer is no, consider which energy will serve you and honor the “other”:

Which “No” leaves you drained?
Indebted?
 Guilt-ridden?
What “No” is empowering and freeing?

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What is the energy in your “Yes”?

How many ways can you say “Yes” when asked to do something? Consider:

  • “Yes, I have no choice.”
  • “Yes, but …”
  • “Well… yes.”
  • “Yes.”
  • “Yes, I would like to.”
  • “Yes, absolutely!”
  • “Yes! I am so excited to be part of it!”

Now, imagine the energy behind and with each of those yeses. Try saying each one from that energy. Try letting the energy speak as the only word you use is “Yes”. Yes it is possible! The energy behind our words and our actions is real and powerful. Acting from a powerful “Yes!” is a gift to the giver and to the receiver. Acting from anything less has the potential to bring poison to our actions.

The next time you are asked to participate in something, to help, to choose, listen for the energy in your response. Then decide if you really are a “Yes” … or if perhaps this time you are a “No.”

What energy do you want to act from?

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What will you plant?

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson

The alarm rang and you have arrived at your first cup of coffee facing the opportunity of being on this planet another day. You look at the calendar and the to-do list and see the required “what’s happening” moments that lie ahead.

Perhaps you often think in terms of “What do I want to complete or accomplish?” which seems to resemble the harvest you reap. If you chose to focus on seeds instead:

Where will you deposit kindness?
What words of compassion will you speak?
What soil will receive seeds of love?

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Baseball Part I: The Home Run

If you know a bit about baseball, you know that a home run means you’ve hit that ball out of the park and you score for the team without being challenged as you trot around the bases.

What does it take to hit that home run? Years of physical training and practice, concentration and focus, and a good read on that pitcher. It also takes a lot of:

  • swing and a miss
  • bunting
  • strike outs
  • walks
  • hits resulting in outs
  • base hits
  • getting to first on the other team’s error

In other words, that home run was preceded by many failures, minor successes, and some measure of the misfortune of others. I suspect it is also the result of good coaching and lots of attaboys!

What is your home run?
What effort are you willing to expend to get there?
What are you unwilling to experience along the way?

Stay tuned for Baseball Part II …

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Precious Energy

Precious energy – YOUR energy. What does it feel like these days? How do you allocate it? Spend it? Do you save it for a rainy day (or, in Wisconsin, a blizzard)? Do you believe it is out of your control?

It often feels as if we have just so much life energy at our disposal. Based on our choices, however, we can create and experience MORE – or  LESS – of this energy each and every day. Our actions, beliefs, thoughts and emotions all impact our energy level. Today I ask you to pause and answer these questions for yourself:

How do I want to experience my precious energy today?
What choices will lead me there?