Say “Yes!” to opportunities and experience more of life.

Several years ago, I decided to try saying “Yes!” for the most part when someone sent me an invite or came up with something I had not done before. I am a bit of a homebody, so the new attitude toward invitations changed my day to day life!

The idea originated from my response to my brothers unusual wedding. 

 When he got married back in 2010, he and his bride-to-be decided to say their vows in an airplane, and then parachute down after for the ring ceremony. Without thinking about it at all, I echoed my older brother’s words and said “Ok, I’m in,” when they invited us to join them. My way of dealing with the fear was to ignore that it was going to happen. 

Honestly, I was not even sure I would go through with it until the staff was suiting me up for the tandem jump and doing the short training session.

As we were climbing to altitude in the small aircraft, I was visibly shaking with fear. Sitting next to the open door of the plane for the first 10,000 feet on our way to 14,000, was terrifying. I was almost crying as I begged my instructor to  strap me in. I felt so vulnerable next to the open door unattached to anything as I was sliding around on the slippery aluminum seat. 

More terrified of falling out unattached than jumping out with my tandem partner, I couldn’t wait to get out of that plane.

What happened after that thought was amazing. My jump partner attached himself to me and pulled our harnesses tight.

I closed my eyes, let out a breath and we flipped out the door backwards through the blue sky above the clouds.

It was terrifying and exhilarating as we plummeted toward the earth. After we righted ourselves, we looked like spiders, two sets of arms and legs sticking out everywhere.

As we plowed through the air at 120 miles per hour, I felt incredible! I had left the plane and I was still alive!

The air rushed by with gale force,  and I stared through my goggles at the earth from over ten thousand feet. After checking with me, my tandem skydiver did some heart flipping somersaults and eventually told me he was going to pull our chute.

Up until that point, we were still skydiving and not sky floating. Pull the chute please.

Another moment of headrush as we soared straight up! I might have screamed.

Then we peacefully floated and circled toward the earth, like swifts in May.

I had conquered my fear of heights long enough to willingly jump from an airplane. What if I had said no?

 Saying yes kept me from missing the most exhilarating moments of my life!

Taking part in opportunities is a way we expand our experience. You never know who you might meet or what experiences may change your life.

You don’t have to skydive or bungi jump, but you need to experience more if you want something different to happen to you!

Many of my single friends say they never meet anyone, but if I quiz them, I find that just like I did for a while, they stay home when invited somewhere. You probably won’t meet the man or woman of your dreams or make lifelong friends in a bar.

However, we can’t change our lives and really live if we always say “No” to opportunities outside of our normal experience.

It is more likely the connections will come attending various events with friends or joining a group of some kind, so try saying “Yes!” the next time someone invites you to a dinner party, wedding, or you see a Saturday afternoon music in the park public invite. Say “Yes!” when the scouts need a chaperone or your kid’s band goes to Florida.

Say “Yes!” when someone asks you to dinner or a play. You never know what wonderful things it will lead to.

Get out of your house and try something new. Saying yes will change your life!

Say yes.

#transformation #purpose #vitality

Barefoot and writing,
Kim

saying yes