Saying Yes

I went to an event where some members of Second City led a workshop on using improvisational skills in the workplace. One of the exercises for the audience was to split into teams of three and each member would make a proposal. For the first, the response from the audience was, "No, but...", for the second, "Yes, but...", and for the last, "Yes, and..." The point was to demonstrate how energizing a "Yes" is, even with a "but" at the end.

These days, I am at the receiving end of a lot of no's. No, you don't qualify. No, you we have candidates that more closely match, or just silence, which is the worst No.

Clearly, not very energizing.

So in exploring what my next step should be in this job search after "Fake It", I am thinking, "Embody the Change". If I want people to say yes to me, I must say yes to the world.

That means giving ideas a chance before shooting them down. I might have a larger pool of opportunities to draw from; I might even be creating opportunities for myself.

I'm also looking for opportunities to get out and about. Going to church(es), volunteering, finding activities and being out around people. Maybe this makes me an extrovert, but I think that after so many months of this solo job search, even the most die-hard of introverts would be dying for some social contact. So even if I don't really feel like getting out, my rule overrides how I feel and I get out.

If I have an idea, I have to say yes to it and follow through. This is where Faking It comes in handy. So what if I am not really a blogger? Pretend! I can't let preconceptions about who or what I am overshadow the possibilities that lie out there in the world.

The other day, a recruiter was looking for someone for an entry level role and gave me the impression that he thought I would not really go for this position. I was tempted to agree and stop moving ahead. The reasons seemed sound: I would have to prove myself all over again (I'm better than that), I would be traveling all the time (it's tough stuff), there are no guarantees (I could be in this same position next year). But I did not say no, which is three-quarters to yes. I did some research and thinking and came to see the possibilities. Yes!

Of course, I still have a long way to go and lots of things can still happen, but I am one step further in than I was, I've got something now to hang my hat on, and I'm certainly not sorry I said yes.