2016 – My Year of YES
As the year winds down, I find myself in transition from this year’s word of YES to next year’s word of FLOW (more on that to come). I want to share how this process works simply because I encourage you to try finding a word to guide you. The depth of this practice always astounds me. So it’s time to gather the lessons learned from YES.
Yes has taught me much this year. Looking back through my photos and notes from the year, YES has been very good to me.
I’ve learned to say a deeper and heartier YES to this amazing life I get to lead – which really becomes a YES to Love.
YES has helped me to accept things as they are.
YES has taught me to not say YES when the answer should be NO.
YES has taken me on adventures that definitely took me out of my comfort zone. Some were marvelous, others not so much so. But they gave me a clearer view of exactly where my strengths and weaknesses lie as well as my limits and boundaries. From that, I’ve learned I’m far stronger in many ways that I never saw before.
YES has kept my routines from becoming ruts that can get me stuck. It tells me intuitively when to break from the routines to keep the spice in my life. It’s also told me when to find the routines again or shift them to match the pace of the season.
YES asks me to constantly look around at my life and see if the things, activities, and people in it are still worthy of a YES. If not, then something/someone needs to become a NO…or downgraded to a MAYBE. Finding the YESes in my life clarifies what I value. Living life by my values is a definite YES.
YES has become a way to easily access my intuition (which in my opinion, is the same thing as the Holy Spirit). All I have to do is ask myself if what I’m doing, or considering doing is an authentic YES for me in this moment.
Is it a YES? The answer is always very clear.
“Letting your YES be YES and no be no” means it is this simple when you ask for the answer from deep inside. You just have get yourself out of the way so you can listen. Then follow through on it. And that’s a trick to practice.
This habit of having a word (just one little word®) guiding me through each year more deeply affects my life than any New Year’s Resolutions ever could. It’s hard to fully express all the nuances of this practice, but words have depth and richness – a spiritual aspect – to them.
Choosing a word to guide you through a year works in your life as fully as you choose to commit to it.
YES will join other words that continue to show up when I need them. TRUST, DELIBERATE, MINDFUL, JOY and the rest I’ve held for a year each over the past decade. They all continue to share their wisdom and encourage me to stretch myself to deeper growth.