A coworker or teammate experiences a success or breakthrough in their life, and you catch yourself asking, “Why not me?” You watch someone in your circle launch a new business or accomplish something big, and that same question sneaks back in. “Why not me?” A friend gets back into shape or makes a positive change in their life, and you ask it again. “Why not me?”
It’s a great question… Why not you?
As in, what’s holding you back? Better yet, what’s stopping you?
It all starts with saying, “Yes. Me.” It starts with getting into the game and stepping onto the field.
We all have that thing… that goal or ambition that we think about when we’re alone. When we let our imagination soar, it’s that desire that we naturally go to. It’s that dream that we have, the one we hold on to and can’t let go of but we keep buried and hold under wraps.
- Maybe it’s imposter syndrome holding us back, or not feeling like enough…
- Maybe it’s a lack of self-confidence, or not feeling like we know it all…
- Maybe it’s not feeling ready or prepared, or waiting until the stars align…
- Maybe it’s not having the path fully mapped out, or dreading the unknowns…
- Maybe it’s a need for perfection, or knowing the path will be imperfect…
- Maybe it’s feeling like success is only for the lucky, or believing it’s for other people…
Or maybe… just maybe… we’re supposed to chase those dreams. Maybe we need to quit asking, “Why not me?” Instead, we need to start saying, “Yes. Me. Here I am.”
I spent years of my life asking this same question. “Why not me?” Then, I started saying, “Yes. Me.”
- It began when I said “Yes” to launching my business.
- After my divorce, I said “Yes” to dating again and, eventually, “Yes” to getting remarried.
- Then, I said “Yes” to my writing.
- I followed that up by saying “Yes” to starting a podcast.
- Last year, I said “Yes” to my health.
- And, I said “Yes” to adventure and Nepal.
There was danger, or at least I perceived danger, within everything on that list. All of these things fired up the fears inside me. Some lived on the edge of terrifying. I felt unprepared and unqualified for what I was stepping into each time, and the paths were never pre-paved. Some were rocky, and others required me to cut through the jungle, creating the path as I went.
When I started saying “Yes” to things, here’s what I discovered… The only difference between the old me and all those other people who were experiencing successes and wins and breakthroughs in their lives was saying “Yes. Me.” They were winning because they were taking risks, living boldly, and putting themselves out there. I wasn’t winning because I wasn’t in the game. I wasn’t even on the field, because I hadn’t said “Yes. Me.” When I started saying that and choosing that, everything changed.
The Takeaway
Say “Yes” to yourself. Take the risk. Be bold. Put yourself out there and learn to love the climb. Once you start doing that, the wins will come. When opportunity comes your way, or you start imagining your dreams again, say “Yes. Me.”
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