Have you seen Yes Man, the movie in which Jim Carrey challenges himself to say 'yes' to everything for an entire year and sees his professional and romantic life changed almost overnight?
When I watched Yes Man in 2008, I wanted to do the same. I was curious if my life would change as well.
Guess what? Miraculous things did happen. It took a few months to see results, but I can safely say that my stories The Strangers Outside and A Good Man would never have been turned into films if I hadn't said 'yes' to seemingly unimportant parties and dinners. I wouldn't have had important television appearances and I would probably still be the insecure woman I was five years ago.
When my grandfather got cancer, I became a 'no'-woman again. Because I took care of my grandparents as much as I could, I was just too tired to do anything else. I've been contemplating saying 'yes' again for a while now, but my fatigue always served as the perfect excuse.
When my sister told me she watched Yes Man and wanted to start saying 'yes' to everything as well, I saw it as a 'sign' to stop making excuses and seize opportunities once more.
Have you tried the Yes Man-technique? What were your experiences? If not, I suggest you try saying 'yes' to everything for three months or so and see what happens. I can already guarantee you that your life and writing career will improve in ways you can not yet imagine. What do you think? Is it something you would like to try?
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This article was posted for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Similar articles about writing can be found at http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.be/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html.
