Today we start with a new energy. Over the next six days, we’re spending our time with the energy of She Says Yes on Purpose.
This energy is devoted. When you’re in this energy, something lights you up, and you fully commit to it, so you can discover what’s possible by doing it. You won’t know exactly where it leads, and that’s okay. Your commitment and devotion are real, and it’s powerful. But there’s a catch in this energy that we’re here to learn about. Sometimes the yes comes from truly being ready for what you’re saying yes to, and sometimes the yes comes from the fear of missing out. Yup, that FOMO thing is real. It’s part of this energy. In the moment, being ready to say yes and FOMO can feel identical. But they aren’t the same thing.
I think we’ve all experienced a time when we said yes to going to a party or event that was more about FOMO than it being an actual yes for us. We’re human, after all. But let’s look beyond that.
If I’m being honest, my start as a professor came from a yes that was more about not wanting to miss an opportunity than it was about really being ready. In August of 2008, I was on a getaway with my husband, celebrating the completion of my MBA. And of course, there were discussions about getting a job. This was 2008. Remember what was going on in the fall of 2008? A big recession. The job market took a hit, and finding a job, even getting an interview, was tough. I had just told my husband that maybe I’d have to reach out to friends in business to see if they could connect me with potential jobs. And then, boom. My boss from my fellowship position called to offer me a job teaching accounting. I said yes. I totally didn’t want to miss this opportunity. But later, as I dove into the required prep work, I realized I definitely wasn’t ready. I had to step it up and get ready, fast.
Here’s the part that still makes me smile. That decision, that yes, took place in the middle of this very same She Says Yes on Purpose energy we’re spending time in right now. I made a yes-on-purpose decision, or maybe more accurately, a yes-out-of-FOMO decision, while this exact energy was moving through all of us. I didn’t know that at the time, but there’s something almost too fitting about it now.
There’s a song that perfectly captures the energy of She Says Yes on Purpose, Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” It’s the anthem for committing to something even after it turns into more than you bargained for, and coming out the other side stronger for having stuck with it. That’s exactly this energy. You said yes. The journey didn’t go as planned. And you’re still standing.
This week, we’re going to look at all sides of this energy. What happens when the yes comes out before it’s ready. What it looks like in everyday life, when you learn to pause and check the source of your yes. And what it looks like at its very best, when every commitment you make carries an energetic buy-in that people can feel.
Find your happy. Love what you do. Make a difference. Come back to me safely. See ya!
