Mary Pierce

Listen and laugh along…

TODAY’S LAUGH: I took my first improvisational comedy class last weekend. I feared being the “old lady” among a bunch of twenty-somethings. And even more, I feared making a complete fool of myself in front of them.

The group turned out to be a nice mix of ages and even better, the GOAL is to actually MAKE fools of ourselves. (No problem. I’ve already proven myself to be an overachiever.)

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: One of the things our instructor Ben taught us is that the answer in improv is always, “Yes!”

So when someone gives you a line like, “I can tell you miss your home planet,” your answer must be “Yes!” and in that moment you BECOME AN ALIEN and take it from there.

I got to thinking, what if we took that approach in life? What if, when we heard a suggestion, we stopped offering our usual reactions: “No way!” “Yeah BUT…” “But we’ve ALWAYS done it THIS way… never done it THAT way…it won’t work…”

What if we offered YES first and took it from there?

For example, your employee suggests a change in business as usual. What if you, Boss, responded, not with some version of,  “That’sthedumbestthingIeverheard!” but with, “Yes, and let’s talk about how that might work.”

Your child announces they want to be an artist when they grow up. What if you, Parent, responded, not with “Ohnoyou’llstarvetodeath!” but with, “Yes, and I’ll help you figure out what that involves.”

Or maybe God suggests a change in your life. What if you, You, responded, not with the usual excuses, “ButLordyoudon’tunderstandhowhardthisisforme!” but with, “Yes, Lord, and show me what my next step should be.”

There is such power in “YES!” in building and maintaining work teams, families and relationships.

What suggestion are you hearing today? What’s your first reaction to it? What might happen if you say, “YES!”?

You might end up mending a fence, forgiving somebody, or changing the world.

Who knows? You might even end up in a group of strangers, making a fool of yourself for the sake of a laugh, and yes, missing your home planet.

May you be blessed as you say “YES!” today and encourage others to do the same!

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FEEDBACK: What’s the SCARIEST thing you ever said YES to?  What was the result? When did you say NO and regret it?

Comment here or use “Contact Mary” to share your story.  You know I always love hearing from you!