Today I remember both the leadership advice and parenting tip to say “yes” as much as possible. Instead of “no, because,” I’m challenged to say, “yes, if.”
Yes, if changes the environment of the meeting or home to possibility, encouragement, hope, and innovation. It opens up conversation. Yes, if makes things happen.
The onslaught comes with requests and new possibilities, and I’m in a “no” mindset all morning. I see my child deflate with every “no.”
So I try “yes, if.”
Yes, we can do that when this or that is finished or if this or that can happen, too. Yes, let’s try that if we do it like this.
It harkens back to when my daughters were very little and we lived in “no” and discipline all day long. So one day, I said, “We need a Yes! Day.”
That day, we had dessert for breakfast. And they remember a decade later and smile.