If you haven’t already, add Year of Yes to your Christmas list. I ripped through this book in two evenings, stopping only for sleep, childcare, cooking and studying.
Before I go on, I have to say that I am a HUGE fan of Shonda Rhimes. She’s responsible for Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, two of my favourite shows, as well as #TGIT (Thank God It’s Thursday), the amazing Thursday night programming block on ABC in the US.
Year of Yes is a fascinating read. At first sight, based on her body of work and the level of success she’s achieved, you’d expect Shonda (we’re on a first name basis :)) to be hugely extroverted, taking no prisoners in her personal and professional lives. We soon find out that she is hugely introverted, gradually retreating into herself and her work as she becomes more and more successful. She is forced to face this reality when her older sister confronts her and says,
“You are your own boss – your job is only as busy as you make it. But you never do anything but work. You never have any fun. You used to have so much fun. Now, all of these amazing opportunities are coming your way – once in a lifetime opportunities – and you aren’t taking advantage of any of them. Why?”
Shonda realises that she has to find herself again and saying yes to everything will help her do this. I’ll let you read the book to find out what she did in her ‘Year of Yes’ and how she challenged herself to get out of her introvert comfort zone, to say yes to being healthy, to say yes to saying no and to say yes to who she is.
This wonderful book reminded me that it’s so easy for a routine to turn into a comfort zone, which can then turn into a rut.
I love routine and I am such a creature of habit, so I need to remember to keep challenging myself – with my social life, my studies and with exercise. So I’m going to say yes to more, even if it makes me nervous (ahem, another Barry’s Bootcamp class!?!).
I’m also going to continue to say yes to being happy, yes to feeling bien dans ma peau, yes to enjoying my little family and yes to experiences, not material things.
What are you going to say yes to?