Who used to play the silly ‘No means yes, Yes means No’ game as kids? You’d say to your friends or sibling, for example “Are you an idiot?” followed by “But yes means No and no means yes” So its impossible to say the right answer here.
You say ‘No’ because you (maybe incorrectly!) believe that you are NOT an idiot and you get “Ah ha hahahaha – No means YES, that, means you ARE an idiot”
So you change your answer to “Yes I’m an idiot” and you have scored yet another own goal. Oh the childish things we’d tease each other with. Another one which springs to mind is – “Are you an ambulance or a cigar and you HAVE to choose one” etc etc etc
Well, how many of you realise we STILL play this ridiculous Yes/No game today in our adult lives? Every single day. In practically every decision and choice we make. Sometimes its to good conclusions and sometimes, not so good.
Let me explain. Every time we are faced with a decision. Like EVERY time, our saying Yes to something means saying No to something else. And vice versa. For example, you choose to say NO to the alarm clock first thing in the morning, that says YES to running late that morning. You say YES to have a good breakfast instead of rushing to work and skipping it. That’s saying NO to being hungry mid morning, No to having a good metabolism etc. You decide to YES to scrolling on your phone til midnight, thus saying No to a potential good nights sleep, No to doing anything remotely meaningful or productive and so on.
Last Monday, after pizzas a pizza customer, now pal, asked if I wanted a beer whilst he waited (I set up outside The Stag pub in Dufton) and I said Yes… so far, so good. But when I packed up and went inside to wash my hands etc, I was asked ‘Another beer, Micky?’. Now, because it had been an up and down day. Some good news worth celebrating tainted with bad news as well. An unsettling day, so another beer and some chats with a couple of mates at the bar might not be a bad idea. – There’s the ‘YES’
I gave two of them a lift home, then continued home. Saying Yes to another beer meant a big fat NO to
- Getting my clear down done before 10pm (became nearer midnight)
- Not drinking that night as I had another beer and a Gin and Tonic or two
- Getting a good sleep
- Getting up at 6.06 next morning.
- Saving money by not spending it in the pub etc
And all those delightful ‘No’s’ there. Well… Here come the ‘Yes’s’ that followed
- It was a big YES to coming down ill on Tues because the recovery my body needed from a intense and packed previous 3 days of work and travelling, didn’t happen
- Yes to dragging a cold out for 5 or 6 days.
- Yes to feeling crap about myself
- Yes to throwing my routines and discipline right out the window
- Yes to missing Park run and breaking my 8 week streak,
- Yes to missing Cross Country on Sunday because I was still ill
All from ONE decision. Crazy!!! I HAVE managed to be productive with my time this week and caught up with a couple of friends who came to stay and got some things done that I’ve been putting off, but its been a tough week. It makes you think though. Every action or thought or decision we make, a Yes to one thing is No to many other things. Saying No to one thing or person can mean yes to a whole different play out in the proceedings of your life. A bit like those books ‘Choose your own Adventure’ (one of the most popular book series ever published, it turns out)
“You are find yourself in a dark room with 3 doors, one on the left, slightly open. One ahead of you, with a key in the lock, one to your right, with a window and bright lights beyond it. Which do you choose?” You chose – Left. You enter the room and are mauled by tigers. The End. You chose – Right. You feel the warmth of the sun on your skin. Such a relief after 2 weeks in the dungeons. Suddenly you realise, its NOT the sun, the ceiling of the room is glowing white hot and within seconds a large chunk of it cracks and buries you instantly. The End. You chose to unlock the door ahead, you walk down a long corridor, and your mind vaguely recalls writing this blog post. To be continued …
So – next time we are faced with ANY decision. Do I stay or do I go, What does buying this bar of chocolate say yes and no to? Does delaying doing something (yes) say No to something important? When you start driling down on all your decisions and actions this way, rather than just caving in to the easiest option then, for the main part, life ‘should’ produce better results. Maybe!
Life was more fun playing this game as kids, wasn’t it?