The Yes Men

Yes men are usually described as weak person who agrees with their superiors or a sycophant. In this post I'm talking about the other type of Yes men (and yes, I'm making up my own definitions but what's your point?). 

As you get older, people become reluctant to commit to anything, or worse, they never actually want to do anything fun for some reason. Everything because a drawn out process. One of the best text messages I ever received was from a friend of my partner, when I decided we'd go out with his friends to see a show. I don't know him very well but he replied to the invite instantaneously with "That's sounds great. We'd love to come but I'll just have to check with my wife and make sure we're free" (obviously he just said his wife's name...I'm editing for privacy). I was struck with the enthusiasm and said to my partner 'That's what we need, more enthusiastic friends like that! People that just say Yes!')

We need to surround ourselves with people who get excited about things, because it is contagious. We recently went on a boat and my friends all oooh'd and aah'd because it was truly AMAZING and something we rarely do. When the waiters turned up with the food. the boat almost tipped over as we all ran to take photos! We all felt so lucky to be there, and lucky to live in such a beautiful city, and kept telling each other how sensational it all was. In the past we have done similar boat outings with others who didn't seem to notice all the magnificence on offer. Maybe they go on boats more often, maybe they had other things going on and couldn't rise above it but the difference in the vibe was palpable. I don't ever want to become the person that stops seeing the good things in life as something special.

However, as you get older, that's exactly what you do. The major flaw in humans is we become jaded and tired and mundane life overwhelms us. I too am guilty of this. I was booking tickets for the Festival and noticed that one of the shows I was booking started at midnight. I thought to myself I'd skip it as we'd be too tired. My 70 year old friend coming with me replied "It will be fun. We did one this year and it was great. We'll just go to dinner first" as if I was insane for even questioning it. I had that moment of self realisation when I discovered I was slowly slipping into that apathetic mire. Fortunately, nothing shames you as much as being fossilized, so I booked the tickets and am now quite excited about it. I am also extremely grateful to have such cool and fun loving friends, regardless of age!

Gordon Parks noted 'Enthusiasm is the electricity of life' and I think this is the perfect description. It lights up the room, it fills you with hope, joy and excitement. It's the sparkle in your eyes and the swing in your gait (to borrow from Henry Ford). And as I said, it's catching. Watch the way children think everything is great. So great, excellent, perfect. Their terminology is in extremes. As teens it falls into pretty good, okay, alright; and for some reason we never really recover from that.

Look at your interactions, look at yourself, and start making the minor changes. Most importantly, be a yes man and start the change. 

Linking for #MidlifeSharetheLove