Yes and

I don’t have any good ideas.

Yes and…after producing enough bad ideas, a good one is bound to show up.

I don’t have enough time.

Yes and...I could choose to skip Netflix tonight.

I don’t have energy.

Yes and…I could get to bed early and start first thing in the morning.

I’m afraid.

Yes and…I have enough to start.

Our psyches are very fragile. We are so quick to draw an excuse of why something will (probably) not work. “Yes and” acknowledges these constraints. “Yes and” allows us to explore the edges of the picture we have just drawn.

When we are relentless in working through our objections, eventually our brains will realize that we are not going to turn around. Doesn’t mean the excuses won’t be present. But we are teaching ourselves to work in the face of excuses.

I’ve found doing this four or five times is enough to realize that excuses are nothing but assumptions. None of our assumptions are carved in stone.