The holidays have come and gone, the new year has been welcomed, and many heartfelt greetings have been exchanged. Allow me to add mine in wishing all our members a healthy and happy 2026.
Now that the excesses of the season are behind us, are any of you facing the sobering task of making new year’s resolutions? Over the years, mine have become variations on the same repetitive themes: Exercise more! Eat better! Lose weight! How optimistic I am when I set these goals! How deluded!
I’ve decided that this year is going to be different. I’m going to streamline my resolutions. In fact, I’m going to make only one resolution, and that resolution will consist of only one word. That word is ‘yes’. My resolution for 2026 is an emphatic ‘yes’.
I started thinking about ‘yes’ during a random conversation with one of our members. She was telling me how much she enjoyed the previous night’s meeting. She said that she didn’t really feel like going, that she was tired and didn’t feel like leaving the comfort of her home. Despite her reluctance, she did go, had a great time and was ultimately very glad she went.
“That’s the power of yes,” I said.
Thinking about this conversation later, I pondered what made ‘yes’ so powerful. While ‘no’ is a blocked path, ‘yes’ is an open door. It’s a world of possibilities, it’s a chance to grow, it’s being surprised by joy where none was anticipated. As the past year has taught me, it’s important to say ‘yes’ when we can, because sometimes life says ‘no’ for us. By saying ‘yes’, we ignore the ‘no’ that emerges almost as a reflex when we encounter something unfamiliar, uncomfortable, or intimidating. Over the past few years, I was faced with a couple of new opportunities, both of which terrified me. The first was the offer to teach photo editing at Niagara College.
The second was the suggestion that I put myself forward as vice-president of CFUW St. Catharines. Immediately upon being presented with these opportunities, every cell in my body screamed, ‘No!’ The thought of doing either of those things was very intimidating. Sure, I had taught elementary school for ages, but this was college!
And as far as the vice-presidency was concerned, didn’t that mean that eventually, I’d have to be…. president?! What if I didn’t know how to do it?
Looking back, I don’t know how I got from ‘no’ to ‘yes’, but I’m very glad I did. Saying ‘yes’ to both opportunities put me on a journey where I’ve met wonderful people, found fulfilment, discovered new strengths (and weaknesses!), and had a great time. Additionally, my mental list of Things I Know How to Do has been expanded to include these new challenges.
Wanting to dig further into the power of ‘yes’, I Googled the phrase. As I looked at the long list of references, I realized that a lot of people think saying ‘yes’ is a good idea. The first thing that popped up was a book called, “The Power of Yes: Positive and Practical Advice to Help You Live Life to the Full”. Next up were a number of TED Talk videos. These were followed by an extensive list of articles, all exploring the power of ‘yes’. I was seeing a common theme: we often say ‘no’ because we’re afraid of failure or of being uncomfortable, thus preventing ourselves from having potentially great experiences.
Saying ‘yes’ doesn’t mean you have to go out and get a new job or become a different person. It could be as simple as trying a new hobby, or trying a cuisine you haven’t sampled before, or going to a meeting even if you’re not sure you want to. Saying ‘yes’ doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have a good experience, but saying ‘no’ ensures that you won’t. It doesn’t mean you have to accept things that go against your values or do things that are beyond your physical/mental/emotional capabilities. It’s being open to new experiences. It’s 20 women from CFUW St. Catharines tap-dancing at the Shaw. So that’s why ‘yes’ is my resolution for 2026. It’s easy to remember, it’s good for me, and it’s a heck of a lot easier than giving up chocolate.