One of the most difficult words to handle is NO, especially when we desperately want something, or feel it is necessary for our success and happiness. According to sales research, NO is the leading cause of ‘fear of rejection’ complex that causes so many people to get out of business!
In thinking back on our years as consultants, we remember that NO was a difficult word for us to hear when we generated amazing proposals, only to find someone else was selected to do the job. But we discovered a fascinating way to hear the YES in NO.
We started saying “Thanks for saying no!” The moment we heard that we weren’t selected to give the opening keynote, for example, we would immediately follow up with a little note, thanking the potential client for giving us the opportunity to be considered ~ and our affirmations for them having a great conference.
Then we offered our services for future events, and also indicated that, should something occur at the last minute where they found they needed a speaker, to feel free to contact us. Finally, we included a copy of one of our books as our “Thanks for saying no” gift.
Incredibly, we discovered that quite often we were contacted immediately to confirm dates next year’s conference! And we can pinpoint three specific instances where things went awry with the selected speaker, and we got the call to replace them! We learned how to find the YES in NO by looking at a more long-term response.
How often do you run into obstacles that seem to wave a big red “NO” in your face? It seems so easy to just give in, and say, “Forget it!” But in Mark 10:27, Jesus makes an incredible statement: “With God, all things are possible.”
What exactly does that mean? It tends to conjure up all kinds of debates, like “Yeah, possible, but how probable?” Or “Sounds good on paper, but it won’t work in the real world!”
So let’s look at the Unity perspective of what this verse is really talking about, we get a whole different view. It tells us that as we make that connection with the Divine nature of who we are, our God center, we are open to the Divine Flow of all the substance and ideas we ever need. But until we spend that time in Headquarters, in meditation and prayer, our human self sees the appearance of obstacles, of “NOs.”
Here are three keys to discovering the YES in every NO you seem to encounter:
* Spend dedicated time in the Silence, strengthening your connection with Spirit.
* Greet every appearance of NO with a big “Thank You for saying no!” Then identify ways to send positive energy to the situation or people.
* Recognize that there is no being out there in the sky saying NO. We have the power to Divinely order our experience, and create the life we choose. Refuse to let the appearance of NO have power in your life!
