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For much of my adult life I've been shackled by fear. I've been afraid to try new things, afraid to meet new people, afraid of doing anything that might lead to failure. This fear confined me to a narrow comfort zone. Recently, wholesale nike shoes air max nike shox air jordans promotional itemshowever, I made a single small change that has helped me to overcome my fear, and allowed me to get more out of life.

Last fall somebody at Ask Metafilter posted a question looking for books about self-confidence. One person recommended Improby Keith Johnstone. Intrigued, I borrowed it from the public library. It blew my mind. Though it's a book about timberland Boots nike wholesale air max nike shox prada shoesstage-acting, several of the techniques it describes are applicable to everyday life.

I was particularly struck by the need for improvisational actors to accept whatever is offered to them on stage. In order for a scene to flow, an actor must take whatever situation arises and just go with it. gucci shoes timberland boots puma shoes adidas shoes water heater（Watch old episodes ofWhose Line is It Anyway to see this principle in action.） Johnstone writes

Once you learn to accept offers, then accidents can no longer interrupt the action. […] This attitude makes for something really amazing in the theater. The actor who will accept anything that happens seems supernatural; water heater Swimming pool accessories prada shoes poster printing air force one Down wearit's the most marvelous thing about improvisation: you are suddenly in contact with people who are unbounded, whose imagination seems to function without limit.

These 'offer-block-accept' games have a use quite apart from actor training. People with dull lives often think that their lives are dull by chance. In reality everyone chooses more or less what kind of events will happen to them by their conscious patterns of blocking and yielding. That passage had a profound effect on me. I thought about it for days. "What if I did this in real life?" I wondered. "Is there a way I could adapt this to help me overcome my fear?" I began to note the things that I blocked and accepted. video converter for mac video converter mac wow gold wow gold dvd creatorTo my surprise, I blocked things constantly - I made excuses not to do things because I was afraid of what might happen if I accepted.

I made a resolution. I decided that instead of saying "no" to things because I was afraid of them, I would "just say yes". That became my working motto: "Just say yes". Any time anyone asked me to do something, I agreed to do it （as long as it wasn't illegal and didn't violate my own personal code of conduct）. In the past six months, I've put this philosophy into practice in scores of little ways. ipod ripper 3GP Video Converter video converter dvd copy software ipod ripperBut the power of "yes" has made larger changes to my life, too, has exposed me to things I never would have done before.

· Soon after I started saying "yes", a GRS reader offered to provide free wellness coaching. My gut reaction was to say "no". But I caught my negative thinking. "Just say yes," I said to myself. So I did. Working with Lauren, Cheap wow gold Guild Wars Gold Cheap wow gold nike dunks wholesale handbagsmy wellness coach, has been an amazingly positive experience.

These things will seem minor to the extroverts here. But for me, these were big steps. These experiences were new, and I wouldn't have had them if I hadn't forced myself to just say yes. Most of my experiences from my "just say yes" campaign have been positive, but not all of them. I've had some failures, too. Surprisingly, I've learned more from the bad experiences than I have from the good. In February, for example, a Seattle radio station asked me to do a telephone interview about retirement savings. "I'm not a retirement expert," I told the woman who contacted me, but then I realized I was making excuses. nike shox air Jordan baby shampoo jordan 2 jordan 5I was blocking because I was scared. "But I'll do it," I said. Ultimately my radio appearance was a disaster. I got stage-fright and became tongue-tied. But you know what? I don't care. I failed, but at least I tried. After the interview, I e-mailed the woman to apologize and to ask for advice. She was sympathetic, and gave me some great pointers. Next time somebody asks for a radio interview, I'll do better.

For too long, fear of failure held me back. Failure itself didn't hold me back - the fear of it did. When I actually try something and fail, I generally get right back up and do it again, but better the second time.jordan 7 jordan 6 jordan 10 jordan 9 jordan retro 1 I pursue it until I succeed. But often I convince myself that I can't do something because I'm going to fail at it, so I don't even bother to try.

Since I've learned the power of yes, I've begun to act as if I'm not afraid. Whenever I feel fear creep upon me, I act as if I'm somebody else. I act as if I'm somebody stronger and braver. Motivational speaker Brian Tracy says: If you want to develop courage, then simply act courageously when it's called for. If you do something over and over again, you develop a habit. Some people develop the habit of courage. Some people develop the habit of non-courage. Tracy recommends that any time you encounter the fear of failure, you simply tell yourself, "I can do it." Say it again and again and then do it. What's more, he says, tell others that they can do the things they're frightened of. How many timesjordan retro 5 air yeezy jordan 14 jordan 3 have you seen somebody excited about a new project become totally deflated when others tell them why it won't work. Don't be like that. Tell the person, "You can do it." Be supportive.

Tracy is famous for asking the question: What would you dare to dream if you knew you wouldn't fail? This is a powerful concept. What could you do if you stopped telling yourself "no" and simply tapped into the power of yes?