YES, and...
The coffee brewed and hissed as I reflected on the gifts and lifts of my year so far. It started off when I was joined by a group of 60 beautiful souls while we selected our word themes for the year ahead. I was awe-inspired by their commitment and their capacious reach into themselves to create their intentional blueprints, as well as by their enthusiastic support for one another in their quests. What a way to begin a powerful year. It’s been with me since.
I lifted my favorite mug from the Keurig just after the final drips topped off the cup of steaming joe. Just the day before, I’d pulled the cup too early and missed the last luscious drops that instead formed a puddle in the coffee maker tray.
Interestingly, it got me thinking about my chosen theme for 2026:
Yes, and…
Yes!
Embracing the power of yes now infiltrates my daily thoughts and actions, often bringing a lovely surprise about where the yes leads.
I do an exercise every year that I call “Less of that, more of this,” releasing what doesn’t align anymore and calling in what I desire more of. Things like:
Less judgment, more curiosity.
Less angst, more surrender.
Less news, more literature.
Less self-denial, more self-acceptance.
Less sugar, more nutrients.
Less yeah buts, more yes, ands.
Less soloing, more coupling.
When I wrote, “less yeah buts, more yes, ands,” it planted something. I’ve allowed way too many yeah-buts to filter through my mind and roll off my tongue, on a way too regular basis. So that it became a habit I didn’t realize I’d adopted.
Yeah-buts become a pattern of self-denial—an easy response—which then can lead to apathy, complacency, and a flat status quo. Yeah, but ____ (fill in the blank).
I’m done with the yeah, buts.
I knew I wanted to say yes more. Saying yes is the invitation to explore within. Saying yes is the expansion in the world.
Saying yes launches my day. In fact, as I was writing this piece, my 7 a.m. daily reminder popped up in notifications: “Say yes today.” Smile.
Yes, will be my constant refresh all year. Saying yes is the key to the unknown portal.
Then, “Yes, and…” is my theme. Yes, and negates the yeah, buts.
Yes, and negates the yeah, buts. It’s worth saying again, as it blew my mind when it first floated in.
The “and…” is the courage to step beyond my current understanding and limitations.
It’s yes and… hold please. What’s more?
Yes, and… is a promise and a way forward. Yes, and… is the add-on to the wider, bolder choice. It’s adding the frosting to the ordinary. The bonuses.
Yes, and… is stepping outside of the comfort zone. Yes, and I glance at the threshold as I pass through it, rather than standing before one framed in yeah-buts, which I have done many times.
Yes, and? As a question, it’s a conversation engager, as in tell me more.
As my nephew Kirk said when I told him my word is Yes: “With yes as your word, you have to do it now.”
This challenge precipitated “The Yes List.” I created a list of things—big and small—to which I will say yes. I dug deep for some things on this list, things I’ve been putting off with so many yeah-buts they were stuck there, like in Never-Never Land.
And, with “Yes, and…” things are already happening. One item on the Yes List is: More active music, as in playing and singing more. As in joining a group.
Which is followed by the next thing on the list: Learn to play the ukulele. I know, fun, right? The next week, I kid you not, I got into a ukulele class, bought a uke, and have already learned to play “Leaving on a Jet Plane.”
So yes, and… bring it on. There’s a responsibility to follow through now. It starts with replacing self-denial with self-permission and bold action. Even a small step is a yes, and… It can lead to a leap.
Yes, and… is a pause to allow more to come. More thought, information, body-sensing, intuition, discussion, and discernment.
Yes, and I don’t have to do it alone. Yes, and I can ask for help.
Yes, and where do we start?
Yes, and I’d like a moment. Yes, and I want to learn more as we move forward.
Sometimes a no is a yes to yourself. Pausing to consider what feels in alignment with your truth. This happened just after the first of the year, as I was considering a big writing project. It was interesting and would have meant a sizeable payday. Yes, and everything in my being said no because it wasn’t what I knew was a true yes to myself and where I want to go. That no was a big yes.
Yes, and… makes room for the awe, and deliciousness.
Which brings us back to the final drips of coffee. Waiting for the next drips is the yes, and. The pause. The anticipation. The joy in receiving what’s next.
January’s not over yet, and I’m already bubbling over with yesses, and… there’s so much more to come.
Yes, please. And, yes, thank you.
Do you have a chosen word theme for the year? Oooh, please share it in the comments.
I love “yes, and…”, Cindy! ❤️