One of the most common things I help clients with in my hypnotherapy sessions is learning to say no. It’s a powerful skill — to set boundaries, to honour your energy, to stop people-pleasing. But as I’ve entered my fifties, I’m discovering something just as important, maybe even more so: learning to say yes.

Not just a polite, half-hearted yes.
Not a yes followed by self-sabotage or last-minute avoidance.
I’m talking about the kind of yes that comes from deep within — a yes to myself.

A yes to new opportunities.
A yes to adventure.
A yes to showing up, even when it's uncomfortable.
A yes that doesn’t shrink back the moment life gets a little too real.

What I’ve realised is that I often hesitate to say yes because it means something. I’ve always had a complicated relationship with commitment — not because I don’t want to follow through, but because I know that once I say yes, I’ll feel compelled to honour it. There’s a kind of fear in that: fear of being trapped, of losing freedom, of disappointing others… or myself.

But here’s the thing: I admire people who say yes and stick to it. Who don’t back down unless they absolutely have to. Who trust themselves to rise to the occasion.

And that’s what I’m working on now — not just saying yes more often, but saying it with heart, and then standing by it.

It’s not always easy. In fact, it often means quieting the voice that urges me to play small or stay comfortable. But I’m learning that saying yes to myself isn’t about doing more or being more — it’s about honouring what feels true, even when it feels unfamiliar.
It’s about choosing growth over certainty.
Choosing self-trust over self-doubt.
Choosing to step forward, even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.

And it feels good.