Shonda Rhimes is a prolific, successful hit maker.
She created Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice and How To Get Away With Murder. She literally wrote the scripts on diversity in Hollywood today.
So I was pretty excited when I discovered that one of the women I admire most had recently gone on a similar “journey” as me.
Happy November 10th everyone! #yearofyes is out now!!! pic.twitter.com/GotJeq6riY
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) November 10, 2015
A few years ago I was miserable. A Pretty Serious Relationship had dissolved, and I totally fell apart. Panicking that I would always be miserable, I left my job, and moved to another state.
As part of this change regime I had a rule which I forced myself to stick to in the first few months. I said yes to everything.
Every party. Every social invitation. Every date (really not my thing). EVERYTHING.
The result was that I had a lot of fun and I built friendships that I probably wouldn’t have bothered with before my “rule of yes”. I also stopped having time to wallow in my misery.
That rule forced me to think differently about myself and my choices, and while I don’t do it all the time anymore, when I feel like I’m heading for a rut, I bring it back.
And it turns out Rhimes is all about saying yes too. (After the Pretty Serious Relationship ended I watched a ridiculous amount of Grey’s Anatomy – it is like break up crack.)
She has written a book about it, Year of Yes, that was released this week.
In it she writes: “The point of this whole Year of Yes project is to say yes to things that scare me, that challenge me.”
Exactly.