Saying No to No

Have you ever been in a situation or a conversation where the person you are talking to seems to be always contradicting whatever ideas or thoughts you are suggesting? Have you ever been in a meeting with a group of people who were always saying that everything was NOT possible and that there was nothing they can do to help you solve the problem?

In my line of work I get to interact with people from different departments and different walks of life. It is sometimes frustrating to met people who are constantly blocking or negating change and progress. Our team was trained to be ready for just about anything. "Anything was possible if you set your mind to it", my boss would always say. "Think outside the box", she would say during our bull sessions. "Exhaust all options", "if there's a will, there's a way". Those words got stuck in my mind so when I rose from the ranks and became the head of my own unit I was programmed to think that all problems have a solution, it's just a matter of time and strategy.

So after spending many hours and days on several big projects my department was spearheading and the team that we were collaborating with seems to be saying "no" to everything, I was at the point of giving up. I kept thinking, 'if only, they would open their minds to the idea', 'if only they would see the bigger picture and not just timelines and deadlines, they would see that the solution was, in fact, very easy.'

When I got home yesterday I just can't seem to shake the blues away. I was frustrated and a bit angry - and I rarely get angry. I was sitting in our living room sofa, furiously flipping through this week's subscription of the TIME Magazine when I came across this ad from Shell-Real Energy. The ad was called, "Saying No to No". Here's the text that was written on the page.

"Isn't it about time that someone got negative about negativity?
Yes, it is.
Look around. the world is full of things that, according to nay-sayers, should never have happened.
"Impossible."
"Impractical."
"No."
And yet "yes."
Yes, continents have been found.
Yes, men have played golf on the moon.
Yes, straw is being turned into biofuel to power cars.
Yes, Yes, yes.
What does it take to turn no into yes?
Curiosity. An open mind. A willingness to take the risks.
And when the problem seems most insoluble, when the challenge is hardest,
when everyone else is shaking their heads to say 'let's go'.
Real enery solutions for the world.

My mouth was hanging open after I read the whole thing.It was as if the ad was written just for me and the magazine was placed strategically for me to read and skim through at that exact moment.

Being positive or negative are habits of thoughts that have a very strong influence on life.

The difference between can and cannot are only three letters. Three letters that determine your life's direction.

Positive and negative are directions. Which direction do you choose?