Cat says: yes/no, yes/no, yes/no, yes/no

Cat seemed so “together,” so content with himself and his life, that I felt compelled to ask him his secret, because content I was not! This was his answer. He simply says Yes or No to everything he comes across. He doesn't waste time explaining or justifying his choice; he simply expresses his preference in every moment and keeps on rolling, toward the Yes and away from the No.

I find this approach profoundly liberating. It's the secret to peace in every moment. And as I later learned, it's also the secret to creating the life I want.

As I began to practice it, I realised how much time I've spent explaining, defending, rationalising, and even debating my preferences and aversions with myself, and how often I've talked myself out of what I really wanted, lest it displease someone else.

Sometimes I have to remind myself to look for things to say Yes to, because my default setting is to fixate on the things I don't like or don't want. When I look for things to say Yes to, I invariably find more than I ever thought possible! I discover that I'm already surrounded by things I love, but most of the time I don't realise it, I don't feel it. And when I catch myself hung up on a No, I look for something — anything — to say Yes to, no matter how small or unrelated to the current situation I find so displeasing. It's remarkable how quickly my mood lifts with this simple shift in focus from a No to a Yes.

Cat's advice has freed up a tremendous amount of space in my mind and a great deal of energy — even if my choice is simply to relax or go take a nap (which is something Cat does a lot).

Weeks later, Cat taught me more about this simple yet powerful approach. But first I had to understand a few more things about how the universe works, and how my habits of thought were gumming up the works.

Yes/No – no rancour

Yes/No – no judgement

Yes/No – no argument

Yes/No – simple as that

Yes/No – easy as that

Yes/No – no analysis

Yes/No – no explanation

Yes/No – no fixation

Yes/No – just preference

Yes/No – again and again

Repeat – again and again

the secret to peace in every moment

he simply says

Yes or No

and keeps on rolling