Best-selling author and editor and chief Amy Newmark brings three tips from her new book “Chicken Soup for The Soul, The Power of Yes!” to The Doctors. "By saying yes to new things in our lives, we feel proud of ourselves, empowered, and we can expand our lives instead of having them get narrower," exclaims Amy. We have the power to implement these tips immediately.
Tip 1. Make a policy to say yes to new things.
Just do it without thinking. Amy shares her experience paragliding off a cliff in the Persian Gulf to arrive at her resort. She said she was terrified but did it anyway!
Tip 2. Dare to be different.
Don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself. Amy shares a story about a man who was a former marine and then became morbidly obese. After bariatric surgery he lost 115 pounds, ran a marine marathon, and then went to USC as a graduate student. In his mid-40s, he realized he was NCAA eligible, and joined the USC lacrosse team!
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3. Face Your Fears
Amy shares a story about a woman who was terrified of water so much so that she wouldn’t even attend events near a pool. At age 44 she decided to face her fear. She took a private swimming lesson just to get herself into the pool. She spent the entire lesson going from the 2 foot depth to the 5.5 foot depth and 5 months later she swam the entire length of the pool!
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Psychotherapist Dr. Mike Dow joins in. He says he loves this story about the pool because that woman used cognitive behavioral therapy. You can change your life by what you do every single day. Dr. Dow shares that when you say yes, it actually helps you to become optimistic. He tells the viewers about a study conducted by Duke University that took place over the course of 15 years and followed people with heart disease. These people were 30% less likely to die simply by saying “Yes!”
