Words Into Works #020 | Hell Yeah or No

Derek Sivers had a problem. 

A few months earlier, Sivers had agreed to speak at a conference in Sydney, Australia. As the date drew closer, however, Sivers, based in New York, USA, at the time, realized he had overcommitted. 

“When it actually came down to it, I was just like, ‘Man, I don’t really want to fly the 29 hours to Sydney to speak on stage for an hour,” Sivers said, in a recent interview. “‘Why did I say yes to this thing?’” [1]

In search of another perspective, Sivers told a friend, who, after listening, reminded him, “You’re not trying to decide between yes and no, you’re deciding between f**k yeah and no.”

From that conversation—and later, a declined speaking engagement—came a helpful decision-making heuristic, which Sivers calls, “Hell yeah or no.”

In Sivers words,

When deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything less than “Wow! That would be amazing! Absolutely! Hell yeah!”—then say, “no.” [2]

There is a caveat, though: We don’t always feel excitement for the things we need to do. When it’s 5:17 a.m, and we ask ourselves whether we want to get up exercise, we’re unlikely to answer “Hell yeah!” no matter how long it’s been a habit.

But for everything else—invitations to socialize with naysayers, replying to unsolicited email pitches, whatever is on your “not-to-do list”—we must say no.

Life is a trade-off. When we say yes to one thing, we say no to something else. And more often than not, the thing we say no to is the very thing that deserves our attention. 

As Greg McKeown writes in Essentialism, “Only once you give yourself permission to […] stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.” [3]  

If you’re not feeling “Hell yeah,” then say no. [4]

Footnotes

[1] Derek Sivers on Minimalism, Mastery, and Avoiding New Technology.

[2] Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers.

[3] Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown.

[4] “If You’re Not Feeling ‘Hell Yeah,’ Then Say No,” is a chapter from Derek Sivers’ book, Hell Yeah or No.