Dr. Karl Pillemer

You know, don't languish in a bad job.

Yeah, I got that insight first came from a successful entrepreneur who just said, look, here's my lesson.

Unless you have a compelling reason to say no, always say yes.

If you're offered a new responsibility, offered a new opportunity, in general, have your principle be, that may take me out of my comfort zone, but I'm going to say yes.

You know, this may also sound like a cliche, but I'm telling you that thousands of people told me this.

You absolutely are much more likely to regret things that you didn't do than things you did.

You are more likely to look back on a missed opportunity that you could have done.

So, I mean, one thing they would also argue, you can be a little more cautious about decisions that are irreversible.

But in many cases, they would say, you can experiment with a change that isn't so extreme.

So say yes to the initial steps in a new career.

Say yes to exploring something.

I think they say, and I'm sure you see it in your work, people become curious.

inert, that they become stuck, one day blends into the next.

And that's where this being honest with yourself, being present and intentional as you look at your life.

And absolutely, they want you to say yes rather than say no if you can.

So if you're wondering about some decision, some new opportunity, I would encourage you folks to say yes rather than no.

There are times when what sounds like a very specific piece of wisdom is,

sheds light on bigger issues.

So the most interesting thing is a lot of very old people hadn't traveled very much when they were younger.

I interviewed a 93-year-old nun in Rochester, New York, whose idea of adventure was her family would leave the Polish enclave and go to the German enclave for dinner.