Yes No Maybe So

"Yes. No. Maybe so."

When I was a kid and I'd ask my mom for the answer to something, that was sometimes her entire reply: "Yes. No. Maybe so."

It was frustrating. That answer and a shrug were all I got.

So I'd have to stumble off on my own and figure out the answer for myself. It wasn't that Mom didn't have the answer; it was that she wanted me to figure it out on my own.

And you know what?

I learned more because of her refusal to answer than I ever would have learned if she had given me a thousand fantastic beautiful words.

Those words still work.

The next time you're in the gym and you're wondering if you can lift that weight, or whether you picked the right kettlebell for the WOD, and you're asking your buddy for his advice?

The next time you're a mess with a failed job or a broken relationship or a wrecked friendship and you're expecting someone else to give you the answers on what went wrong?

Yes. No. Maybe so.

You probably don't need their answers.

You already know the answers — or you can find them if you try. Look inside. Seek. Search. Listen to your instincts, not your self-doubt or your fear or any of the extraneous crap we sometimes use to avoid really looking at the hard truth.

No one else can really show you the way.

You have to find it for yourself.