Hell Yes or No
If it's not a clear "yes!", it's a no. This tool helps you separate genuine desire from obligation, guilt, or fear of disappointing others.
Based on Hell Yes or No — Derek Sivers
Derek Sivers' idea is simple and radical: when you say yes to everything, there's no room left for what truly matters. The filter is brutal — it's either a full-body "yes!", or it's a no.
Here you'll examine a decision you're facing right now and test whether your yes is genuine or automatic.
What's at stake?
Describe the decision, invitation, or commitment you're considering. It could be a project, a relationship, a change, a request. What's on your plate right now?
Why are you saying yes?
Be honest. Is it because you truly want to? Because you're afraid of missing out? Because you don't want to disappoint someone? Because you "should"? List all the reasons — the pretty and the ugly.
The body test
Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine you've already said yes and you're living it. How does your body react? Expansion, lightness, energy? Or contraction, heaviness, tightness in the chest? Describe the sensation — without judging.
If I said no — what would happen?
Imagine you decline. What changes? Who gets disappointed? What space opens up? Do you feel relief or regret? That answer says a lot.
Your verdict
Looking at everything you wrote — is it a full-body yes? Or is it a head-yes, a guilt-yes, a fear-yes? Write your honest conclusion. It doesn't need to be final. It needs to be yours.
Your verdict
What surfaced when you stopped to listen.
The decision
Why I'm saying yes
What the body says
If I said no
My conclusion
What changes in your life if you start saying no to your automatic yeses?