Have you ever encountered a Yes Man?
Have you ever dealt with the kind of people who feel the need to support your opinions and ideas regardless of if they have any correlation to their own? People who agree to go to or do clearly way too much than they are capable of? They are always available to talk or hang out but at one crucial point of time they suddenly disappear off the face of the Earth?
If you have experienced any of the above symptoms in a friend of family member, you may be dealing with the highly un-coveted Yes Man. This condition is one that manifests itself in people for a variety of reasons, some of which include Fear Of: Missing Out, Judgment, Enemies, Disappointing, etc. Anyone in the world can be affected by this condition at one or multiple points in his/her life. However, for those few who just don't understand why we Yes-men are just so... FLAKY, here are a few words on what it's like being not being the fabulous Meghan Trainor and therefore incapable of uttering the simple two-lettered word N-O.
After the third time that you texted me asking where I am, and I reply saying that I am only 5 min away, I am just as frustrated as you are at myself. The way that our lives work is that every living minute, there are distractions and possible social interactions that we cannot refuse. Yes Men run on a different time system, an undoubtedly later one than the rest of the world. But in the end, no matter how many times a person asks time to wait, the clock will say no.
Remember those plans that we made yesterday? Well this morning someone else made a set of different plans and how could I say no because they were so excited! Oh, and this afternoon my mother is calling to make plans for the summer. This is how I get trapped. Plans layered on plans is never a good scene, which makes for a general aura of poor time management. Maybe if I wasn't a Yes Man, I would cut you off at exactly 7 p.m. on the dot and run to the next thing, but that is not in the Yes-man nature. In Improv, the golden rule is to always agree to the situation in order to ensure the smooth running of the scene. In life, this same rule applies, meaning that our conversation will not end unless you decide to end it!
Deadlines? The worst part is being part of an organization or club where timeliness, deadlines, and commitment are a large part of the integrity of the group. Yes-men may be interested in everything, so they try out 10 different clubs and are coerced into staying in each of them. Again, this is another example of the "too much on your plate business". The group members who are dedicating their time and efforts to the club hate to see slackers of course, so even though the Yes-man may be the farthest thing from a slacker, no one would be able to tell from his/her behavior alone.
At the end of the day, the very people that Yes Men don't want to disappoint end up the most disappointed. We in theory, are trapped in a loop of expectations and shoddy deliverance. We end up seeming too social or too selfless that we become selfish loners. With that being said, if you fear that you or someone you know may be a Yes Man, remember that the time says NO.
