[![fun-disrupt.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcCsFC77os3SS1wG2PCqJWKS2m9qZuZhKe9wDp7weHoEX/fun-disrupt.jpg)](https://unsplash.com/photos/bEXy1YQNIII)

**Have you ever heard that story of a guy who traded a [paperclip for a house](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_red_paperclip)?**

**He traded a paperclip...**
...for a pen
...for a doorknob
...for a camp stove
...for a party
...for a snowmobile
...for a two person trip
...for a box truck
...for a recording contract
...for a year’s rent
...for an afternoon with Alice Cooper
...for a KISS motorized snow globe
...for a movie role
...for a two story house!

All in less than one year’s time!

[![paperclip-quote-short.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXotdTxV4iWKP836FETKwgB6u98NnRVjYvP8yj7ht5oZh/paperclip-quote-short.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_red_paperclip)

He never looked at the paperclip and scoffed at it for not being the full manifestation of his desire. He appreciated it for what it was, and looked for opportunities to turn it into something more. 

It makes you wonder if saying yes to something small now, could turn into something big later. And that maybe our habit of saying no to things we don’t have a strong desire for keeps us from reaching our bigger desires, all because we can’t see how a paperclip we barely desire could turn into the thing we literally build our life out of for years down the road.

### Choosing Fun Over Control
####

A few months ago my musician roommates moved their band equipment from a friend’s house to our basement. This has led to a lot of fun jam sessions and live music that I get to enjoy for free, right from home. The only downside is that my room is literally right above where they’re playing in the basement. And all of that amplified music bounces off the stone walls of the basement and channels directly into my bedroom, making it almost impossible to hear anything else.

At first I resisted it. A man should be able to hear himself think in the confines of his own home. But after going for a walk and doing a meditation, I realized that there was actually something real special occurring in the basement below me. All of this fun energy was being created and shot straight up into my room. Like an uplifting force summoned from the depths of the Earth itself sent here to inspire me toward my own fun creations.

I could put my foot down and rightfully ask them to stop, but doing that felt like annoyed parent trying to control a free-spirited child. Why should the child have to slow down and operate at the parent’s pace, when the child is clearly happier and more fulfilled? Maybe instead of the parent trying to control the child, the parent should try to learn from them — try to remember what it was like to feel such a zest and enthusiasm for life.

### Unconditional Happiness = Unconditional Freedom
####

[![saying-yes.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVWZprSJ5LN8jAv5dmvfrpTweChx6otg96wQBDB4Nx1GM/saying-yes.jpg)](https://unsplash.com/photos/h6gTtqBZUxc)

So instead of exercising control and trying to put their fun to an end so I could have peace and quiet, I decided to feed off their fun and happiness; to let it guide me somewhere my ingrained habits wouldn’t.

Maybe saying yes to someone else’s fun and creativity, could lead me to the fun and creativity I was desiring in my own life. Squelching that music would be like squelching my own internal call for happiness. If I could learn to revel in the happiness of others, I would find it incredibly easy to feel happy myself. And furthermore, I wouldn’t need to control my environment to ensure my happiness. I would just need to go anywhere that anyone else was happy, and I’d be able to thrive!

Once I came to this realization I became a free man. I realized I could be happy anywhere if only I learned to milk the happiness that already existed there. Any environment, any city, around any people. If you look for something to be happy about, you will find it. You will even find happiness in things that used to annoy you, because happy things only annoy unhappy people.

When you're around something that could make you happy and you squelch it, it's the exact same feeling of being rejected. You lose out on everything you could've had if the answer was yes instead of no.

### The Power of Yes

[![disrupt-fun.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbgXNyW9ANP2zRpQq2Y7EbcF8VWuMQBZGgznC8JvuX9Ky/disrupt-fun.jpg)](https://unsplash.com/photos/yJygeDcirWI)

Once I had affirmed the qualitative power of saying yes, I was ready to say yes to things other people enjoy that I normally turn down. So when my roommate invited me to walk to our friends house to jam with them I instantly said yes. Even though I don't play an instrument. I just felt like saying yes and seeing where that yes would lead me.

- **Saying yes led me to spending the night with friends instead of on the internet**
- Which led to me saying yes to three glasses of wine
- Which put me in an uninhibited state when I got home that night.
- Which led to me going on a dating site and matching with someone that very night.
- Which led to a stimulating conversation about personal growth the next day
- Which led to me reading [an article about not giving a fuck](https://markmanson.net/not-giving-a-fuck)
- Which led to me posting a video about not giving a fuck
- Which led to my friend calling me out for *giving a fuck* in a video about *NOT giving a fuck*
- Which led to me reading a [book on not giving a fuck](https://smile.amazon.com/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-Counterintuitive/dp/0062457713)
- Which led to me launching a week long experiment on [embracing my insecurities](https://steemit.com/freedom/@joshbillings/embrace-your-insecurities-exceed-your-love-limits-day-0)
- Which led to me writing what felt like the [best post I'd ever written](https://steemit.com/freedom/@joshbillings/embrace-your-insecurities-day-1-coming-out-of-the-closet)
- Which led to me feeling on top of the world
- Which led to an old friend [contacting me out of the blue](https://steemit.com/freedom/@joshbillings/embrace-your-insecurities-day-3-opening-the-door-to-love) less than hour after publishing that post
- Which led to rekindling our friendship and becoming more than just friends
- Which led to some of the most [heart opening experiences of my life](https://steemit.com/sex/@joshbillings/embrace-your-insecurities-day-4-sexual-incompatibility-and-innovation)
- Which led to me feeling full of love and possibility and wanting to immerse myself in this world beyond insecurity
- Which led to me seeing the world so differently and [feeling free and confident to be me](https://steemit.com/freedom/@joshbillings/seven-things-i-ve-learned-from-a-week-of-loving-my-insecurities)

And all of this came from saying yes to having loud music pumped into my room from the basement below. Who would've thought that raw energy would carry me this far? **What would have happened differently if I attempted to disrupt that fun instead of letting that fun *disrupt me?***

### What Joys Are You Inadvertently Leaving Behind?
####

There's nothing wrong with having preferences. That's how we define who we are and what's important to us. But we all get a little too set in our ways from time to time. The next time an opportunity rises that sounds fun to someone else, but doesn't appeal to you, ask yourself, "Does this have the potential to lead me somewhere unexpected?"

Not every opportunity will be worth deviating from your norm, but being open to deviation will make it a hell of a lot easier for life to lead you down the path you're wanting, without having to cause some kind of crisis just to get your attention.

*Do you have any stories of how saying yes to something outside of your norm led you someplace incredible? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!*

***
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***Thanks for reading!***

*Click on any of the images above to find the original picture and support the artist!*

***

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[Seven things I've Learned from a Week of Loving My Insecurities](https://steemit.com/freedom/@joshbillings/seven-things-i-ve-learned-from-a-week-of-loving-my-insecurities)