THE JOURNAL

READ POST

READ POST

featured posts

search

Newborn

Maternity

Motherhood

Engagements

Weddings

CATEGORIES

More about me >

I must say, of all the cyber places you could have ended up, i’m certainly glad you chose to be here. Viewing my site is best accompanied by your choice of beverage; i recommend sweet tea, hazelnut macchiato, or prosecco. That, and 80's music, preferably from the breakfast club soundtrack.

welcome

Personal

Editorial

Writing

Featured

Lifestyle

READ POST

10 Secrets to Balance: Saying No

February 11, 2015

Balance.

It’s a word seen frequently in inspirational social media posts and in motivational speeches, but I’m not sure if we as small business owners, as women, understand how much it is an absolute necessity for our lives and our businesses.

Nikki Santerre Photography_Virginia Fine Art Wedding Photographer_Secrets to Balance_0001

The idea of balance and actually living it are two totally different things, the former being much easier than the latter. When you teach full time, own a small business, run a wedding blog, and have a husband and household to take care of, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the tasks and expectations! Over the last several months, I have tried some deliberate and intentional ways to restore some balance back to my life. I’m going to be sharing them with you over the next ten weeks in a series called “10 Secrets to Balance.”

Saying No. 

Y’all. I am a “Yes” girl. I have a hard time saying “no” to anything, for several reasons, the first of which being because I’m terrified of missing out. I fear saying “no” means missing out on something that could potentially be life changing.

I recently read an excerpt from a book that said, “saying “No” to something gives you an opportunity to say “Yes” to something more important.

For example, saying “No” to social media so you can say “Yes” to more important business tasks.

Saying “no” to the dishes so you can say “yes” to watching an episode of your favorite show with your husband.

Saying “no” to a full inbox so you can say “yes” to a coffee date with a fellow creative.

Y’all, I’m just going to say the hard thing in case no one has ever told you before…

If you’re going to have peace in your life, you’re going to have to put this word back into your vocabulary. 

If you want to serve your clients well, you can’t accept every inquiry. If you’re going to have a healthy marriage, you can’t say “yes” to working until midnight every night while your husband sits alone on the couch. If you’re going to have this sort of balance in your life, you can’t say “yes” to every invitation and fill your schedule with unending tasks.

Balance means prioritizing, so take a few minutes to really consider what is most important to you and what you might have to say “no” to so you can say “yes” to the things that matter most!

“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage-pleasantly, smilingly, unapologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside.” -Steve Covey

 

  1. Ashley says:

    What truth this is! I have the same issue and you nailed it on the head when you said you think you will miss out on something life changing. I think it all comes down to wisdom and discipline in the end so that we can say no to the less important things and say yes to all the right things. Great Post Nikki!

  2. Erin Wheeler says:

    Ahhh I so need this today! I really need to put “no” back into my life! Thanks so much for the wonderful words!

  3. Alicia Lacey says:

    Learning how (and when) to say “no” is one of my goals for this year — it’s so, so hard, but necessary for us to stay sane! Thank you for posting this, it’s nice to be able to relate 🙂

  4. Josh Gooden says:

    You nailed it! This is definitely something I struggle most with.

  5. I love this post Nikki! Finding balance is so difficult when you run your own business but in order to serve clients well you really do need to take care of yourself!

  6. Kathy says:

    Learning to say no is a huge undertaking! Great post! 😀

  7. Jessica says:

    I love this Nikki!! This is so inspiring. Saying no can be so hard at times, but that is one of my biggest goals this year – to be able to say no to things I can’t do and not feel bad about it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ENGAGEMENT SESSION STYLING GUIDE

DOWNLOAD NOW

Unravel the secrets to curating flawless engagement session outfits. In this guide we will explore how to enhance and elevate the aesthetics of your session by refining your attire selections and posing with confidence and authenticity, 

Load More

you miGHT ALSO ENJOY:

back to top
© Nikki Santerre 2023  |  Design by TONIC  |  LEGAL