The Say No With Love Letters
Join me as I get personal and deep about how saying no has changed my life. Each month, I’ll dive into the good, the bad, and the raw truths, paired with a tangible, reflective question to help you kickstart your own "Say No With Love" journey. Let’s rewrite the narrative together. Using mindfulness and self-discovery, I help creatives break free from self-doubt and limiting beliefs. At Breathing Space Creative, we embrace the long path, paying attention to everything along the way, especially the things we might usually overlook.
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saying no with love when you're ready to try something different
Say No With Love Letters saying no with love when you're ready to try something different Reader, Before I sat down to write this letter, I was belting out Donell Jones’ song Knocks Me Off My Feet—purely on instinct, and because I’m alone and wanted to know what it would feel like to sing something at the top of my lungs without judgment. It was awesome. I was probably way off key, but oh man, it felt so good. Lately, I’ve been following energy, and also stepping back when the energy feels...
READ POSTWhat if it’s not about topping the last thing?
Say No With Love Letters What if it’s not about topping the last thing? Reader, I’ve been thinking a lot about something that came up recently. I read this newsletter about the controversy around Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book, and it turned into a really interesting conversation in the Forever Writers Club. We started out chatting about the ethics of sharing deeply private parts of your life, but then our convo morphed into something bigger: the pressure of always having to “top” the last...
READ POSTwhen the nerves are a good thing
Say No With Love Letters when the nerves are a good thing Reader, As many of you have probably heard me mention recently, today marks Day 1 of my two-month fall residency in Whistler, BC. I’ve been sharing with the writers I’m close to just how unexpectedly nerve-wracking this transition has been for me. For the most part, it’s the little things: not having my usual comforts (I’m very particular about the items I use daily), missing my family and my dog, Chester, not having a car to get...
READ POSTno, I don't believe you have to "write" every day.
Say No With Love Letters no, I don't believe you have to "write" every day. What will you create? I bought into the "you must write every day" narrative for the first half of my writing career, until it just stopped making sense … for me. If there’s one thing I’ve come to understand over the past few years, it’s that we are wildly different as people. Yes, we can find connecting threads, moments of overlap, and shared experiences. But rarely do blanket tips or one-size-fits-all advice land...
READ POSTThe lesson hiding in my reflection notes
Say No With Love Letters In slowing down, I saw the quiet evidence that I’m on the right track. The moon on Thursday Last week I shared how thrilled I was to host the very first in-person Say No With Love session, and what a joy it was. Being together in the same space opened up new possibilities I couldn’t quite reach with the online version I have offered for years. I left feeling inspired, with fresh ideas for how this work might expand into mental health and wellness spaces, and even met...
READ POSThow saying no with love started for me
Say No With Love Letters how saying no with love started for me ... The fact that a Say No With Love workshop for writers sold out says a lot. When I first started playing with this idea of “saying no with love,” it wasn’t about boundaries at all. It began as a process of realigning my life priorities, of asking myself better questions and being brave enough to answer honestly. The boundaries came later, almost as a bonus, but a bonus I learned to pay close attention to. I’ll never forget the...
READ POSTThe self, the project, the ecosystem
Say No With Love Letters The self, the project, the ecosystem When we work only on the writing, we do ourselves a disservice. Being a working writer today means looking at everything, not just the page. The self, the project, the ecosystem. We have to zoom out, take in the bigger picture, and ask both where we are and where we want to go, and make decisions accordingly. But somewhere along the way, many of us tossed all that out the window. I did too, but not anymore. Under my desk there’s a...
READ POSTfollow a template or ...
Say No With Love Letters follow a template or build an individualized creative ecosystem for your unique life. Hmm! I pulled this card during a client call and it was another message! Since the beginning of the year, my partner and I have been putting 50 dollars in a little vinyl zip envelope inside one of my old planners. Every week I’d show up to his office with my little planner, pen, and envelope, ready to collect and update the tracker lol. Hey, give me a process I love, and enter...
READ POSTa quiet no that allowed me to choose something louder
Say No With Love Letters a quiet no that allowed me to choose something louder "The real purpose of art is to give emotional lustre to a range of ideas that are most important to us, but that are also most under threat in the conditionals of everyday life." This quote from The School of Life has shown up as a message in various subtle and not so subtle ways literally every day last week. And when messages show up that often, I listen! Yesterday morning, I took my usual bike ride down to the...
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