The Life I Choose

Chapter Eighteen - I Said Yes

Every Yes Asks Something in Return

I have always been someone who said yes.

In my twenties, saying yes felt like the only option. Every opportunity seemed too important to miss, and I believed that if I worked hard enough, achieved enough and kept saying yes, I would somehow prove that I was capable.

While living in England, I somehow managed to juggle four jobs, full-time study and caring for a family member who needed me. Looking back now, I realise I wasn't truly present for any of it. I was constantly racing from one commitment to the next, convinced that if I could just keep all the plates spinning, everything would work out.

I still remember turning up to work one day wearing the wrong uniform. The problem was, it wasn't even the right workplace. I was supposed to be at college. Looking back, I probably should have been with my family instead.

It would almost be funny if it wasn't such a perfect picture of my life at the time. Everything felt urgent, and somewhere amongst all the doing, I had completely lost myself.

People often ask where my determination comes from. My ambition. My work ethic. The truth is, much of it came from feeling like I had something to prove. I wanted to prove that I was capable. That I was worthy. That I could do it all. It's a powerful motivation, but it comes at a cost.

Today, life looks very different.

For the first time, I can say I am fully self-employed. My days are filled with ideas, projects, conversations and creations. Running your own business is something no one can truly prepare you for. Every decision is yours. Every deadline is yours. Every success and every mistake belongs to you. Alongside that, you still want to nurture relationships, care for your family and somehow find space to simply breathe.

The biggest difference between the woman I was in my twenties and the woman I am today isn't that I've stopped saying yes.

It's that I've learned discernment.

I've learned that every yes costs something. It costs time, energy and presence. So before I commit to something now, I ask myself a different question.
Can I truly give this my heart?

If the answer is yes, I step into it wholeheartedly.
If the answer is no, I've learned it's okay to let it pass.

That simple shift has changed everything.

This year has brought opportunities I could only have dreamed of.

I had the privilege of working alongside an extraordinary woman whose generosity changed my life.

Mauna continues to grow through beautiful collaborations and shared visions for the future.

Sattvic Rhythm found a home at the Pomona Markets. People often ask why we chose a smaller market, but for us it has never been about numbers. It's about connection, and Pomona feels like home.

I took on the lease of my clinic full-time and can finally say I run my own clinic. More Infomation coming soon

Soul & Sound continues to flourish, with the privilege of teaching students privately and at one of the Sunshine Coast's most respected alternative schools.

There are new products forming, new ideas growing and new dreams quietly taking shape.

But perhaps the most meaningful yeses this year haven't happened in my work.

They've happened in my life.

I've said yes to more rest.

Yes to family.

Yes to honest conversations.

Yes to therapy.

Yes to recognising when I've reached my capacity.

Yes to slowing down.

Yes to welcoming our beautiful puppy, Joti, into our family.

Looking back now, I realise saying yes isn't about doing more.

It's about choosing what is worthy of your time, your energy and your heart.

And then, amongst all of those beautiful yeses, came the one that mattered most.

This year, I said yes when Rhi asked me to enter into sacred union with him.

There wasn't a moment of hesitation.

For so much of my life, my yeses came from a place of proving.

This one came from peace.

It came from certainty.

It came from love.

Maybe that's what growing up has really been about.

Not learning to say yes to everything.

Learning to say yes to the things that feel like home.

And this year… I said yes.