What if the key to getting more of what you want isn’t just saying “yes,” but learning when to say “no”? In a world of constant demands, overcommitting often leads to inconsistency, burnout, and broken priorities. Today, April Shprintz explores how saying no helps you protect your time, strengthen your focus, and stay consistent with what truly matters—so your yes carries more weight, and your results become more sustainable.
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The Magic Word That Gets You What You Want
I am so glad you are here. A lot of people would tell you that the word that is the key to getting everything you want is yes. “Yes, I will do that. Yes, I will make that extra effort. Yes, I will be super consistent. Yes, I will go the extra mile. Yes, I will do anything and everything it takes to accomplish my dreams.” That is not wrong.
Prioritization Through “No”
I just think that there is another word that is sometimes even more powerful and candidly can make that yes go a lot further. It is, drum roll please, no. The reason that I think no can be so incredibly powerful is that it helps you do a few things. Number one, really prioritise what is super important to you and what will keep you aligned with those things that are going to make you happiest and keep you on that path to success.
Have you ever seen one of those folks who cannot seem to say no, so they end up saying yes to things that they do not want to do or responsibilities that they do not want to have? They are a little bit of a martyr, they are unhappy, they are complaining, and they are never in a good mindset about what they are doing because they are so focused on all the things that they have to do that they do not want to. That is why no is so powerful.
By saying no to one thing, you create more time and commitment for another. Share on XNow, sometimes it can be tough to say no to people. I struggle with it a lot because I want to help. I think about the fact that for every no that I say, I am actually doubling down on my yeses. I am delivering that much better to my clients, to my friends, my family, my loved ones, because the things that I have said yes to, I know that I can show up 100% for. If I said yes to absolutely everything and did not often say no, you really cannot do that.
What would this look like in real life? Let us say, for example, you are an entrepreneur, and you decide that you definitely want to say yes to more clients. You realise that what you are saying no to is more things that you might want to do in your personal life or vice versa. Let us say you really want to make more time for your personal life. You are going to say no to new projects or new clients. Maybe you are not saying no as much as you are saying not right now.
“No” As An Enabler of “Yes”
Do you see how by saying no to one thing, you enable more time and commitment for another? That, my friend, is the power of no, because no really clarifies what it is that you are committed to. Another example, let us say you are very committed to doing something from a fitness perspective, some event, something that you are going to do for a certain period of time.
Because you are committed to that, you are going to say no to things like a Netflix binge for your extra time or no to staying up all hours reading an amazing book because you know that your sleep is so super important to you. Those things that you say no to are really enabling you to show up much better for the event. Another one.
This comes up with folks a lot when we talk about self-care and resting. When you have said yes to that, you are going to say no to the last-minute invite to go do something fun. Why? It’s because you are really going to make sure that you are doing the thing that is most important to you. Yes, I get it. People are going to say, “What about FOMO?” Forget FOMO. What about JOMO? The joy of missing out.
When you are confident and focused on what you do want, you know to say no to the things that aren’t included, so you can focus on what makes the most difference to you. Share on X“I am missing out on these last-minute plans because I made a promise to myself that I was going to rest more. I know tomorrow, and for the rest of the week, I am going to feel so much better.” It sounds overly simple, but when you think about it, there are lots of areas in our lives where we are not as comfortable saying no and holding our boundaries and really being committed to what is most important for us and what we want.
Where this plays into a winning mindset is this. When you are confident enough and focused enough on what you do want, you know to say no to the things that are not included in that, so that you are focusing on the things that make the most difference to you. It can be incredible the amount of impact that this can have.
What I would like you to do over the next week or two is say no to at least three things that people ask you to do that conflict with things that you know are important to you. This can be really tough for folks if they are not big on saying no in the first place, but the folks who have the hardest time saying no are the ones who are going to get the biggest benefit from taking that leap and doing it.
Once you see all the benefits that you get from really being judicious with your time and protecting it so you can focus on those things that matter, there is no going back. It will be easier and easier as it goes along. Try it out, see how it works for you. Reach out to me on the show’s website, WinningMindsetMasteryPodcast.com. Tell me how it is going. I cannot wait to hear about it. Here’s to your success.
Important Links
- Winning Mindset Mastery Podcast
- April Shprintz on LinkedIn
- April Shprintz on Facebook
- April Shprintz on YouTube
