I’ve told this story before. But it’s too good not to revisit.
Years ago, I looked over at my bookshelf and something stopped me cold.
How to Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days.
How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Self-help. Diet books. Fix-yourself books.
An entire shelf whispering the same message on repeat: You’re not enough yet.
A woman who truly felt enough in herself wouldn’t be reading those books. And somewhere deep down, I knew it.
So I cleared it. All of it. That afternoon.
And I started filling it with something different.
Books on design. Art. Travel. The classics.
The kind of books that belong to a worldly, curious woman who loves beauty and has lived a life worth living.
Here’s something I’ve noticed over years of traveling and staying in Airbnbs all over the world:
You can tell everything about a person by what’s sitting on their bookshelf.
It is one of the most honest corners of a home.
When I changed my bookshelf, something shifted in me.
I wasn’t just reorganizing. I was telling myself a different story about who I was.
That’s the magic of reinventing one room at a time.
You don’t overhaul your life all at once. You just start with one shelf, one corner, one small act of deciding who you are becoming.
That’s what this week’s podcast is about. Listen now.
With love,
P.S. – Speaking of tackling spaces that have been whispering at you, May’s focus inside the School of Self-Image is The Spring Edit.
We’re spending the entire month addressing that area you’ve been avoiding – including two live, 90-minute sessions.
Join us and clear the space that’s been nagging at you.
My home is a self-portrait.
The books on my shelf, the art on my walls, even what’s hiding in my drawers – they’re all mirrors showing me who I believe I am.
The Spring Edit
May’s focus inside the School of Self-Image is The Spring Edit – one room, one month, one self-image revolution.
You’ll choose a single space and transform it through our editing process.
This isn’t decluttering. It’s changing the self-image that built the room in the first place.
This month includes two live group sessions with me, plus a complete workbook to guide you through the process.
When you clear the space that’s been nagging at you, something inside you clears, too.
Oh, and by the way, I’m going to be doing this right alongside you.
Reinvent Your Life One Room At A Time
Your bookshelf tells a story. So does your kitchen counter, and that chair in your bedroom where clothes go to die.
What story are your spaces telling about who you are? And more importantly, is it the story you want to be living?
In this episode, I’m talking about how small shifts in your physical environment can create massive shifts in your self-image. Starting with just one room, one corner, one shelf at a time.
// TheEDIT
A weekly digital magazine by the School of Self-Image