#SummerOfYes – Recently, changing my home changed my life.
For the last three years I’ve literally been living in a problem: I’ve been deeply unsatisfied with my home.
Our immediate environments matter more to us than many people understand or respect. Psychologically and spiritually, the difference between being amongst mess and chaos versus order and harmony can be of incalculable to our moods, productivity and feeling of overall well-being.
Also incalculable: the negative impact a space can have when it isn’t in keeping with who you are now.
I have always kept a home that was inviting and beautiful and expressed who I was. Self-expression via my home has always been my thing. Plus, I’m a Leo – my home is my castle.
Except the last three years. When my marriage ended, for the first few months I was under the impression our split was temporary. I did nothing to our space during that time, even though I was now living in it by myself. Once reality hit, I made the decision to allow myself time to consider what I wanted my home to be. I was now living solo for the first time in a dozen years. I would let it speak to me.
If my apartment was speaking to me, it was a muted whisper I didn’t hear as I began life anew. Since then, I’ve dated, travelled, worked, and not given my oasis the attention it deserved.
This compounded a problem. It never looked right, never felt right. It never worked. It was not nice to come home to, or be in. Instead of being a soft place to land, it was the source of deep discomfort, frustration, and I finally arrived at a critical point that anyone reading this who has hit that home bottom too knows the feeling of, and it’s the worst.
Everywhere I looked I hated the sight of, but didn’t know where to begin. I was paralyzed, in the very place I should have felt most liberated and free: my own home.
So, when the astonishing mural I ordered from Fine & Dandy Co., depicting a bygone moment on Wellington Street in Toronto was installed – and even that had a problem (created by me) – I said my very first #SummerOfYes YES of 2018 when Jill Sternberg and Shelley Weinreb, two of the experts at Fine & Dandy Co. came by to take a look, and then said to me something I was not expecting from the partners of a wallpaper company:
“Can we have free reign with your stuff?”
Remember: I’ve always been good at this. This was MY home. I didn’t need an expert doing this for me, expressing me on my behalf. But, when I swallowed my pride and ego and said yes to even something I never normally say yes to, my home became a better expression of myself than I myself could express.
My annual #SummerOfYes series kicks off this coming weekend on The Shaun Proulx Show on SiriusXM Canada Talks 167 and so I had to have Jill and Shelley into the studio on our last day of taping before summer hiatus to share this big yes and help others feel inspired.
Have an early-bird listen to our conversation at the top of this page, and learn about what “Shopping At Home” is (and why your bill is always $0.00 when you do.) Saying yes to changing my home changed my life – maybe it will yours, too.
Be sure to like our #SummerOfYes Facebook page – that’s where you can hear #SummerOfYes shows, and win great prizing through the end of September. And be sure to hashtag your #SummerOfYes moments on social media for everyone to enjoy and take inspiration from.New To #SummerOfYes? Get all the intel on how #SummerOfYes will change your life in the video below, and meet Gloria, the original #SummerOfYes girl:
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