It’s the first live episode from the Slow Book Tour! This week we’re listening to Brooke’s chat with the one and only Courtney Carver, from the King's English bookstore in Salt Lake City.

Brooke and Courtney have been working together for many years, and while they’ve exchanged countless emails and Skype chats, this was their first meeting IRL. Their conversation covers what motivated them to start to slow down, what slow looks like now and ideas for how to bring more intention into your life, no matter how fast your days might feel.

Courtney shares that her journey to simple began with a wake up call: her diagnosis of MS a few years ago. She decided to eliminate as much stress from her life as possible, and began making changes to her diet and then addressing her debt. It looked like minimalism to begin with, but it wasn’t long before it led to living a life of intention. She tells Brooke how exciting it felt to make these changes, but also how the step-by-step approach was so important. She and Brooke talk about the impact of decluttering, and how it’s about so much more than the stuff (and where it goes!)

All this decluttering forced both Brooke and Courtney to ask themselves: if I’m not my stuff, or my success, then who am I? For Courtney, this led to a real evaluation of her values and purpose, and the uncomfortable realisation that she was often distracted from what really mattered to her. Similarly, Brooke faced the same feelings when she sat down to write her eulogy four years ago. The life she was living wasn’t going to get her to the place she wanted to end up.

They go on to talk about the value of space and buffer in helping us be less reactive and more mindful, and some of the ways they’ve brought a little more slow to their everyday lives. They then answer some really thoughtful questions from the audience, all about anxiety around expectations of productivity and work, and how to tame the people-pleaser within us when trying to slow down and simplify.

Courtney brings such heart and soul into everything she does, and this chat is no exception. We can’t wait to hear what you think - be sure to share your thoughts with us over on Instagram and Facebook. To read more about the episode, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/250/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post. 

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