THE READING ROOM
Welcome to the Reading Room, where you’ll find long-form articles that increase your confidence, sharpen your decision-making, set standards, and move through life with intention.
This is a private library for all things confidence, power, discipline, and habits. Inside, you’ll find high-level teachings written to provide you with real, lasting change.
30. How To Romanticise The Journey To Creating A New You
One thing is for sure, and that’s when you decide to become the best version of yourself, you will eventually return to the version of yourself that you don’t want to be.
Strong start, I know…
But, you need to know these things because if you’re not prepared, how will you overcome the hurdle when you finally approach it?
So, what’s the point? What’s the point of even starting this journey of trying to attract the life you want, the dream position on the corporate ladder, the seven-figure fashion business, the golden retriever husband, the Porsche, the five-bedroom home in Surrey, the class pass to the best Pilates sessions, the Matcha mornings…
Why are we doing any of it if eventually you’re going to go back to the version of yourself that you fantasise about escaping?
Because, despite only 8% of people ever realising their dreams, there is still a chance, and that chance depends on how much you can withstand the process, even after the novelty wears off.
There’s something exciting about starting something new.
New planners, new journal, new workout clothes, a new routine, a new Monday morning. The thrill of rebranding your entire existence, your identity, the way you think, your habits, your standards, and the way you show up for yourself.
But what about when the rush of dopamine falls off?
What happens when your friends are no longer clapping for your commitment to getting in shape? When does being the ‘new you’ become less of a performance and now just a way of life?
This is what no one talks about.
The boring part is when people return their attention to their own lives, achievements, and problems, and it’s just you and you. It’s the stage where it’s easier to go back to the version you know rather than continue with the version that seems a little unsure.
In this article, I’m going to share how to romanticise your rebrand to minimise the risk of returning to a version you no longer want to identify with.
29. How To Program Yourself For Influence
I went back and forth about whether to use the word influencer in the title because, since the rise of social media platforms, the meaning has totally changed.
At the same time, using it made the most sense.
Because at the root of it ‘influence’ isn’t something you hope people grant you, it’s something you build internally and then embody externally.
Then others believe in it.
Open TikTok and you’ll see it. Everyone’s an influence in some respect.
A girl sharing her skincare routine.
A single mum of two breaking down time management.
A student voicing an opinion that goes viral overnight.
Influence is no longer exclusive to celebrities. It’s a rite of passage in the default currency of the digital age.
Whether you realise it or not, you’re already influencing how people feel, think, and respond through your energy, words, choices, even your silence.
The only difference between women who lead the narrative and women who follow it is how deliberately they’ve programmed their influence.
And as a woman, that matters more than ever. Influence gives you leverage in your career, your income, your relationships, and the way the world reflects back who you are. It’s not about being loud. It’s about being undeniable.
In this article, I’ll break down exactly how to program yourself for influence from an identity standpoint to showing up intentionally, so you no longer just hope to be influential, but also impactful.
28. How To Break Free From Being Shy to Finally Being Seen
For once, I was running on time, meeting a friend for lunch. Clothes were on, makeup was done, hair was finished, and I had about 20 minutes to spare before I needed to leave to catch my train.
What could I do in those 20 minutes?…
That was the first time I ever showed up on camera to the community on social media, Instagram, to be specific.
It wasn’t planned, I didn’t really know what I was going to say, but what had taken me 4 years to pluck up the courage to do, I suddenly felt compelled to do in the heat of the moment on a random Wednesday afternoon and hit the record button.
So believe me, I know. That tightness in your chest that you feel every time you feel called to speak up, or post online, or walk into a room full of people and introduce yourself to someone is frightening, but it isn’t always because you're shy.
Yes, being shy is a personality trait, but there’s more to it than just being shy.
When you feel the urge to step forward, but feel as though something is holding you back, it’s because you are ready to be seen, but for so long you’ve trained your mind to hide.
You want to express yourself through your voice, your inner power, even your style, but before you’ve even uttered a word, you feel like something is shutting you down. You want to be confident, bold, and influential, but instead you shrink…
And the fear sets in.
You start wondering:
“What’s wrong with me?”
“My life would be so much easier if I were a confident girl”
“What would it take for me to just put myself out there?”
But before you get frustrated with yourself, you should know that there’s nothing wrong with you, and the good news is, being shy is something you can easily overcome.
I’m not talking about ‘fixing your shyness’ because there’s nothing wrong with you in the first place. Instead, in this article, I’ll show you a framework to step into who you really are and finally find the confidence to be seen.
27. The Last Thing I Ever Want You To Do Is Work Towards Your Goals, Here’s Why
Let me start with something that might rattle your vision board straight off of your wall:
The last thing I ever want you to do is work toward your goals.
Sounds wild.
And you’re probably thinking, “Is this Patrice? The woman who claims she’s helping women worldwide become to the best version of themselves? And now she’s telling us to ditch our goals?”
Yes, it’s me. And no, I don’t want you to ditch your goals, but I do want you to redirect your approach….
We’ve been spoon-fed the hustle, the five-year plans and the idea that delayed gratification will eventually reward us with the life we want.
And while these concepts are important to know, what you’re not being told is…
Working towards your goal is often the very thing keeping it out of reach.
Don’t get me wrong, having goals is important. After all, they are your north star. They give you a target. They pull you out of the noise and give you a reason to keep going.
Of course, our goals are sacred.
But what I’m about to reveal might just flip the entire script inside out.
26. Why Becoming The Best Version of Yourself Is Boring As Hell
In a world where we glorify transformation, the before and after photos, the rags to riches, the single to married life. The aesthetically pleasing morning routines.
The part no one ever talks about is that bit in the middle.
That awkward part in the middle that boring and unsexy. The space between who you are and who you are becoming.
The part where you’re all doing all the right things, but it still feels like nothing is happening.
No applause, no views, no recognition, no shift…just air.
This is where most people give up. Not because they’re lazy or they don’t want it bad enough, but because they’ve arrived at a point where it just is.
Becoming the best version of yourself requires more than a desire. It requires emotional discipline to keep going even when the process falls to a stalemate, and the invisible remains as just that.
In this article, I’m going to break down why becoming your best self feels so boring at first, what’s actually happening during that season (even when it looks like nothing is), and how to mentally reframe boredom as proof that you’re building something real.
25. Why You Keep Letting Yourself Down (and How To Finally Stop)
Listen, you’ve got good ideas. Lots of them. You’ve got a strong vision. Big enough to fill an arena. And you’ve made more than a few promises to yourself about who you’re becoming.
But deep down, you also know what it feels like to ignore your inner voice and abandon the plan that’s collecting dust somewhere in the back of your mind as you say “I’ll start on Monday”, knowing you won’t
I know. I’ve been there.
And I soon realised, before I blamed it on motivation or a lack of confidence. This came down to the relationship I had with myself…
It was about self-trust and whether or not I actually believed myself when I said “I can do this”
If second-guessing, starting over, or overthinking is keeping you stuck in a loop, it’s not because there’s something wrong with you, it’s because somewhere along the line, you stopped being someone you could rely on.
The good news is that can change.
But it won’t happen with any more vision board, or an empty morning routine. It starts with honesty, small wins and rebuilding the relationship you have with the most important person in your life, you.
In this article, I reveal the thing you didn’t see that enables you to keep letting yourself down and how to finally stop.
24. The 48-Hour Reset for When You Feel Unmotivated
A question I hear often tends to run along the lines of:
How do you stay so motivated?
How do you complete that many tasks in a day
How do you remain so disciplined
And yes, I am very disciplined and organised, but I wasn’t always this way.
Believe me, even the most disciplined women have days (or weeks) where nothing can take them over the finish line.
That’s where my 48-hour Reset comes in. A push which allows you to reclaim your motivation even if you’re starting at 1%.
Feeling unmotivated can cause major interruptions in life. Recently, I wrote on my IG stories about the concept of not executing your ideas and having them go to other people if you do not have the motivation or courage to carry them out.
If you don’t move on your ideas, the world won’t wait for you.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes, an idea will pop into your mind, it sparks an emotion, you get excited about it, but instead of acting on it, you hesitate?
Days pass. Weeks. Then suddenly, someone else online is doing exactly what you envisioned, and you’re left wondering, “That was supposed to be me?”.
Ideas are energy, and if you don’t use them, they will find someone else who will.
So when you feel unmotivated, understand this: It’s not just about getting back into the flow, or even on track again, it’s about not missing out on the life that could have been yours if you had just started again
Okay, let’s get into the reset.
23. Discipline Is The Doorway to Your Dream Reality
How much do you know about the version of you who already lives the life you crave?
Did you know she exists right here, right now?
Not in the distant future, but in a frequency that’s accessed through alignment and embodiment, not waiting or wishing, or hoping. She doesn’t scroll for hours romanticising the soft life, she’s not pondering over another to-do list she won’t complete.
She decides. And then she disciplines herself to become it.
As I’m forming my own sense of discipline, I’ve come to learn that it’s often misunderstood. People associate discipline with rigidity, punishment, or military-style productivity. In fact, that’s exactly what would turn me off from strengthening my own.
But what if we flipped the script? What if discipline was the portal to freedom, empowerment, luxury and even manifestation?
Most people will never get to live out their dream life, (for a number of unfair reasons) but those of us who have a shot won’t, not because they’re incapable, but because they’ve never trained themselves to choose the long game over short-term and instant self-soothing.
That’s where the plot twist lies.
In this article, we unpack what it takes to build unshakeable discipline, the kind of discipline that builds dreams strong enough to withstand the test of time.
Leaving the Reading Room?
Now that you have explored the Reading Room and understood the literacy material, head over to the Viewing Gallery to watch this week’s lesson for deeper understanding.