Meet the Member: Toni Jones, Author & Journalist
Ten years ago, burnt out and feeling disconnected from herself, Toni began reading self-help books looking for answers. More than 1,000 books later, that search has evolved into Shelf Help Club, the global community she founded around personal development, emotional wellbeing and modern life. Now, with the release of her new book, YOU (The Beginner’s Guide), Toni is distilling a decade of reading, reflection and conversation into a more practical question: how do we stay connected to ourselves in a world designed to distract us?
On modern life and emotional wellbeing… job…
“I started reading self-help more than 10 years ago when I was burnt out and struggling with life,” Toni explains. “Since then, conversations around mental and emotional health have become far more mainstream. Overwhelm, anxiety and hyperconnectedness are things more and more people seem to be struggling with right now. To me, self-help means having tools that support us through that.”
For Toni, though, the search for self-understanding isn’t anything new…
“I think humans are built to search. We’re still searching for connection, purpose and meaning, but hopefully the way we approach those things evolves as we understand ourselves better. Having read more than a thousand self-help books, I realised much of it contains the same core messages, just packaged differently,” she says. “With YOU, I wanted to distil the ideas that genuinely helped me and the Shelf Help community into something practical and accessible.”
On rest, burnout and protecting your peace..
“Rest is often seen as a weakness or something that gets in the way,” Toni says. “We now have the opportunity to be productive and consuming 24 hours a day, and the feeling of being left behind is a real struggle for lots of us. But rest is vital if we want to show up at our best.”
On rest, burnout and protecting your peace..
“Rest is often seen as a weakness or something that gets in the way,” Toni says. “We now have the opportunity to be productive and consuming 24 hours a day, and the feeling of being left behind is a real struggle for lots of us. But rest is vital if we want to show up at our best.”
Having experienced burnout herself a decade ago, protecting her energy has become non-negotiable…
“I want to build a great business and life while also taking care of myself mentally, physically and emotionally,” she says. “I try to be conscious about protecting my peace.” That relationship with self, she believes, changes everything. “There’s a lot to be said for getting to know and like oneself. Once you have a better relationship with yourself, boundaries come much more naturally.”
On books, community and creating YOU…
The ideas behind YOU have been evolving for years through the Shelf Help community. “YOU is an introduction to my Connected Self Method, which I created to simplify personal development and create the plan I needed 10 years ago when I knew something needed to change but didn’t know where to start,” Toni explains.
Over time, she realised the same themes surfaced repeatedly. “I’ve learned that self-help isn’t about fixing ourselves. It’s about getting to know ourselves and then designing a life that fits.”
And after reading thousands of pages on human behaviour and emotional wellbeing, has she become better at reading people?
“Great question,” she laughs. “No. But it has made me more compassionate and appreciate that everyone is fighting a battle I know nothing about, so I try to stay kind. Although I do tend to prescribe self-help books to people in my head after meeting them.”
On nature, nervous systems and Fritton…
Being outdoors, Toni says, has become essential. “Completely non-negotiable. I lived in a flat in London for more than 20 years, and while I still love the city buzz, I feel an instant peace when I’m in the woods next to my house. Walking in nature with no tech is where I come up with my best ideas.”
That same feeling is part of what draws her to Fritton Lake.
“As modern life becomes busier and more connected, places like Fritton become even more important. It’s valuable to have somewhere that feels like home, with nature and space to properly slow down. Spending time at Fritton is a total gift to the nervous system.”
On creating space to check in…
This June, Toni will also host The Summer Wellbeing Check-in at Fritton Lake, a reflective workshop inspired by themes explored in YOU.
Designed as a mid-year pause point, the session will explore self-discovery, life design and emotional wellbeing through a series of guided exercises and conversation, alongside a healthy lunch in the Clubhouse.
“We’re so used to pushing through and moving onto the next thing,” says Toni. “Sometimes we just need a moment to pause and ask ourselves what we actually want life to look and feel like.”