Rachel Hollis is probably the most relatable insta-famouse person. She gets frequent blow-outs and gets to go to the Oscars, but she also admits to peeing her pants. She feels like she could be my way-more-glamorous best friend. But, not the kind of friend that makes you feel inferior. She is just so real and hilarious. If you don’t follow her on Instagram, you should.
When she announced that she was writing a book, I knew I had to get on it right away. I pre-ordered Girl, Wash Your Face.. and waited. I honestly didn’t fully know what to expect. I just know that I like Rachel, and she always inspires me.
I did not expect to get slapped upside the head with so many good things. The premise of this book is that Rachel breaks down 20 lies that she used to tell herself. These are lies that most women tend to believe in one way or another. She shares how she overcame these lies and has become the inspiring woman she is today. She shares the gritty and uncomfortable. She makes you laugh. She makes you cry. She makes you feel like a fire has been lit under your rear end.
“if you’re unhappy, that’s on you.”
Ouch, girl. That hurts.
How often do we spend in our lives saying “I’ll be happy when..”
If you aren’t happy now, you sure aren’t going to be happy when you lose 15 pounds, or meet the man of your dreams, or land your dream job. Your happiness is ultimately up to you.
My happiness is ultimately up to me. I always feel like I can’t get comfortable and happy because my life could be uprooted at any time. It gets uprooted constantly. Then, what? I have to leave all that happiness behind to become miserable and start chasing happiness all over again. So, what have I done? I’ve allowed myself to just stay in this miserable mindset because it is so much easier than being happy to have a sudden shift again. I don’t allow myself to get excited about things, because they could, and probably will change.
“Sit down and decide what’s really important to you. Not what’s important to your mother-in-law or your girlfriends… Decide what’s really important to you.”
This. Is. Key.
If I listened to what everyone else said, there are so many things that I would be doing differently. There are also times that I did listen to others, and regretted it.
You want to know my biggest regret? Changing my major from interior design after only a semester. I changed it because I worried what people would think. “That’s not a real career and I could never make it.” I LOVED my design classes. For the first time in college, I was having fun. I was super intimidated to be in classes with all of these ultra cool men and women. But, it was so fun. I let what I thought people would think change it all. Don’t let what other people think define what you do.
These were two of my biggest takeaways from the book. Almost every chapter resonated with me in some way. There is a chapter where she talks about how she reached a point of saying “I NEED a glass of wine”. I don’t drink, but I just replaced that with any other crutch I use in my life. I need to feel like I belong, so I’m going to go waste too much time on social media. *eye rolls all around*
I read this book much more slowly than the others I have read this year. I knew I needed to slow down and soak in what I was reading.
I guess what I am saying is, you need to pick up what Rachel is laying down. It doesn’t matter if you are married or single, a mom, never want to have babies..whatever. You need this message. You need a kick in the pants to know that you are enough. You are worthy. You CAN do hard things.
