Through personal stories, author Rachel Hollis walks us through the many lies we tell ourselves that limit our aspirations. She offers simple strategies that helped her turn those lies around. And like your best girl friends, she boldly and lovingly pushes you to stop living the lies and expect more from your life.
In a Nutshell
An easy read with relatable stories, it's easy to understand why this book is a bestseller. Rachel Hollis uses her down-to-earth style to present 20 lies she's told herself throughout her life and how she learned to turn them around. The lies are personal to her, yet the feelings they evoke and the stories she uses to illustrate how limiting they can be certainly resonate with most women.
Each chapter explores the lie in depth, and she weaves elements of her life into the narrative, making it easy to relate to and evoking the deep feelings that come with each lie. Then she deftly turns to the lesson - what did she do to help herself stop believing these negative scripts and learn to appreciate herself in new ways.
Some of my favorite take aways include:
Keep the promises you make to yourself - see them as just as important as a promise you would make to your best friend. If you say you're going to work out, go work out. If you say you'll eat healthy today, follow through. Start small until you get the hang of it, but make yourself a priority!
"When it comes to your dreams, no is not an answer" because "the only thing worse than giving up [on your dreams] is wishing that you hadn't."
"You were not made to be small." As women, we often "make ourselves smaller" to make others feel comfortable. We call our businesses hobbies or side-gigs for fear of what other people will think or so we don't impose on their perceptions of what a business is. We diminish our work as stay-at-home moms or working women as if one is less than the other. But our real selves are BIG, and our dreams are BIG, and we shouldn't feel like we have to be small when we're destined to be BIG!
We should do the things we love simply because we love them and regardless of what other people think. For her, this was writing. For you, it may be singing or painting or roller skating. Remember, "someone else's opinion of you is none of your business." Just be true to yourself and do what you love.
And my favorite final thought is best quoted...
There isn't one right way to be a woman. There isn't one right way to be a daughter, friend, boss, wife, mother, or whatever else you categorize yourself as. There are so many different versions of each and every style on this planet, and beauty lives in that dichotomy.
Final Thoughts
Read this book! Did everything she says ring true for me? No. Did I agree with everything she said? Absolutely not. But did I gain some valuable insight into how to become who I was meant to be? Without a doubt!
The beauty of this book lies in its personal nature. This format allows each person to take from it what makes sense to them and leave the rest. And there is plenty to take! The chapters are easy to digest and messages are simple enough that you don't have to struggle to get her point.
The best part ... the end is TOTALLY worth getting to. It's the message we all need and it comes in the most loving and encouraging way. I literally wanted to hug my book once I turned the last page.
I know I will be making the most of the lessons I learned, and I hope you will, too!
For more ...
You can follow Rachel Hollis on Instagram @msrachelhollis or visit her website at thechicsite.com.
Find the book at your local library (although, I'll warn you that the waiting lists are long!) or click the link to purchase it (affiliate link, which means we may get a small commission if you use this link).