Former evangelical finds Rachel Hollis

I am fairly new on my journey in the personal growth space. It started just over a year ago when I heard a woman named Rachel Hollis interviewed on Jen Hatmaker’s podcast. I fell in love, and started following her. She had a little book that was about to come out, called “Girl Wash Your Face.” When that came out, I bought it (by this time this woman’s positivity and enthusiasm made me want a win for her either way.) It changed my whole life.

Now, as a former Pentecostal turned Southern Baptist turned not-that anymore, I struggle with the words to explain how much the personal growth space in general, and Rachel Hollis’s work specifically, has helped me. I want to use words I associate with God, like how it shifted my perspective, and I have so much joy now. It feels sacrilegious. Guys, let me assure you, all these things are true, but I don’t worship Rachel Hollis. She’s flawed, and there are some things she says that I don’t relate to at all. But as a coach, she’s helped me crawl out of so much negative thinking, she’s helped me grow more into how God made me.

I think sometimes people try and pit religion and personal growth against each other. Like, if you are trying to take control over your own life, then you don’t love Jesus, because he’s supposed to be the one in control. But that’s the thing. I tried just blithely giving Jesus the wheel for so many years, and it didn’t really work that much, because I was still under the influence of so many of my faults and insecurities. I needed the personal growth space to help me see that I’m not a helpless victim. To really understand that someone else’s opinion of me is none of my business (even if those people are super religious or in a position of authority.) I’ve learned to stop apologizing for being myself. And this doesn’t mean I walk through life with my middle finger up, acting out of control. It means that I was able to block out 5 million conflicting messages and finally find a weight loss program that works for me specifically. It means I have so much more time and less stress because I’m not sitting around second guessing every decision. It means I had enough confidence to start this website, despite it’s initial imperfections. I did it because I felt inspired, and hoped to help people, without caring if anyone else thought it was a dumb waste of time.

So, I’m going to keep reading voraciously, keep listening to people who have walked this journey ahead of me, and learning from them. I’m going to create healthy mindsets and habits and live fully into this unique life that God created me to live. I’m never going to stop growing.