Girl, Stop Apologizing is here! A book review

I am a bit of a Rachel Hollis fan.

I watch her morning show (on Facebook and Instagram at 8 CST) most mornings and listen to her podcasts on my commute across town. But it wasn’t always this way. I first heard her being interviewed on another podcast I listen to regularly and, honestly, wasn’t a fan. She seemed a bit preachy and it didn’t land with me in a way that was meaningful or helpful. It felt a bit harshly black and white for me at the time. But one day, I started watching her morning show on Instagram and became a fan! I found it, like you find all good things on the internet, through a post that lead to a post that lead to a post. Rachel became a voice for me in a place that I needed a coach. She is the voice in my life pushing me to not settle—to be the best version of myself and to have dreams and pursue them. Her latest book offering helped me learn not to apologize for those dreams.

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Here are some of my favorite thoughts from her latest offering.  I hope they encourage you the way they have for me:

Give up the excuse that you are not good enough to succeed.  

When we attempt something new or start dreaming of something more with our lives, one of our first struggles is with ourselves.  We tell ourselves that we are going to fail (or at a minimum perform poorly) and that keeps us from attempting it. She advocates that every time you attempt something for the first time you should get “toddler” status.  You have to start somewhere.  Give yourself permission to fail.

Failure means that you’re living. Failure means you’re trying…Don’t be afraid of failure. Be afraid of never achieving anything at all because you were too afraid of what others might think of you for trying.

Rachel Hollis (Girl, Stop Apologizing, p.55, 58)

Give up the excuse that you don’t have time.

Hollis says as many have said before her “If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done” (p.22). She introduces a concept called “Five to Strive” where you take evaluation of your week and build an intentional 5 hours into a week to pursue your dream.  For her, she gave up some extraneous shopping and watching television with her new husband so she could pursue her dream of being a party planner in LA. She also had to wake up crazy early to write when she was pursuing being an author. I discovered that you have to give up something to pursue a goal. 

Girl Stop Apologizing 

Make promises to yourself and keep them.

One of the biggest take-aways I had from the book was to start small on becoming the best version of yourself. In the chapter Building Foundations for Success, she lists 5 habits to adopt.

They are:

  1. Hydration
  2. Waking up Early
  3. Giving up one category of food for 30 days
  4. Move your body everyday
  5. Practice daily gratitude

I have given up one category of food this month in the spirit she mentions: just to prove to myself that I can make promises to myself and keep them.  It’s made me feel empowered and helped me move towards healthier habits. I have all these grand ambitions of extreme healthy eating or exercise and big life changes. Instead, this mentality helped me learn internal foundational lessons that will help me become the best version of me.

While this level of tough love might not be for everyone, it has helped fill a need in my life.  She has helped to empower me to take responsibility for my own life and dreams. For that, I am grateful and humbled and choosing to lean into my own growth. Join me on the journey!

jenniferboll
Jenny is a fifth generation Nebraskan. She is a true city girl and has lived in Omaha for 15 years of her life! She loves meeting new people and having real conversations. In her day job, she leads a Christian ministry -where she helps college students develop a meaningful relationship with Jesus. She has been married for over a decade and her husband and her have two amazing girls. In her free time, you will find Jenny navigating the new world of being a school mom, exploring area parks and trying to show up for people in a non-judgmental way (there may also be some reality tv involved).