Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

girl stop apologizing

Rachel Hollis is a name I have seen all over social media. Her podcast kept getting recommended to me as something I would like. I had heard mixed reviews about Girl, Wash Your Face. Then, earlier this year, Girl, Stop Apologizing was blowing up my Instagram feed. She was still very unknown to me, so I wasn’t ready to buy it (and her publishers weren’t sending me a copy). However, it was just sitting on the shelf at my library the other day, so I just had to pick it up.

Oh my goodness, I am so glad that I did.

I have so many thoughts to share with you, so buckle up because this review will be intense.

Rachel Hollis

I still don’t know that much about her, I’m not going to lie. Her entire “movement” is based around the concept of giving women the tools they need to be successful and go after their goals. She loves empowering women. I have learned that she married a fellow named Dave, and they have four children together. She doesn’t have a college degree, and she firmly believes that Google is your best friend.

The Book

Girl, Stop Apologizing is broken down into three parts: Excuses to Let Go Of, Behaviors to Adopt, and Skills to Acquire. Like most books similar to this, each chapter is a little bit anecdotal with a lesson in there too. Rachel Hollis writes like your best friend who’s going to give you the hard truth, and I love it.

A lot of the book focuses around you working toward your best self. That dream version of you that you’ve always aspired to be. She also encourages you to focus on one goal at a time. There are landmarks along the way, but work toward a singular goal.

girl stop apologizing

Some of my favorites…

It took a ton of personal work and some big realizations for me to get to the root of why I felt the need to live this way, but the gist of it is this: I cared more about being loved by others than I cared about loving myself.

Girl, Stop Apologizing Page 12

You are enough. Today. As you are. Stop beating yourself up for being on the beginning side of yet, no matter what age you are. Yet is your potential. Yet is a promise. Yet is what keeps you moving forward. Yet is a gift, and you are enough to get to the other side of it.

Girl, Stop Apologizing Page 3

I don’t care what religion you were raised in You weren’t taught guilt and shame by your creator. You were taught guilt and shame by people. That means whatever your people thought was shameful is what you learned to be ashamed of. Whatever your family or the influential people in your life thought was something to feel guilty about is what you have guilt about now.

Girl, Stop Apologizing Page 49

She also has a few actions or activities that can make a big impact on your life. Things like 10, 10, 1, and Five to Thrive. There’s a lot more that the book has to offer, and I fully believe any female trying to take the next step in her life should read this book.

My Issue

Now, this is going to get a little bit personal for a moment. There’s a lot of focus on working toward your dream self. Work toward things for which you have a passion or wherever you find yourself daydreaming in quiet moments.

I don’t know if I’m not ambitious, aspirational, or just terribly bland, but I don’t know what my dream self is. I don’t know what I’m passionate about (besides books and theatre). Where do I want to be in five years? I honestly don’t know. I don’t know what my dream is…and that’s a little bit terrifying.

I’m hoping to spend some serious time in the next few days or weeks or months trying to figure some things out. If you have any advice on how to figure out who you want to be, let me know. Heck, maybe it’s an excuse for me to get a new notebook. Stay tuned for my goals in 2020. I started working on them a couple of weeks ago, but I think they may get shaken up just a bit.

In the meantime, go out and get your darn copy of Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis. Those of you with dreams are already leaps and bounds ahead of me.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, so I may receive a small commission from sales generated.

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