That quote is so hard to take in and remember, especially when you are crafting something and that craft is writing. This has always been my craft and I’ve known that since I was a little girl.
I loved writing and making books in the first grade (incidentally the grade my oldest is going into 😩). In high school, my newspaper advisor made me editor-in-chief- probably because I was bossy 😛. In yearbook, I was in charge of my class’s Senior spread. I loved the print arts! I still do.
You know what? Something that girl still worried about is people liking her and people’s opinion of her. I went into college as a Journalism major. I left as a Business major. Why? Because I was too intimidated by what I thought were the better writers than me. You know what I would of told my 19/20 year old self? ‘Suck it up buttercup! You have something to say that they can’t create. Hang in there!’
Rachel Hollis’s book, ‘Girl Wash Your Face’, has touched me and millions of others. YOU need to read it (or listen to the audio book).
It just reached the #1 spot on the New York Times Best Seller list
Rachel gives you a sucker punch of confidence and basically tells you to ‘wash’ your thoughts of all the negative you once thought about yourself away.
Some of the points that really hit me:
- Be the best mom and wife I can be. Don’t let others steal your joy by letting their thoughts and opinions get to you. You were made to be the mother of your child. You know what is best and you are the only one suited for that job. Although I never really worried about what others thought of me as a mother and the way I mother, I was my own worst critic. I’m a yelling mom. There I said it. I have boys. I know that doesn’t justify my yelling, but for any mom who has boys, you know they are loud. You have to yell over them to get their attention, right? I often worry if I am scarring my children for the rest of their life. But I feel like I’m never heard unless I yell. I know, I need to stop and be more patient but I’m not always a patient person. Ok, deep breath, Tara, move on….
- You need to fight for and chase after your dreams. Dreams are inside you for a reason.
- For goodness sake to do not play small or hide. Be who God created you to be and…
- Let NO ONES opinion of you steal your energy to create…
- ‘I can write down words and send them out into the world and hope they find a home. Or I can hide my light under a bushel because I’m too afraid someone won’t like the glare.
- I need to create regardless if anyone is interested or I have an audience. I need to embrace my God-given ability.
- If you have the courage and drive to complete something that you worked so hard on, do not let something as ‘flimsy’ as an opinion deflate your balloon. ‘Do not kill your ability to do great work for fear of what others will think’.
- You create because you believe that your creation deserves to be out in the world. You create as a gift to yourself and God who has blessed you with that talent.
- The dreams you have, those BIG dreams, are not silly. They are the ‘road map’ to your divine calling. ‘Don’t sit this one out’. Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you determine your worth.
- Don’t miss out on the chance to live an incredible life. You were not made to be small. Become exactly who God has called you to be.
Most of these were direct quotes from Rachel’s book. Some of them were my interpretation.
Please go read it. It will be a game changer for you. You may get something out of it that I did not.
Whether you buy the audio book (a great choice if you don’t have time to actually read a book), read it on your e-reader, buy it or borrow it from the library, just do yourself a favor and read it.
Please let me know if you did. I would love to hear what you thought!
Have a great week!
