Do you ever get in a slump, where your goals seem to go by the wayside? That happened to me recently . . . again. I haven’t been running, I’ve gained a few pounds, and I haven’t been writing except for journal entries. It’s times like this when I need a kick-in-the-butt. I found that kick by reading the book Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies about Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be  by Rachel Hollis.

I first heard of this book at a wellness workshop a few weeks ago. A woman said this book had reignited her commitment to lose weight. Other people were enthusiastic about the author’s podcasts. When a book discussion was scheduled, I read the book and went.

Photo found at https://www.luke.af.mil/News/Art/igphoto/2000908639/

The book is not specifically about losing weight—weight is discussed in Chapter 17. There, she reminds us that “we function better mentally, emotionally, and physically when we take care of our bodies with nourishment, water, and exercise.” She notes that we need to replace negative thoughts in our heads with positive talk and suggests ways to do that.

The author talks about how we hold ourselves back from living joyfully and productively because we believe lies we have been told. Each chapter addresses a lie. For example, “No is the Final Answer,” “I Need to Make Myself Smaller,” and “I Will Never Get Past This.” Rachel wrote the book as a Christian wife and mother in her thirties. She is highly ambitious and is CEO of a media company. Not every chapter will fit everyone’s life, but I think everyone can find some chapters that benefit them.

While Rachel is an inspiring person, she shares honestly, not pretending to be perfect. She discusses her most embarrassing moments, trauma she has lived through, and incidents she is ashamed of. She gives ideas for staying motivated. She is young by my standards, but she has dealt with a lot in her life.

At the book discussion, it was interesting to hear other women’s thoughts. One applauded the author’s reminder to celebrate our past successes and to use that as fuel for believing we can reach new goals. That prompted another women to describe how she and her husband got through a financial crisis when they were young. Such success can be empowering. The discussion got me thinking about how I ran my first half marathon near age 60. If I can do that, I can achieve other goals.

I agreed with most of what people said at the meeting, except when two women said they have no goals and thought it was due to their age. Sorry, I can’t agree with that. There are so many goals we can be chasing. What about travel, exercise, reading, staying healthy, improving our spirituality? My goals and your goals may not be the same, nor are our goals the same as Rachel’s. But it’s worth the time to reflect on what we want in life, no matter how old we are and no matter how small or large our goals may be.

After reading the book, I searched for more information on Rachel and found out she is a motivational speaker. That is one reason I decided to review this book. How many motivational speakers do you know of that are women? I know of women who are inspirational speakers, but few who are kick-your-butt motivational speakers. We women need to support each other. As Rachel says, “Ladies, our judging has to stop.” We don’t all want the same goals or lifestyles, but can we agree we each need to choose our own goals and lifestyle and live the way we want to? That is the premise of her book.

I like that Rachel pokes us to be proactive. She says, “You are in charge of your own life, sister, and there’s not one thing in it that you’re not allowing to be there. Think about it.” I appreciate her efforts to talk straight, like one friend talking to another. I don’t actually agree that we choose every single thing in our lives, but much of our life story is up to us. Rachel empathizes with other women, and she shares her mistakes and how she learned from them. The book Girl, Wash Your Face motivated me to work on my goals.

What books by women motivate you? In what areas of your life do you need motivation?