Five Specific Ways “Girl, Wash Your Face” Has Changed My Life.

A few weeks ago, one of my best friends texted me and told me I MUST read the book she’d just finished. It wasn’t at the top of my to-read list, but I gave it a go anyway, because that’s what bff’s do, you know? So truly, that book changed my life. It was exactly what I needed at exactly the right time, and I’ll honestly be grateful for the impact it had on me for the rest of my life. 

I could rave about it for hours (and if you know me in real life, I probably have), but here are five specific ways Girl, Wash Your Face really changed my life. 

It introduced me to Rachel Hollis. || For some crazy reason, I had no idea who she was until Girl, Wash Your Face (Don’t worry, I’ve gone back and stalked the crap out of her to make up for lost time). I’m just going to say this: It is incredibly exciting and motivating to see someone become wildly successful who started right where you are. She had a blog. A blog. She worked her way up. HOW FREAKING COOL IS THAT?! It was so cool to read about her journey and honestly made me feel like there’s no limit to what any of us can do. 

It completely recentered me. || I’ll say this in a less hippie way: It completely reminded me of what I want to be at the center of my life. And then encouraged me to act like it. Like, if my ultimate goal is to move to Italy, I should be saving my money for Italy taking a class on Italian, not going shopping for bathing suits every payday and taking a class on jewelry making. A weird example, but does that make sense?

It reminded me of a simple and stunning truth: Someone else’s opinion of you is none of your business. || You know those nuggets of truth that are really common sense, and you should know them, but when you hear them said, it just guts you with how profound it is? That’s how this was. 

I have come an incredibly far way in how much I worry what others think of me. It used to truly be paralyzing to me. I’ve made really good strides, but hearing this made me realize how many things I do or don’t do out of fear of what people will think of me. And you know what? Life is too short for that crap. 

It forced me to ask myself: Why isn’t ____ happening? || I’ll be blunt: It forced me to be brutally honest with myself in a really good way. Because, a good portion of the time, the answer to “Why haven’t my dreams come true yet?” is “Well, because of you.” Just some hypotheticals: Why haven’t I published a book yet? Because you haven’t written it. Why can’t I get in good shape? Because you don’t work out. Why am I not getting the yeses I want in life? Because you’re too scared to ask the dang questions. See where I’m going with this? 

This book was a giant pep-talk, sure. But it was also someone calling me on my crap, and ooooh, I needed that. We all do!

It reignited my belief in myself. || I listened to the book on Audible and finished it a few weeks ago at the pool. I was sitting there, with my sunglasses on and headphones in, sobbing as I finished the last chapter. I felt so seen and encouraged and like there was someone on my side cheering for me to get up and get. it. done. And believing in yourself? Goodness, that’s powerful. 

Have you read it yet?! What did you think?

PS: If you want to listen to it and have never used Audible before, let me know and I can send you the book for free!