Do you ever feel like you don’t measure up to the other women around you? Perhaps you’ve decided to wait on pursuing a particular goal or dream until you reach a particular weight loss goal? Or maybe you’ve been struggling with shame about something that happened in the past, and you feel like that has disqualified you from leadership or ministry.
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If you resonate with any of this, or work with women in any capacity, this episode is for you. Today we’re chatting with our guest Rachael Gilbert. Rachael was a guest on episode 14 way back in the beginning of the podcast, and she’s back with us again today.
I know you’re going to benefit from this conversation, and we cover a lot of ground, including how your core beliefs are connected to your confidence, what body image and the Fruit of the Spirit have to do with each other, and “big T” vs. “little t” trauma. We also discuss whether trauma can or should disqualify us from leadership, and why it’s so important to address the hurt in our hearts when it happens.
Key Points Discussed:
- Rachael’s Life and Leadership Journey
- Why Rachael wanted to go back to school to become a counselor
- What Rachael has learned about leadership since she was last on the show in 2018
- Rachael shares how she had a ‘pause in her journey’ as she got her Masters degree
- Why Rachael wrote her book, Image Restored: Tear Down Shame and Insecurity to Experience a Body Image Renovation
- How confidence and body image are connected
- How our core beliefs are attached to our confidence
- How to reframe our confidence with a Biblical perspective
- Why Rachael thinks we struggle to overcome body image issues
- The importance of speaking with a counselor if you feel stuck
- A healthy way of approaching topics like weight loss and healthy eating vs. unhealthy ways of approaching those topics
- The importance of community as it relates to body image
- How to get and stay in alignment with God during our body image journey
- What comparison and trauma have stolen from us individually, but also have stolen from the body of Christ
- How trauma is impacting us individually and as the body of Christ
- The difference between “little t” trauma and “Big T” traumas
- How to differentiate “little t” trauma and ‘normal life stuff’
- How to deal with and process the day-to-day hurt we experience
- How we know as a leader when our trauma is unhealthy for others or disqualifies us for leadership
- The difference in dealing with trauma and submitting it to Christ as a leader vs. ignoring it
- Trauma does not disqualify us from being a leader
- Rachael’s Leaders are Learners Recommendations:
- The Emotionally Healthy Woman by Geri and Peter Scazzero
- In Our Lives First, Volume 1 by Diane Langberg
Key Quotes from the Episode:
“That’s the other beauty of following God’s timing as a leader- He’s depositing all these things in us along the way.” – Rachael Gilbert
“If we’re not careful we can marry our confidence in thinking ‘What does the outside of me look like? What are people seeing when they see me?’” – Rachael Gilbert
“Comparison never brings fruit into our lives or into the lives of those around us. In fact, it just robs us of peace and joy in relationship.” – Rachael Gilbert
“If you feel like you have any unresolved trauma, or unresolved emotions around that trauma as a leader, one of the best gifts you can give to yourself and to everybody around you is to take some time and deal with it, because it will leak out in ways that you wish it wouldn’t have.” – Rachael Gilbert
“Even if you have forgiven whoever did the offending, have you honestly dealt with the hurt that it left on your heart? ” – Rachael Gilbert
“The most unhealthy trauma is the one that is ignored or numbed or acts like it doesn’t exist.” – Rachael Gilbert
“People aren’t drawn to those kinds of leaders that appear to have everything together. They want to know that you’re in the trenches with them, and that you’re willing to work out the hard things with them.” – Rachael Gilbert
Connect with Rachael:
Episode Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Confident Conversations Mini-Course.
Confident Conversations will help you initiate and lead hard conversations… even if you struggle with confrontation, aren’t sure what to say, and want to avoid hurting people in the process.
This mini-course is designed to help you resolve conflict Biblically, build healthier relationships, and create transformation in your workplace, ministry, home, or wherever you relate to others.
Check out the details at confidentconversations.co
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