Review: Unleash Your Inner Goddess by Christine Rizzo

A life coach who has walked the walk, Christine Rizzo speaks strongly and sincerely to women about discovering, developing, and manifesting their best qualities in Unleash Your Inner Goddess: Start Living the Life You Deserve.

After an introductory affirmative “Let’s do this!” Rizzo states that in order to achieve our goals, we have to know what they are. Each of us holds largely unexamined beliefs inculcated into our thinking by repetition on the part of people we trusted, but beliefs are really just “sentences” – remnants of childhood lodged in the subconscious mind, which can control our lives. We can tell those limiting factors goodbye and make new positive thoughts to lead us toward our real goals.

One requirement for initiating this process of new beliefs is suppressing our “Inner Mean Girl,” who represents negative feelings, playing on our fears and pushing false beliefs. The Inner Goddess will overcome the Inner Mean Girl’s tactics, as she represents proactive love and self-esteem. Through her, we experience our power, our energies, and our positive vibrations, and gradually come into control of our destiny.

When things go wrong, Rizzo advises, we need to quell our tendency to repeat negative situations, and instead learn to follow new, positive directions. “Life is not happening to you; life is reacting to what you give out.” There is really no limit to what we can make of our lives by simply thinking we can. One important aspect of this approach is to stop trying to influence, or be influenced by, others. We are adults; we do not need to be told what to do, or to tell others. We also should not blame others for our failings, but instead, make our own happiness as only we know how. And when we begin to love ourselves with the aid of the Inner Goddess, everyone around us benefits. Given the state of discourse today, especially online, many would do well to heed this advice.

Rizzo’s manual is filled with enlightening quotations, and with her glowing sense of humor. She tastefully uses four-letter words, communicating with readers in her – and their – straightforward, slangy parlance. This often surprises, as when she advises that the “f-word” will set you free – in this case, the word is “forgiveness,” showing her playfulness that can be found throughout. Her guide is sprinkled with helpful lists, such as positive affirmations – all beginning with “I am” – that can be used to enhance a sense of self-worth and also to serve as inroads to daily meditation.

Each chapter ends with a “repeat after me” statement, and many examples are taken from Rizzo’s own, hard-won successes. Having suffered from a period of negative self-esteem, and finding herself in a morass of dark thoughts and confusion, she sought life coaching and from there, many ways to rise up and take charge of her circumstances presented themselves in a short period of time. While this path is not wholly unique, nor is the core focus of the book or even the title, Rizzo’s voice is original and inspiring, especially as she charts her own road to recovery. Her results, which included forgiving and letting go of the past, were remarkable, or, in her words, “it feels so damn good.”

Because of Rizzo’s frank, intelligent, and empathic viewpoint, Unleash Your Inner Goddess is a dynamic, very readable work that has inimitable power to reach and change the lives of her readers.