The Power of Forgiveness and Individuality

On This Walk

“It does start with forgiveness.”

Reggie Walker learned this many years after sustaining trauma and abuse as a child and struggling with his mental health as an adult. He lives his life by the sentiment that forgiveness is at the center of healing. And beyond forgiving others, we have to forgive ourselves.

As the former NFL athlete walks with me today, we discuss how he found alignment after his football career, what it means to put your peace first, and his journey to living a life that’s true to who he is.

His story is one of determination, healing, thoughtfulness, forgiveness, and embracing his own individuality, so join us today as we discover how Reggie found his way to happiness and peace.

In This Episode

• (6:53) Reggie unpacks how he began to really chase his own happiness
• (10:10) Why sitting with himself helped Reggie prioritize his mental health
• (22:33) How to leave people-pleasing behavior behind and define what you truly want/need
• (25:33) Making the shift from self-centered to centered-self
• (33:37) Why celebrating our own uniqueness and the uniqueness of others helps us become better individuals
• (38:42) How embracing forgiveness and pain allowed Reggie to heal
• (43:24) The role of the “protector” in our psyche
• (49:01) Why we need to break down generational trauma for ourselves and our children
• (57:19) There is beauty and joy to be found in our weird little worlds
• (1:00:59) Reggie shares his passion for loving others

Notable Quotes

• “You gotta love yourself enough to let the protector go. Because if you don’t let the protector go, it’s gonna protect you away from happiness and peace and contentment and fulfillment. And it’s been a constant act of letting that go, and forgiving them, forgiving myself for not sticking out, for not saying this, for not doing that… You understand, hurt people do hurt people. And when you start analyzing and understanding people and having conversations with them, there’s a very logical reason why people do things in their own minds. I might not agree, but in their minds that’s what it is. And that’s okay. Because at this moment in time, if I really want that life that I want to have, I have to let it go.” – Reggie (41:20)
• “I recognize I live in my own weird little world. I think we all do, right? We all have our own weird little world that we live in – nobody gets to know it! It’s all up in here, it’s in our bodies, it’s in our minds, right? I know that that’s where I am, and the more that I get to play with that, it’s like I have more fun. I don’t take myself as seriously. I enjoy myself more because I’m not trying to like, ‘Wait, how am I going to put myself out there?’ ‘What’s this going to look like?’ I’ve given up those controls and I’ve like owned the fact that I’ve got some weird stuff going on in my head and occasionally I’ve got some weird stuff coming out of my mouth, and that’s okay! It’s more fun. It’s freeing.” – Luke (57:19)

Our Guest

Reggie Walker is a former NFL athlete and the founder of the Personal Mastery School – a program that helps individuals find themselves, their purpose, and create a plan for their life. After sustaining significant trauma in his childhood and then working to process those experiences as an adult, he found a way to support others on their journey to health and happiness. He’s also a mental, physical, and sexual abuse survivor advocate, Tedx speaker, consultant, connector, and problem solver. He wants to equip others with the skills to win the battle against their biggest enemy – themselves – so they can move with confidence and tenacity towards their life mission.

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