Ep 139: Radical Love with Zachary Levi
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Ep 139: Radical Love with Zachary Levi
Episode 139: Show Notes
A lot of the time, the answers to the struggles that we go through as human beings lie in love. When we don’t love ourselves, we won’t be able to find love elsewhere, nor will we be able to find the confidence to live our lives to their full capacity.
Zachary Levi, best known for his lead roles in Chuck and Shazam, learned this lesson the hard way. During today’s episode, Zach paints a picture of his turbulent childhood which led to an adulthood plagued with mental health struggles, culminating in a rock-bottom moment where he almost took his own life.
As Zach’s story demonstrates, radical self-love can take one out of even the darkest of spaces and into the light!
Key Points From This Episode:
Zach’s personal experiences that highlight the power that lies in accepting and forgiving yourself and others, flaws and all.
The challenges that Zach faced during his school years.
The foundational discovery that Zach made at around the age of four.
Zach talks about the distressing environment that he grew up in.
Analyzing the nature and nurture components of mental health struggles.
The ability that we all have to heal generational trauma.
The goal that Zach solidified in his mind at the age of six.
What Zach’s early years in the acting industry were like.
Zach’s first big acting break.
Details of the complete deterioration of Zach’s relationship with his mom.
The mental health struggles that plagues Zach’s 20’s and 30’s.
The dire consequence of a lack of self-love.
Exploring the difference between helping and enabling.
Zach’s rock-bottom stage of life.
Why Zach became disillusioned with Hollywood.
The healing journey that Zach has been on since the death of his mom.
Advice on what to say and what not to say to someone who is suffering from depression.
Tweetables:
“In order for you to move forward in life, you have to be willing and able to accept yourself and forgive yourself. The only way to do that is to recognize that you're doing your best.” — @ZacharyLevi [0:04:50]
“I'm a firm believer in the spiritual realm. I believe that we're born with an essence. I think there's some truth in the zodiac, the Enneagram, the Myers Briggs, [and] numerology. I think you can find a little truth in all that stuff.” — @ZacharyLevi [0:27:25]
“If you don't love yourself first, you're not going to find it from somebody else. Not a healthy version of it anyway.” — @ZacharyLevi [0:52:59]
“If anybody out there is dealing with this level of depression, or you know someone who's dealing with this level of depression, obviously one of the most important things is to not go to someone and say, “Cheer up. It's going to be okay.”” — @ZacharyLevi [01:17:50]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: