We’ve all felt guilt before. Guilt is the feeling we did something bad. But shame is an even more detrimental emotion, as it tells us that we ARE something bad. And whether we grew up in strict families or strict religions or strict societies, there’s never been a shortage of places to help us shovel shame onto ourselves.

But there’s hope. This week’s guest, author, podcast host and fitness expert Drew Manning, battled immense shame from a young age through growing up in a very shame-based environment, which led to feeling that he was a failure…which, as he points out, led him to participate in failure-type behaviors, like pornography overuse and infidelity. And through his own recovery from his porn addiction and the personal development work he did during that time, Drew has learned that shame can be overcome by changing your stories and your perception.

He tells a story of how truly learning to love and accept himself, along with shining a light on the things he’d been ashamed about, led him to release the shame he felt and helped him live an authentic life.