Tim McGraw Opens up About Forgiving Himself in ‘Grit and Grace’

Tim McGraw is continuing to open up about his journey to health and fitness, which he chronicles in his latest book, Grit and Grace, out now. The singer, who was spurred to action after his wife, Faith Hill, gave him an ultimatum when his eating and drinking had gotten out of control, explains why he chose the title, and why forgiving himself is one of the biggest lessons he has learned.

“Grit is the determination that you develop, and the more that you find confidence in yourself, and what you’re doing, you find more grit, and more ways to carry through life, and get through the times that are tougher,” McGraw said in a video he posted on social media. “Grace is just what it is. We need more grace in this world for sure, and it starts with giving yourself grace. If you can’t give yourself grace enough to realize that you’re going to make mistakes, and you have made mistakes, the best thing you can do is be better the next day.

“I might have failed today, but tomorrow I’m going to be better,” he continued. “If you can find it within yourself to give yourself some grace, then it makes it that much easier to give other people grace. And, expect grace from other people.”

McGraw also captioned the video with encouragement to others to not be discouraged, regardless of where they are in their journey to health.

“The goal is to get to a place where you can say, without restriction, I accept where I am today,” McGraw wrote. “I will start from here. I’m not big on looking back. I tend to look forward, to focus on tomorrow. To my mind, forgiveness and letting go doesn’t mean you suddenly have to love yourself; it’s just about accepting that you are a work in progress, not a finished product.”

McGraw may never have gotten healthy without some loving admonition from his wife.

“My emotional absence was noticed and it was not scoring any points,” McGraw wrote in Grit and Grace. “[Faith] has always offered unconditional love in every situation and never for a second have I doubted her willingness to support whatever step I needed to take to find my way back to health. Yet in that instance, she knew that someone had to lay down the law. Getting real like only she can do, Faith told me, ‘Partying or family, take your pick.’”

Order Grit and Grace at TimMcGraw.com.

Photo Credit: Getty / Noel Vasquez