I'm never quite sure what to do with myself in the days between Christmas and New Year and I'm definitely not someone who gets hyped up about Hogmanay (what's the big deal?) BUT there is something extremely inspiring and energising about the first of January. I always reflect back on what I've done in the previous year and plan out what I want the coming year to have in store.
You Are a Badass has the subtitle 'How to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life'. While there is a tiny part of me that felt a bit cringe reading this i.e. with people on the train looking over and thinking 'Woah she must think a lot of herself reading a book like that'... I also can't help but think its exactly what our generation of over-thinking, self-conscious social media addicts need - a bit of positive affirmation. And let's face it, besides everything else it's a pretty attention grabbing title.
The book is broken down into short, super readable and digestible chapters of a few pages each. I read it over a couple of days because I was loving it so much but I think it would be a good idea to take a chapter a day to really absorb and digest what it's saying. The book tells you how to properly change your life for the better, not just say you're going to change and stay in the same old rut. Sincero covers everything from careers and diet to relationships and money.
The style of writing is really engaging: you're prompted to question yourself, find your limiting beliefs and do activities throughout. It combines different ideas from a variety of different self-help* books, the main ones springing to mind being The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and The Secret by Rhonda Bryne.
*Urgh, does anyone else dislike the name 'self-help' as a genre of books? All I can ever think of is Charlotte in Sex and the City roaming the aisles in the bookstore and finding people crying curled up in balls rocking back and forth clutching self-help books. Henceforth I will refer to these kind of books as self-improvement. Because while we may not need 'help' as it is perceived as a kind of intervention before we break, we could all do with improvement.
The ego
The concept of the ego seems to crop up at every turn, in spiritual books, in yoga, in general office chat. Sincero breaks it down and explains it really simply. She calls the ego 'The Big Snooze' and says its how we all walk around in fear and limiting ourselves in order to stay 'safe'. The Big Snooze stops you saying 'yes' to things that scare you but will lead to what you truly want and self growth. The Big Snooze is what you have to get over to reach all the good stuff in life. For example, say I want to get abs. I tell myself I will go to the gym at 6am every morning and stop eating pizza. The Big Snooze is that voice that tells me to go back to sleep when my alarm goes off at 6am, and puts a pizza in the oven for dinner because it's what I'm used to and, well, its easy.
By reading this book, you can become aware of your 'limiting subconscious beliefs' and begin to move beyond them. One technique Sincero writes about which I thought was super simple and easy to implement was, whenever something you perceive to be bad happens, instead of your thoughts spiralling out of control about all the disastrous consequences, simply think 'This is good because...' and focus on all the ways this supposedly bad thing also has positive outcomes. For example, when you're going to work in the dark on a cold morning instead of thinking 'I'm freezing, I'm tired, I wish I was still in bed, I can't be bothered with the day ahead', change your thoughts to 'This is good because I have a lovely furry coat to cosy into, I'll appreciate the warmth of the train when I get on it, I'm lucky that I can move around and walk quickly to heat up' and so on. This PMA (positive mental attitude) was really tested in me this week though as I started the week all rainbows and smiles and then I hit the deck on Wednesday with the worst. cold. ever. 'It's good though because...' when I'm rid of this snot-filled cacoon I currently find myself in, I'll appreciate my energy and feeling good so much more ;)
Another really interesting point Sincero made about your subconscious mind was to become aware of the people you don't like, because ultimately they are a reflection of something you don't like in yourself. Woah. Shook. Sincero tells you how to get to the root of why you don't get them - 'do they have something you secretly want (an object, a skill, a job)?' or 'do they have a personality trait you don't like in yourself?' Basically, everything is to do with you and not them. What really rung true about this was that in life there are plenty of people who do bad things or are liars or whatever, but they don't occupy my thoughts or bug me. It's because I can't see anything of myself in them or I'm not projecting aspects of myself onto them. Once you become aware of your ego, The Big Snooze or limiting subconscious beliefs, you can discover what they're really saying and move on.
Meditation
If you're new to this kind of thing, this book is a reallyyyy easy introduction to meditation. It's a good starting point if you're sceptical of the whole 'breathe in and out and think your a tree' thing or think meditation is only for the 'hippy dippy' type. Or, if you're like me and are already one foot into the spiritual stream, its also a brilliant summary of key techniques and great mantras (positive statements you say to yourself as if they're true). If you don't like the heavy spiritual chat, Sincero is ideal because she's so straight talking, starts from the basics and tells you ways you really easy ways you can incorporate meditation into your life.
Overall
I don't know if it's this time of year, my mindset or the book itself but compared to other similar books I've read and enjoyed this book has inspired me to stop, take notes, take action and implement changes to my life now.
- It's a good book for pressing the reset button on your life and mindset, getting you out of any kind of rut and is just extremely refreshing and inspiring.
- It's super-easy to read and has a conversational tone which makes you think Sincero is talking directly to you.
- I'd rate it 5/5. I can see myself returning to this book over and over again.
Get your own copy of You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero
If you like 'You Are a Badass' you will also like:
- The Secret by Rhonda Bryne - goes further into the Law of Attraction, how sending out good vibes returns good things to you and how to manifest what you want by visualisation.
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg - looks at our behaviour from a more scientific/ neurological perspective. Investigates the formation and proliferation of habits in individuals, companies and society and looks at examples of how these can be changed for the better. The vast majority of what we do every day is not even conscious, it's based on habits stored deep down in our subconscious that we're not even aware of. Mind-blowing.
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson - more straight-talking, less spiritual. Makes you realise things you already know in a different way. Funny and hard-hitting.
Have you read You Are a Badass? What book would you recommend for the new year?
Side-note: My blog has historically been more focused on beauty but I'm going to start incorporating more book review posts. I've always loved books but when I was at university studying English Literature the last thing I wanted to do in my spare time was talk more about books. However, in 2019 I totally re-found my love of books and hope to continue this into 2020 and share the best ones here. Let me know in the comments if you like this style of post, if you'd like me to add anything else in or if you have a favourite book you think I should read.
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