I recently read Jen Sincero’s You’re A Badass (http://www.jensincero.com/store/). I first heard of the book after a tea date with a friend who said that it had changed her life. Who doesn’t love something that has the potential to change your life?! I was excited to run home, buy the book, and dive in, but honestly, after hugging my friend goodbye and strolling back to my car, I immediately became distracted with life and had already started to forgot about said life-altering book.
I didn’t think about the book again until a few weeks later. I had been in a pretty drawn out, self-doubting stupor. Mid-sentence sharing frustrations about my lack of clarity, lack of belief in myself, and lack of belief in what I was doing with my life, another friend said, “You should read You’re A Badass! She literally talks about all of this and how believing you are fully capable and a BADASS can alter the direction of your life and your overall love of life.”
I am a firm believer that when you hear or see something more than once, you should take notice, as it may be the universe trying to tell you something. I took heed and signed up for a free trial of Audible and downloaded my first audio book; Jen Sincero’s You’re A Badass. In my daily 40-ish minute commute to and from work, my routine became just listening.
My big take-aways?
1. Being a badass is about loving and believing in yourself right now, exactly as you are, and sharing that authentic version of you with the world. NOT the version of you that you think you are supposed to be.
2. You don’t become a badass, you already are a badass. To believe that the person you are IS enough, IS lovable, IS worthy of good things, is actually when you’re being a badass. To fully be your artistic or quirky or quiet or loud or romantic self is when you are a badass. When you aren’t trying so damn hard to be someone you think might be a badass, and you are just being you without thinking too hard about it is when you are a badass.
3. There is no consistent set of qualities that defines a badass person. We each have the capacity to be a badass because being a badass is actually just being the greatest you there can be.
4. Don’t try and be a badass, or you won’t be a badass anymore. To pursue a set of qualities that you have created and believe are the makings of a badass makes you the complete antithesis of a badass. It makes you fake, annoying, a smartass, an asshole, or worse. It’s a subtle distinction, but an important one. The second you decide to try to be a badass, you have actually disconnected with yourself and your true badass-ness.
In the wise words of Deborah King, “No one is you, and that is your power.” So, go forth and be your badass selves by being youest you there could ever be!
Keep it weird.