Let me start by saying that reading a book during college “just because” (what you might have called “for fun” at one point in your life) did not seem like something I’d ever get around to. Between my classes, my job, my extracurriculars, my studying, my social life and my many other mandatory reading assignments as a journalism major, I never felt as if I had time to read “for fun.”
This was always something that I deeply hated about college thus far. I missed being able to go to the bookstore when I was young and pick out a book off the shelf that I wanted to read just because it intrigued me, not because it was listed on a syllabus. I missed laying in my ENO hammock in my backyard and reading a good book after high school, just to relax and lose myself in the story.
So I never did it.
When my sister and several of my friends told me how good this one specific book was, however, I decided that maybe I should make time.
You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero is “the self-help book for people who desperately want to improve their lives but don’t want to get busted doing it.” I know, I know. Self-help books have “depressed middle-aged woman” written all over them, but this one is different. Okay, maybe I haven’t read any other self-help books that I can actually compare it to, but the bottom line is that You Are a Badass surprised me in the best way possible. It is smart, inspiring, witty and hilarious… and I was hooked from the introduction.
I didn’t really know what the book was all about nor did I think I was in desperate need of a book that would help me improve my life. When I began reading though, it felt as if Jen Sincero was invading my brain and responding to all of my deeply rooted subconscious fears, self-doubts and insecurities. As someone that has always dealt with a fear of never being good enough, this book called me out on my bullshit, helped me understand where all of my bullshit originated from and taught me how to overcome my bullshit in order to not only truly understand my worth, but also to become a better version of myself.
In order to do this, Jen breaks her book up into five parts: “How You Got This Way,” “How To Embrace Your Inner Badass,” “How To Tap Into The MotherLode,” “How To Get Over Your B.S. Already” and “How To Kick Some Ass.”
What really hooked me was a few important facts that Jen reveals in the first and second chapters of the book. In “My Subconscious Made Me Do It,” we learn that:
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“Our subconscious mind contains the blueprint for our lives. It’s running the show based on the unfiltered information it gathered when we were kids, otherwise known as our beliefs.”
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“We are, for the most part, completely oblivious to these subconscious beliefs that run our lives.”
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“When our conscious minds finally develop and show up for work, no matter how big and smart and highfalutin they grow to be, they’re still being controlled by the beliefs we’re carrying around in our subconscious minds.”
Woah.
Then, in chapter two, Jen discloses what she refers to as the foundation for her book:
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“The Universe is made up of Source Energy.”
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“All energy vibrates at a certain frequency. Which means you’re vibrating at a certain frequency, and everything you desire, and don’t desire, is also vibrating at a certain frequency… Otherwise known as The Law of Attraction”
Okay, really woah this time.
I won’t reveal anymore of the book’s brilliance because you really won’t get its full effect unless you read it yourself, which you need to.
What I love most about You Are a Badass is that it gives you wisdom and advice on how to better live your life that you didn’t even know you needed. I realized that if you really want something, there is no such thing as not having time for it. You can make time, and that is what I did for this book. I finished it feeling more grateful for life itself, feeling more confident in how I can better myself every day and most importantly, loving myself. Because I am a badass.