February has come and gone and I’ve only just finished reading You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero, and now it’s April, but the good news is, I’m ready to write about it. Is it just me, or there’s something about self-help books where they start to feel a bit like a horoscope, just when I start feeling like it’s all a little made up or too general, something resonates with me in a way that makes me feel like I was meant to be reading this book and it was written especially for my benefit? Jen Sincero spends the whole of the book making you feel like you are a badass, convincing you to love yourself, seeing the universe as a place of abundance, and to just start living the life you’re dreaming of, which is a reminder that I seem to always need. WARNING: reading this book will make you think it’s totally okay to quit your 9-5, buy an AUDI, and start spending the little you have saved on plane tickets, but maybe that’s not the worst thing.

“Its not your fault that you’re fucked up. It’s your fault if you stay fucked up…”

I love this line, we’re all a little fucked up and that’s not your fault, but it is 100% your responsibility to stop looking at all the things that happen to you and start seeing them as all the things that happened for you. We can’t control what we can’t control, but we can control the way we see the world and if we choose to smile even when it’s really hard, and some days it’s really really really hard; trust me.

“You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars guides you too…”

I really liked the relationship with the universe that Jen has, she mentions God at one point, but says you don’t have to believe in him to believe in the universe, which is exactly how I feel. While I don’t think I believe in God, I do believe that the universe gives you what you need, and only delivers what you can handle, but also that there’s something about the way we live that seems a little meant to be.

“Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past…”

While my past isn’t something I think about too much, I’m too hard on myself when I do. Whether wishing that I had done an internship in college and already landed my dream job, or wishing I had kept friendships that I left on read. It’s been endlessly helpful for me to think about the fact that no one is comparing their failures, their insecurities, the things they wish they had done on the internet, social media specifically, regardless of the fact that we all struggle with these things; so, while you feel alone in the fact that you’re not exactly where you thought you’d be by now, everyone else is feeling that too.

“When it comes to the creatures you love and the things you love and the life you love, what on earth could possibly be more important than soaking them up right now while you still have the opportunity?”

I mean, yes. Soak up the ones you love, breathe them in, hold their hands, memorize their faces, and tell them how sorry you are for that time you were younger and yelled at them for something stupid, because you never know!

Next week, I’ll be reviewing my third self-help book, and I’ve saved the best for last, so stay tuned!