3 Keys to Awaken Your Inner Nerd

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Hello Nerds!

I feel that the path to becoming a Renaissance Nerd is a tough one (a quick primer: A Renaissance Nerd is a woman who embraces her nerdy qualities and accepts herself as she is, ultimately building a life of pure enjoyment happiness). Luckily, I’m here to guide you and I want to tell you about 3 Keys to Awakening Your Inner Nerd.

Nerdy Key #1: Judgment

Like many people, it’s easy to worry about the way in which you perceive the world. What do I mean? I mean the way in which we judge ourselves and others.

But isn’t judgment a part of being human?

Yes…and no. The desire to judge is a trait of human nature that ultimately tends to breed negativity and unhappiness.

What’s worst, indulging the negativity of judgment only results in a circular, self-defeating thought process. Here’s an example:

9:43:57 PM: “Ugh. She’s so skinny. But that girl over there is fat.”
9:44:01 PM: “At least I’m thinner than that fat girl.”
9:44:06 PM: “But I wish I were as thin as the other girl. And I’m a horrible human being for thinking that girl is fat. I’d never say that to her face.”
9:44:15 PM: “OMG. I’m so mean. I don’t deserve to have friends.”
9:44:21 PM: “This means I’m an ugly person. A horrible ugly person.”
9:44:28 PM: “But I’ve always known myself to be ugly, what’s new?”
9:44:32 PM: “Well, I can’t change my ugliness, so there’s no hope for me.”
9:44:37 PM: “That fat girl is prettier than me…I’m so ugly.”

Whoa there, tiger! Stop it right now!

That was a span of 8 thoughts in less than a minute. Rapid-fire, judgmental critiques aimed like invisible daggers at someone else, but came full circle to bite you in the butt. How is this helpful?

And this happens. All. The. Time. This is because when we judge, we’re judging the present and future based on information (about ourselves and other humans) that we’ve received in our past. I think it’s time for a nerdy change and an opportunity for growth.

Think about it: Wouldn’t you prefer to bring more nerdy happiness into your life by being open and receptive to new experiences, not tainted by your past?

Nerdy Key #2: Self-Awareness

So you’ve recognized that you judge…now what? Dudette! You’ve dipped a toe into the waters of self-awareness! Give yourself a Super Mario mushroom for that–you’re growing! :)

As a nerdy girl who is developing her self-awareness, you can begin to acknowledge and distinguish the behaviors that lead up to your moments of judgment. You can also take a look at how your moments of judgment affect your life once the moments have passed.

Now you’re probably all like, “Yeah! You’re so right! Now I’ve just got to figure out the ‘why’! With my self-awareness I can figure out why I judge in the first place! Woo!”

Yikes. Not so fast, Nerdy Gonzales.

Give me your hand. Let’s find the 3rd Nerdy Key. It’ll bring this all together…

Nerdy Key #3: Observation

So you’re aware that you judge. You’ve got Nerdy Key #1 and #2 under your belt.

The last, and most important Nerdy Key is observation. By themselves and together, judgment and self-awareness are dangerous keys. This is because they can very easily lead to the circular logic of judging others, judging yourself, becoming aware of your judging, and then shaming yourself. At that point, the judgment + self-awareness combo keeps charging full speed ahead…until you crash.

If judgment is the fuel, and self-awareness is the train, then consider observation to be the brakes.

Know and understand that you will never stop judging. That’s a fact. It’s human nature.

Personally, I continue to and always will have thoughts that cross my mind that are in the vein of:

“You’re not pretty enough.”
“You don’t want to look stupid in front of those people.”
“You’re fat–you should be thinner.”

Rather than beat myself up with additional judgmental thoughts, I always choose to observe.

Here’s an example of a simple way to observe:

Judgmental brain: “I’m ugly today.”
Observant brain: “Ah, isn’t that interesting? I think that I’m ugly today. I am aware of this thought and I am aware that this is how I feel today. Now I’m letting peacefully letting the thought go. Good-bye.”

That’s it. That’s all you have to do. No need to feed the judgmental beast.

Acknowledgment of your feelings, permission to feel them, and then letting them go.

When you learn to cultivate your skills of observation, you’ll slowly, but surely, begin to quiet your judgmental brain. Eventually you’ll:

Break through the walls of judgement.
Break through the walls of fear.
Break through the walls of adversity.
Break through the walls of negativity.

In order to find something within you that is beautiful, rare, exposed and shaken, but so worth it.

You may not have the body you want. But this is the body you have. Right now.
You may not have the face you want. But this is the face you have. Right now.
You may not have as much money as you’d like. But this is the money you have. Right now.

Using the 3 Keys, Nerdy Girls appreciate and embrace what they have.

Here’s my personal pact to use the 3 Nerdy Keys in my life:

I want to use the 3 Nerdy Keys to Awaken my Inner Nerd because:.

I want to be free of negativity.
I want to be alive, not afraid of life’s offerings.
I want to make a difference in the world and inspire women to do the same in her own way.
I want to love myself as I am–I am flawless and I am the way I am. This is it.

Fellow nerds, I’m handing you the 3 Nerdy Keys right now and I’d like for you all to make a pact with yourselves to find your inner nerd. Because, quite frankly, you are loved–always have been–and you deserve to live a Nerdy Girl Life.