My son sometimes likes to tell me that I am such a nerd.

I take that as a compliment. 

He is referring to me making my family eat fermented food, or pushing everyone to exercise for the day. Or go to bed on time.

And my reply is…”It’s a great thing to be nerdy about good habits.” Because good habits will take us far in life. Right?

And my other reply is…”We are all nerdy about something or the other.” Whether it be about video games, or traveling, or remixing music. Whatever our obsessions may be, we all have them, and it’s difficult to hide them. So isn’t it better to wear them as badges of honour? And carry that obsession to a level of mastery instead of trying to hide it, and be on the edge if anyone calls you nerdy.

I may have felt a pang when I was younger if anyone called me nerdy about anything. But we are all more sensitive in our younger years when we are trying to figure out what obsessions are acceptable by society, and what are not. Trying to fit in and belong is a big concern in our younger years, and rightly so. We humans are tribalistic, as designed by nature. And that means we have a strong need to belong.

But I think we loosen our grip on the need to belong as we age. Habits and obsessions that make us feel good become more important, as our time in this world seems to slip through our palms. Doing the right thing for our own selves is of utmost importance rather than worrying about what others are thinking of us.

I recognize all of this when my son calls me nerdy. We are of different ages after all. And so, our needs are different. For him, being nerdy may feel like being an outcast, unless others around him are thus as well. For me my nerdy habits do good for my body and mind, and so I will stick to them without worrying about others’ judgement of my habits or even, myself. 

And I will stick to my statement…

It’s a good thing to be nerdy about important things in life. 

Drinking water, going for walks, sleeping well, exercising, eating well, having deep connections, time in nature, stretching…

I seriously love being nerdy 🙂