I don’t know how many of you are familiar with one of my favourite bloggers, Mimi Ikonn. She and her husband Alex are self-made millionaires who attempt to change the world by teaching people vital business, life and relationship skills. If you haven’t watched any of Mimi’s videos, head to her channel and I promise you’ll find some gems (hint: my favourite video is on how to make your dreams and goals come true ).
Anyway, since I absolutely adore Mimi, I was so excited about her new book called “The Bingo Theory”. The book is dubbed “a revolutionary guide to love and relationships”. Before you roll your eyes, it is not a guide on how to make someone fall in love with you etc. It’s a lot about knowing yourself and practicing self love. Here are a few reasons why I think you will benefit from reading this book.
DO YOU KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS?
A big part of “The Bingo Theory” is about knowing and owning your strengths. The book argues that everyone has either a feminine or a masculine dominant energy, and in order to become the perfect Bingo (a.k.a. a balanced person), we need to be fully aware of our own strengths. Through a simple test, you can assess what energy is your dominant. Mimi helped to build the profiles for the 4 most common types (the feminine strength male and female, and the masculine strength male and female). She described in detail what kind of actions different people are good at. For example, feminine strength people have no problem connecting with others – they’re very open, friendly and easy going. On the other hand, masculine strength people are usually very ambitious, organised and hard working.
“The Bingo Theory” doesn’t identify one type as better than the other. It simply shows you what you’re good at. For me, the book was eye-opening in a few ways. I’ve always thought I am more of a masculine strength female (and I believe at some point in life I actually was). I am ambitious, competitive and like winning. On the other hand, I couldn’t explain my recent tendency to cry a lot, be over sensitive and dramatise. Through “The Bingo Theory” I realised I need to accept this part of my feminine energy, own it and use it as my strength.
ARE YOU WORKING ON YOUR WEAKNESSES?
Another big part of the book talks about actions we can take to increase the energy we’re lacking. I realise I’ve been doing it subconsciously before. Let me explain: at high school I used to take part in Maths and Physics competitions, which meant I was surrounded and competing with mostly boys. I’ve spent numerous hours with those people and I truly enjoyed it. My masculine ambition and competitive spirit were very high. However, I felt I was lacking something – the more girly, feminine part of me. This was the time I started developing my interest in beauty and fashion. Through the years, I crossed to the other extreme – I stopped reading anything more serious than Cosmopolitan, I was spending hours doing my hair and make up, I was super focused on always looking the part. Suddenly, I’d lost all my ambition, I simply didn’t care if I would win.
So this is exactly where the book comes in handy. When you realise what kind of person you are, you can identify what are your not so strong points. It can be either lack of ambition, or having too much of it. It could be being too assertive, or not assertive enough. Mimi has packed around 10 ways to improve your energy for each personality type, and I’m sure you’ll be able to find a few that will work for you. For me, the challenge was to increase my masculine energy – I did this through vigorous workouts, which truly helped me feel more powerful and helped me be assertive in other areas of my life.
WHY DO SOME PEOPLE REACT DIFFERENTLY?
I bet there was some point in your life when you couldn’t understand why your friend, family member or co-worker reacted in a way you’d never expect them to. For example, why is someone putting up with a cheating partner? Or why someone is so focused on their work and never has time for their family? In my life, there have been many situations where I simply couldn’t relate to my friends. I now realise I was having too much of my “masculine” energy and too little feminine, making it impossible for me to understand why my friend would put up with her cheating boyfriend.
Reading “The Bingo Theory” really helped to explain why certain people act and react in different ways. It also helped me to ‘categorise’ my friends and relatives in either more masculine or feminine type of people, which in turn makes it easier to interact with them. I try to be straightforward with my masculine strength friends, as they can take criticism well and tolerate no bullshit. I also try to be compassionate but firm with my feminine strength friends, caring about their feelings while still staying true to myself. This book would really help you to see the people around you in new light, and will help you improve your interactions with them.
DO YOU WONDER WHY PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS DIDN’T WORK OUT?
If there’s one thing to take from this book, maybe this is it – It didn’t work out because you were not compatible and together you didn’t work it through. Dot. Of course, it is explained in a lot more detail in the book, but it helped me to realise why I had behaved the way I did in some relationships.
I realised I had been a completely different person with two different guys – with my feminine strength partner, I was too dominant, ambitious and I put a lot of pressure on him. On the other hand, with a guy that was typically a masculine strength person, I was behaving like a complete fool, broadcasting only my super-feminine side. It didn’t work out because instead of trying to balance myself and look for a balanced partner, I was reacting to the people I was with. I was changing, not owning my strengths and not being who I am. That’s why I’m not surprised it didn’t work out.
So, “The Bingo Theory” can really help you figure out in retrospection why it simply didn’t work out with someone. If you’re single and constantly meeting the ‘wrong’ people, the Bingo Theory may have the answers for you, too. It may be harsh sometimes to read a description of yourself, but it can also be the revelation you need.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR RELATIONSHIP?
Finally, Mimi’s book discusses relationships and how to make them work. The relationships between two people of the same energy are supposed to be more difficult to balance, but not impossible. For every combination, she has a few suggestions on what actions you can take in order to become closer to your partner. For example, if there’s a masculine strength guy and a feminine strength woman, there will be a lot of spark and attraction, but also quite a lot of tension. The guy may fail to see why his girlfriend is overreacting, and she may start crying to almost any criticism he gives her. The book suggests ways for the two partners to start understanding each other, and have a harmonious, balanced relationship.
Overall, I think “The Bingo Theory” is definitely worth the read. You can only benefit from what Mimi has summarised in her guide. I find the idea of being your best, most balanced version of yourself really inspiring. Yes, it can be challenging but also extremely rewarding to see the world in a whole new perspective. Give it a go!