Lilly Singh - Be a Triangle : How I Went from Being Lost to Getting My Life into Shape

Be a Triangle is a work of nonfiction.

Copyright 2022 by Lilly Singh

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

Ballantine and the House colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Hardback ISBN9780593357811 ebook ISBN9780593357828

randomhousebooks.com

Illustrations by Simmi Patel

Book design by Barbara M. Bachman, adapted for ebook

Cover design: Pete Garceau

Triangle: Carabus/iStock

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T HIS BOOK HAS TERRIFIED ME. I consider myself a hard worker, someone who puts my head down and focuses on the task in front of me. But while writing this book, I pushed deadlines, ignored calendar invites, and got really creative when it came to procrastinating. I reorganized my entire kitchen. I took out my label maker and labeled a package of Oreos with a label that saidOREOS. You know, to avoid any possible cookie confusion. I convinced myself that that was more productive than writing this book.

Why was this book so hard to write? Its been a challenge because over the past year or two I havent felt like the successful, happy, energetic Lilly that everyone claims me to be. In 2020, the world quite literally collapsed, my physical and mental health deteriorated, and I have a new friend who just wont leave, named Anxiety Singh.

I wanted to write an inspirational book. After all, Im all about hustling, and Ive already written a successful self-help book called How to Be a Bawse (this will be the only plug for my other book, I promise!you should get it). I wear power suits, baby! Im a smiley person who always seems highly caffeinated. I knew people were going to expect this book to be a literary energy drink. So, I sat down and tried writing pages filled with what I thought I was supposed to say: mantras, tips, tricks, love yourself, quote, quote, quote, *insert the word energy ten times here.* And every time I sat down to write, I got lost. Day after day I would sit at my computer and try to convince myself I had the answers for you and for me, but I simply didnt. I wasnt even the best version of myself and yet I was trying to get into Club Thrive like I belonged there. My life felt uninspiring and mundane.

And then a realization hit me like my mothers slipper. Maybe this low point was actually the perfect place from which to write THIS book. You see, THIS book isnt a book filled with ideas and thoughts Im hoping will work. THIS book is filled with ideas and thoughts that are tried and tested by me and have worked. The only way to write this book was by going on the journey. And girl, was it quite the journey.

After all, its pretty whack for me to try to give you ideas about how to get your life into shape when I havent figured out how to do so myself. That would be a facade of wisdom that I generally like to reserve for Instagram, where it belongs. Catch me on the gram doing a staged yoga pose incorrectly any day! Plus, who wants to hear from a person who has it all figured out? Not me. I hate when Im venting about something and someone replies with Oh really? I dont have those issues at all. WTF, Raj? Im not here confessing my negative feelings so that you can tell me you have positive ones all the time. Id rather spill those feelings to Priya, who is also a hot mess, so we can try to work on ourselves together.

And thats what this book isa chance to work through negativity together. Im your Priya.

Wait, no. Im Lilly. MY NAME IS LILLY. *prints out label* *labels self Lilly Singh*

Im doing it again

Recently my life has felt kind of sucky. Within these pages, Im hoping to figure out why. More important, Im hoping to make a lasting change, for myself and for anyone else who needs it. And so, through meditations, reflections, tough love, sunny moments, deep conversations, and 200% honesty, I have gone on the journey and written this book. Tried and tested. There is nothing in these pages that has not deeply impacted my life for the better.

I sincerely hope it speaks to your soul.

A S I SIT HERE AND think about how to make life less sucky, I find myself returning to elementary school.

Minus not being able to date a Backstreet Boy, things were simpler then. When I was faced with a problem, a teacher taught me how to solve it. I did homework that further developed my skills. I would be tested on those skills to ensure I thoroughly understood what I had learned. And if I continued to struggle, I would be given extra help. My teachers really wanted me to understand the Pythagorean theorem and damn it, they made it happen. We made it happen. I know triangles better than I know my best friends phone number (which I dont know at all), and Im patiently waiting to apply that valuable knowledge in my real life. Any minute now!

Even outside of academics, all my life Ive applied my problem-solving skills to whatever task was in front of me. While shooting late-night television, my crew and I faced unexpected problems every single day. An email titled Guest can no longer make it tonight would cause multiple departments to go into problem-solving beast mode. The talent team would put out calls for a last-minute booking. The writers would start brainstorming extra jokes to make our existing segments longer. And I would go out and improv with the crowd to buy us time. Over and over again we solved the problem because we were trained to do so. We had the skills, knew what needed to be done, and wasted no time.

Why am I telling you this nonsense? Because throughout my lifewhether academically or professionallyIve faced challenges that Ive met head-on. In school or at work, I not only understood the obstacles that stood in my way, but knew what the goal was once I overcame them: good grades, a degree, a paycheck, or a promotion. Although not always easy, it was always very clear and clean.