Nerds Shall Inherit the Earth!

Editor’s Note: A few weeks ago Brian Kehs, host of the Keys to Running series and your resident running aficionado here at the Jerd, asked me if I watched the TV show “Survivor“. When I told him that reality TV wasn’t really my thing, he asked if he could write up his thoughts on this season’s winner and I told him sure! That was almost three weeks ago.

So without delaying even further, here are Brian’s ultra-timely takeaways from the “Survivor” season finale that aired three weeks ago!

Sometimes the Nerds do Win

There’s something kind of wrong (okay, really wrong) writing about the TV Reality Show “Survivor” for this site, but something happened this past season that made me sit up and take notice.

John Cochran (or simply Cochran as he was known on the show) won the show.  A self-described and honest to goodness nerd actually won the million dollar prize. He didn’t just win the game, he utterly dominated the game. There were zero votes cast against him at the last tribal council, and he was the obvious and clear winner. That’s right…

The nerd won.

So, how in the world did this happen?  How is this even possible?  This is a game that is owned by jocks, athletes (sometimes professional), ruthlessly cunning strategists, and some of the most vicious people you can imagine.  In the reality-TV world of “Survivor“, the meek shall not inherit the earth.  Let’s take a closer look and see how he did it.

Brilliant, Insecure and Neurotic. Sound Familiar?

Cochran has described himself as “brilliant, insecure and neurotic.”  He had played the game before in 2012, Season 23, which took place in the South Pacific and he lost.  He really lost badly.  He was the 13^th person voted out, but was still able to participate on the jury to help determine the eventual winner.  He sold his teammates out, he sold himself out, and didn’t even come close to the million dollar prize.  He shifted alliances trying to gain favor with the stronger players, and it backfired.  He lost the trust of his original tribe, was sent to Redemption Island, and was eventually beaten.

So what changed this go round?

This time, on Survivor Caramoan, Cochran shed all pretension, learned to be himself and to embrace his inner nerd, and devastated the other contestants in both the strategic game and the physical game.

Not only did he use his analytic skills to his advantage, he dominated the physical challenges as well. The Mighty Jerd (Editor’s note: Hey that’s me!) talks a lot about transforming into the superhero version of yourself, and here’s a guy who did just that. He won three Immunity Challenges (in Survivor terms, that’s a big deal), and was on the victorious side of three Reward Challenges after the two tribes merged. This number of wins is among the best performances of any player of the game ever!

In the season finale the show’s host, Jeff Probst, asked Cochran what has changed during his two seasons on “Survivor.”

“The first time I went it into it … everyone perceived me as a nerd, a socially awkward freak,” he recalled of his previous season of Survivor (season 23, South Pacific). “I got to focus on the game this time instead of how I’m perceived… I’m kind of speechless. Accepting my eccentricities as just part of me instead of an embarrassment … I’m proud of who I am!”

The Transformation!

By casting away his own self conceptions of who he was and what he as capable of, he was able to transform and cast himself in a new role. This time he was not grasping at the successes of others, or trying to ingratiate himself on the perceived strongest players. He carved out his own identity, created his own style of game play and most importantly he believed in himself to see it through!

Cochran found the strength to control his own destiny and change both his own perceptions about himself, and change the path he would follow.  If this guy can change his habits and go from being an insecure and neurotic dork, to becoming the master strategist and physically dominant winner of the game, just imagine what you can do to transform your own life.

Awesome!

– Brian Kehs

About the Author: Brian Kehs is a husband, father of two, a runner, and a manager in IT. In addition to running, Brian is an avid Star Wars fan boy who thinks Neil Gaiman’s Sandman may be the best literature out there. He regularly run 5Ks, 10Ks, 10-milers and half marathons. In his free time he coaches an elementary school running club.