Personal finance, spent too long not giving it proper respect and being scared of anything that wasn’t a basic bank account. Used the plum app for a few years and it really opened my eyes to how it all works. This year marked me taking it seriously like everyone wish I started earlier.
I’ve been getting better at making small but meaningful changes to my life by recognizing that a lot of it is simply habit/routine, making an earnest effort at thinking of ways in which I can modify them, and making an earnest effort at applying them.
Very generally: Think of something I do that I might want to curb, think of why that thing is what I do, think of things I could do that would impede on my ability to do those things, and implement those changes.
Couple specifics:
I’m fond of beer. I don’t binge or anything but if it’s in the fridge I’m probably gonna grab one every couple of hours, and that’s not too healthy and kind of a waste of money, so now, when I buy beer I just toss a couple cans in the fridge and put the rest in the cabinet above the fridge. If I run out I’ll toss a couple in the next day. Now I drink a lot less because I’m not gonna drink warm beer and when I open the fridge I see the scarcity and tend to just shut the fridge and walk away.
I’m an introvert and I love reading about things and events, non-fiction crap, walking around on Wikipedia and stuff. It drives my wife up the wall when I’m doing and I don’t blame her because I’m bad at listening when I’m not giving my full undivided attention, so I removed all my phone chargers except for the one in the bedroom. Now, I just set my alarms and plug in the phone, walk into the other room, get out of that headspace, and engage my wife in conversation.
I like your beer trick. I’ll see if I can make use of it myself.
Been playing a lot with my butterfly knife, and I’m about to perform my first stage act with it. Definitely looking forward to showing off!
Only cut myself three times writing this act
Cooking with rice. I was never big on rice, so never had particular ambitions for experimenting with it.
Then I found a rice variety in the shops, which actually tastes nice on its own, and also you’re allowed to just dump it into a pot of water, then drain the remaining water, which I much prefer for experimenting.And yeah, that has led to me catching up with experimenting very quickly. Last week I made basically a risotto using:
- rice
- red lentils
- vegetable broth
- coconut milk
- bell peppers
- caraway
- teriyaki sauce
- sriracha sauce
…and last, but definitely not least, orange slices.
And it tasted fucking rad. That’s my favorite feature of rice. You can throw in the wildest ingredients and it magically makes them work together.
I opened this question and realised with a sense of dread that I don’t think I have an answer to this question; often it feels like my days are slipping by without making meaningful progress in the things I care about.
That may or may not be true, but regardless, I’m going to use this space to improve at self forgiveness. It’s difficult to show myself the compassion I deserve as a human, but it’s easier if I try to think of myself as a dear friend. If I were my friend, I’d feel proud of me for my strength, and angry on my behalf at the fact I am having to endure so much bullshit that is holding me back. I’d feel sad, but hopeful for the hypothetical future where I might be more free to make progress on my goals.
Without a frame of reference, I don’t think this constitutes improvements on anything per se. However, by setting my flag down here and underscoring my intent to be kinder to myself, I am creating a future where I will be able to look back on this comment and think “wow, such progress”. The second best time to plant a tree is now, and all that.
Meditation and it’s changed my life for the better. I control my negative thoughts now.
Could you please provide any links or book recommendations for an absolute beginner? I’ve tried to approach it in different ways (apps mostly), but never actually manage to make it work and would love to learn what worked for you. Thanks!!
Being Peace by Thich Naht Hahn. That man is a master of meditation and his books changed my life. There really isn’t anything to it and if you are trying then you are trying too hard. It’s not about what you think when you meditate. It’s about letting what you think flow through you
Keep in mind though that your brain works like a muscle in meditation and, like exercise, it’s hard at first. But the more you do it the better you get.
One day all of a sudden you come across a situation where in the past you wouldn’t have been able to control your emotions, but something like a bell rings and brings you back to that calm Meditative State where you are in control.
It’s about finding peace with yourself and the world around you.
Thanks a million NineMileTower! I’ll try and find the book and start from there!
Same, I’m getting there. I’ve been using the steam room at my gym, since the steam forces me to regulate my breathing. It’s a crutch but it has worked wonders for my mind.
I wouldn’t call it a crutch. You’re steering your ship towards your destination in whatever way works best for you.
That’s a lovely way to see it. Thanks for the kind words.
Working out. I finally realized that my psychological issue with working out was doing a long duration thing that I didn’t like. My solution was a high intensity short workout which doesn’t bother me at all from a mental perspective, so now I do burpees. Quick and over before I have a chance to not like it.
Brushing my teeth.
Recently had a root canal and a massive wakeup call of fragile teeth.
It’s been a hard habit to stick with but the wife keeps me accountable.
You probably already have one, but if you don’t; get an electric toothbrush.
Also get a water flosser for when you CBA to manually floss! Imo something is better than nothing.
Picked dwarf fortress back up again, learning all the new things and changes feels really good. Getting decent at it!
I’m slowly beginning to understand Japanese enough that I can turn off subtitles and still understand like 25% of what’s being said.
Meanwhile my ability to read it is starting to fall because I haven’t turned the romaji off and I keep finding myself reading that and not the katakana/hiragana/kanji.
How to use Linux.
Yeah buddy! That’s on my list of things to learn (see my response ITT) as well.
Digital art.
Where I started:
How is going:
Your colouring and detailing have improved so much! Also love your style, it looks so unique!
Thank you! I love drawing bean shapes for some reason. Probably head trauma.
That actually is impressive! I like your style. Curious, how long did it take you to get to this point?
Thank you!
I really started progressing this year when I began drawing daily. Getting a phone with a good stylus helped remove barriers as I can draw anywhere. The second one was drawn on the phone.
I’ve been on and off drawing since I was little but never really met much progress. After meeting Jim Lee at a comic con where he talked about needing to draw daily to get better I decided to get this phone so I could do that. Not a huge fan of Samsung but love being able to draw anywhere.
Dayum! Nice progress
Patience. I think I just no longer have the energy to get that uptight about things. Benefits of being a quinquagenarian, it would seem. It should come with some damn benefits other than back and joint pain.
Understanding computers and networking. I’m so far away from truly understanding it all, but I’m working on studying for the A+ exams so I can get the basics for entry into an IT field. All of this is so interesting to me and I genuinely love learning it!
I worked in marketing, specifically SEO, for the past 9 years. I’m sick of it/Google’s bullshit, and I want to change to a career where I can do some tech work and help people solve problems.
Look for a MSP (Managed Service Provider) for your first gig, if you can. MSP’s contract IT services to small to medium businesses that can’t / won’t hire or budget for full-time IT. You get exposed to a lot of stuff this way. Maybe half of clients use Google cloud services and the other half use Microsoft cloud services. You learn and become an expert in both.
Same with different VOIP services, different app suites, different security software, different network hardware, etc. It’s a great way to speed-run IT and get exposure to a lot of tech. Bonus points when you later move to a dedicated company. The complexity goes way down. My job post-MSP is cruising and easy compared to what I did for the previous five years.
Good luck!
Thank you so much! I was in good with my company’s IT and the IT Manager told me the same thing. I will take what I can get, but will try for an MSP. Is there a specific job type to look for to find them or just look for help desk or support tech and review the company to figure out if it’s a MSP?
I know about Dice, LinkedIn, Indeed, and I live in Chicago so maybe Built In?
I’m doing Coursera/Google’s IT Support Tech program for their certs while I read the Mike Meyers exam guide and also supplement with Professor Messer.
You could try searching for “msp,” but also just look for “helpdesk” and IT in general, as you said, and review company details. I haven’t tried to find an MSP job, I just landed at one that wanted IT people. Good luck!
The first time i start cycling long-ish distance(35-38km) for errands is in early august. Even though using ebike, my leg is still sore for 2 days or so after the trip.
I just did 43km yesterday, my legs are still fine despite feeling tired yesterday. So that’s an improvement. Am i fitter? Absolutely…not feeling it lol.
