30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by milesluigi (?) » Wed May 22, 2013 8:09 pm

I wanted to thank you Isaak for posting the 30 Day Challenge thread. I've been watching it for the last month as a source of inspiration; it usually makes me wonder "how long have I been out on the internet when I have work/homework to do?!" So, even if I haven't done the challenge (yet) it's helped me stay focused, and spend less time on Facebook, Reddit, Youtube, here :twonk: .

I said "yet", as I'm trying to get over my internal monologue over why I shouldn't do this challenge, and just do it. It's like 30% of me wants to do it, but 70% of me doesn't for fear of something. Ugh. Stupid fears. :-/

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Fri May 24, 2013 7:28 am

Quanta wrote:
Wed May 22, 2013 3:13 am
This is what happened to me, sort of: I got about 3 days in and then got sick for about a week and felt like I fell too far behind, given that each activity takes a good chunk of time (30 minutes or more, depending on what's involved) and I missed, like, 7 of them in a row. It's funny 'cuz I told my therapist "I'm participating in a thing and we're doing it together as a group and it's gonna be great. :-I" and then started to feel sick after I left his office. :v:
You can start the challenge at any time in your life. I think the thread'll stay open if you want to post your results.
Or you could ask a friend online or in meatspace and do the challenge together. Or two friends... or five! :party:
I hope you do another one though, Isaak. I want a second chance! :sweetiefrown:
There'll be another one, though it'll be different. Different not in content, but in how it'll be executed.

Wait, but how it'll be executed will be an integral part of the content... :v: Err... there'll be another one!
[quote="NightsongRelated - I'm on day nineteen (took a few days off because I got busy). I also took another crack at day eighteen today and still couldn't come up with anything. I wrote over a page of things I could do with my life, and had absolutely no emotional reaction to any of them. I know I can skip this day and move on to other days, but it's really bugging me that I do not have an answer to this. In fact, it's been bugging me since long before the challenge. Ever since I left university I have felt like my life is purposeless (and therefore worthless) and it really upsets me. I don't really know what to do about it.[/quote]
Maybe doing it the other way around will help you move forward: try things out, then learn from the interactions and how you fit in them. Instead of trying to focusing your energy inwards, focus your energy outwards, explore, take things in and go from there :)
milesluigi wrote:
Wed May 22, 2013 8:09 pm
I wanted to thank you Isaak for posting the 30 Day Challenge thread. I've been watching it for the last month as a source of inspiration; it usually makes me wonder "how long have I been out on the internet when I have work/homework to do?!" So, even if I haven't done the challenge (yet) it's helped me stay focused, and spend less time on Facebook, Reddit, Youtube, here :twonk: .
:party: Whooo!
I said "yet", as I'm trying to get over my internal monologue over why I shouldn't do this challenge, and just do it. It's like 30% of me wants to do it, but 70% of me doesn't for fear of something. Ugh. Stupid fears. :-/
Mm, what's below might seem scary if you're standing on the edge of the cliff, but after you jump in it's not that scary :)

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Venusy (?) » Fri May 24, 2013 7:55 am

milesluigi wrote:
Wed May 22, 2013 8:09 pm
I said "yet", as I'm trying to get over my internal monologue over why I shouldn't do this challenge, and just do it. It's like 30% of me wants to do it, but 70% of me doesn't for fear of something. Ugh. Stupid fears. :-/
Isaak wrote:
Fri May 24, 2013 7:28 am
Mm, what's below might seem scary if you're standing on the edge of the cliff, but after you jump in it's not that scary :)
I want to echo this. I faced my greatest fear as part of this challenge - sharing what I considered to be my deepest secrets with someone else. It wasn't shared publicly like the rest of the things I did (I originally intended to, but it would have been a little far into TMI territory Image), but I now realize how silly I was being trying to hide them in the way I did, and am a lot more comfortable discussing those things in a completely open and honest manner with specific people - leading me to learn even more about myself from the questions they asked. :)

It was literally just that initial mental barrier that I'd placed there that stopped me from ever talking about these things. It was hard to vault over, but things got a lot easier after that, and it was definitely worth it. :flutterunsmith:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Aracat » Sat May 25, 2013 12:39 am

Quoting myself from waaay back on day -2 or so:
Aracat wrote:
Mon Apr 15, 2013 3:37 am
What the hell, let's do this. The fact that I feel some amount of trepidation about this means that there's at least one thing to learn.
I was going to write more words, but let's just leave it at :getinkie:

Isaak wrote:
Fri May 17, 2013 4:41 pm
Where do you live? :-I

Srs: I want to travel around the States for a couple'o months some time in the future, meeting people I wanna meet and finding out why the US of A works the way it works. Because hot damn your country is so fascinating!
I live in the midwest, otherwise known as "those states you fly over when going to the other coast". There's not a lot of stuff out here that I think would be worth stopping and visiting for - most of the cool stuff is on the coasts or in the major cities like Chicago. On the other hand, if you like heart attack on a plate, we have several varieties...

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by milesluigi (?) » Sun May 26, 2013 4:14 pm

Aracat wrote:
Mon Apr 15, 2013 3:37 am
What the hell, let's do this. The fact that I feel some amount of trepidation about this means that there's at least one thing to learn.
Alright. That does it. That's what I needed to read. Screw off mental fears. I'm "jumping off the cliff" and getting started.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Momo (?) » Sun May 26, 2013 4:16 pm

Hell yes, we've got two more takers. :yay:

After a big, big stumble (career issues), I'm ready to get back on the horse. It was hard to be forward-looking when I was too busy worrying about where I was going to be next week.

Just FYI, I'm moving this back to TFP now. But it'll stay up until everyone's done.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Hi. (?) » Sun May 26, 2013 4:38 pm

Momar wrote:
Wed May 22, 2013 2:39 pm
Also, can I get a list of people that are still going, and what day they're on? This thread is going to remain open until everyone who wants to finish is finished.
I just gotta do day 30. I was waiting until I figured out some stuff to wrap it up in a bow, but I'll be finishing it tonight.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Mon May 27, 2013 4:28 pm

Hi! wrote:
Sun May 26, 2013 4:38 pm
I just gotta do day 30. I was waiting until I figured out some stuff to wrap it up in a bow, but I'll be finishing it tonight.
How'd it go? :allears:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Hi. (?) » Mon May 27, 2013 5:24 pm

Isaak wrote:
Mon May 27, 2013 4:28 pm
How'd it go? :allears:
I got busy with stuff, and forgot! But it was good stuff. Stuff I probably wouldn't have been doing 30 days ago. (I'll finish it today!)

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Hi. (?) » Mon May 27, 2013 11:43 pm

Day 30

I'm typing this one out, because it's gonna be longish, and I can dump a stream of thoughts a lot easier typing than I can when writing.
Reflection
Dang. What a month. Looking back at my answers, I'm not sure how many of them would really change. While some of the perceptions I have of myself and where I'm going in life have been clarified over the past 30 days, they haven't really changed. I still do not attach my long term happiness to any specific accomplishments, or milestones. Moreso, I know now all the better that happiness comes from accepting myself, and my life, whatever it happens to be. This doesn't mean I do not want to accomplish things, it just means I know I do not need these things to be happy, or to be content.

My initial goals were pretty conservative, but I'm happy with where I am with them. I blew away the weight goal I had set, my handwriting is a bit better (though still needs improvement), the estate is no longer waiting on me, I finished the challenge (if late!), and I've taken a few steps to get back into the whole dating thing. (Though that was not really a priority). On top of that, I'm drawing again, which has been nice. I still suck at it, but yknow what, I don't care. It's fun.

Reassess
I rated myself before I look at what my (original scores) were:
Career: 8 (8). My job is awesome, and I love what I do. Isn't perfect, but damn if I don't like it.
Wealth: 8 (8). I make enough money to live the life I want to live.
Health: 6 (4). Still fat, but I'm actually not in too bad shape now, all things considered. Still weight to lose, but it's moving in the right direction.
Social: 8 (6). I have a wide variety of friends, from a diverse group of backgrounds. I love em.
Family: 2 (2). Yeah, I don't think this has changed. It is what it is. Maybe one day.
Love: 6 (2). Getting there. I'm putting myself out there, and things are.. actually going prety well
Recreation: 9 (8). Life itself is fun. I don't have a lot of days I can't look back on positively.
Contribution: 6 (4). This could be better. I need to start volunteering, or something.
Personal Growth: 9 (8). Tempted to make this one 10, honestly, but I hate absolutes. I'm letting myself be me, in whatever that form takes, and I'm not afraid to be who I want to be.
Spiritual: 9 (8). Mu.
Self Image: 8 (6/2). I don't like that I'm fat. But I don't hate what I see in the mirror anymore. Other than that, I'm happy with me.

Huh. So yeah. I guess things have gotten better. I think a lot of that was due to a few realizations I made over the past few weeks, and my finally coming to grips with my mother's death, but a lot of the self reflection that led to both of these things was due to this project.

Plan ahead

Pfft. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow, I sure as hell don't know what I'm doing over the next three months. I don't really have anything I *need* to do right except what I'm already doing. Which is a good feeling.

:pinkieshrug:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by milesluigi (?) » Mon May 27, 2013 11:51 pm

Assuming this thread doesn't lock in a few days, I hope everyone doesn't mind if I update on my progress. (Watch, the thread become the thread that never ends.)

I wanted to share a website I found when I searched for, well, literally, succeed socially: http://www.succeedsocially.com/ I don't have problems talking to other people, family, and friends once a conversation starts, but I always feel awkward and sometimes even scared before a conversation. It's one of my self-identified weaknesses I found during day 2 that is a cause of some of my low scores.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Momo (?) » Tue May 28, 2013 12:28 am

Like I said, the thread will remain open until one who wants to complete the challenge has completed it.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Aurora » Tue May 28, 2013 1:21 am

I was thinking about starting one of these soonish but if the thread's closing soon and it's an indeterminate time until the next one I won't bother. I don't know when I'd start and the thread could be closed by then.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Perrydotto (?) » Tue May 28, 2013 7:25 am

Why does the thread need to be closed in the first place? :pinkieshrug:
Image /// Image /// Image

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Momo (?) » Tue May 28, 2013 7:31 am

I was going to gem mine it but I guess it doesn't have to be. :pinkieshrug:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Venusy (?) » Tue May 28, 2013 7:56 am

Can't you do the same thing as the original GSM thread where it's moved into the Gem Mine, then immediately moved out, creating a permanent link to it in there?

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Momo (?) » Tue May 28, 2013 8:59 pm

Um, because it was closed and permanently moved into the gem mine?

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Aurora » Tue May 28, 2013 11:02 pm

It was moved there when the Gem Mines originated and then moved back out after a short stint being in there.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by milesluigi (?) » Sun Jun 02, 2013 12:16 pm

Alright, one week in. And, well, I don't feel I'm meeting my own expectations.

---Still suck at falling asleep (try to go to bed at 11pm-12am, fall asleep finally by 3am. This has been consistent throughout the entire last week. :saddash: )
---Contacted a bunch of old friends via email. Haven't heard back from any of them. Wondering if I'm going about the wrong way.
---Outreached to two technical recruiters on LinkedIn. Haven't heard back from either, but that's probably because I sent out those messages on Saturday.

On the bright side, I have a surprise graduation party I'm attending (I'm the photographer), and I actually plan on starting conversations there instead of being almost entirely quiet, like I usually am. We'll see how it goes.

Gosh darn it, next time I post I'm going to improve at least a little-eany-weany bit.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Lhet (?) » Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:48 pm

I'm finally finishing up 13/14! :v: It feels like my room has doubled in size.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Wed Jun 05, 2013 5:48 am

milesluigi wrote:
Sun Jun 02, 2013 12:16 pm
Alright, one week in. And, well, I don't feel I'm meeting my own expectations.
Don't feel bad about this, meeting expectations doesn't happen that quickly but is a longer term process.
Try breaking down your expectations in smaller chunks and see what happens.
---Still suck at falling asleep (try to go to bed at 11pm-12am, fall asleep finally by 3am. This has been consistent throughout the entire last week. :saddash: )
This too can take a bit, but if you stick to it you'll feel much better. Sleeping well is I find one of the biggest influences on my day.
---Contacted a bunch of old friends via email. Haven't heard back from any of them. Wondering if I'm going about the wrong way.
Mm, the thing about emails is that people don't reply to them all that often. This is not your fault, but a problem of the medium: inboxes are overflowing and it's just a whole lot less personal.

Have you tried Facebook? Or maybe giving them a call?
---Outreached to two technical recruiters on LinkedIn. Haven't heard back from either, but that's probably because I sent out those messages on Saturday.
Awesome! Did you hear anything yet?
On the bright side, I have a surprise graduation party I'm attending (I'm the photographer), and I actually plan on starting conversations there instead of being almost entirely quiet, like I usually am. We'll see how it goes.
It's often these surprise things that are most fun/enriching. Plus, having a camera with you is a great way to start a conversation. Ask to take a picture, take it, then ask where people are from, what they're doing here, what they studied and whatnot.
Gosh darn it, next time I post I'm going to improve at least a little-eany-weany bit.
You will! :)
Lhet wrote:
Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:48 pm
I'm finally finishing up 13/14! :v: It feels like my room has doubled in size.
It has that effect, doesn't it :)

I meanwhile feel the need to clean it up again, will do that when I get home.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by milesluigi (?) » Wed Jun 05, 2013 6:10 pm

I said I would make improvement. And, I know it isn't much, but I finally fell asleep before 2am:
Image
Ignore the 1:30am start time. I went to bed at midnight. My fitbit doesn't do a great job actually logging sleep the way it says it's supposed to. It always shows "went to bed at around midnight or so, and woke up 5 minutes later" for me. I have to manually put in the times to actually figure out when I slept.
But, this is actually great news.

:awesomedash:

I've struggled with falling asleep my entire life. I was the kid that was always scolded for staying up late from my parents while I was either jumping on my bed, playing with a toy, playing my Game Boy. I just, didn't like going to bed.

Once I was able to drive myself while I was in High School, I couldn’t rely off my parents to wake me up anymore. There were days that I would sleep in, sometimes missing the entire day. Those days weren't fun; I'd have to explain to my counselor that I slept in, I wasn't playing hookie. Then I'd hear the usual speal: Go to bed sooner, blah blah blah.

I, can't. :gonkity:

You know how much it sucks just lying in bed not going to sleep? If and when I try, I end up spending hours not going to sleep. Then I have to deal with my internal monologue, "You can't fall asleep now. You're wasting your time in bed. Don't bother; you're not an early bird. You could be getting x done instead of wasting time here. You have so much to do lazy bones."

I didn’t improve when I started to go to college. While I didn’t have to talk with counselors anymore when I missed a class, it still sucked to miss class. I looked like a delinquent, when in fact, I just couldn’t sleep regularly. There was actually a class I had to drop and retake, as I missed the midterm test, and the midterm counted for so much of the grade I couldn’t pass the class anymore, even though I was doing great in the class previously.

:bluh:

Recently, I've been going to college online, though I've been taking gen-eds at the local college here. I just go to bed by the time I'm finally sleepy, which was usually 2am, 3am, 4am, whenever. Who cares? I don't need to wake up early in the morning.

:-I

But, I'm getting sick of not being in control of when I sleep. I hate being tired for a 3pm-10pm shift because I didn't go to bed the night before, or being late for an afternoon class because I just woke out of bed. I hate missing events in my life because I can’t control when I sleep, and I hate being super tired and needing lots of coffee and/or energy drinks to be functional in the morning.

Since I started this challenge, I've made a goal to sleep from 12am-8am. Flat out, no excuses, if I'm working on something it can wait until tomorrow. Since I've started, all of my sleep times have started been between 2am-3am. Until today. 1:48am! Whoohoo! I haven't fallen asleep before 2am since, I can't even remember. Probably High School.

:party:

I’m actually on the frustration day, day 11; I felt this post ought to be adequate. I've been trying to fix this problem of mine since I started the challenge. I still have the “I’m wasting my time in bed” thoughts. I don’t want them. I just want to go to sleep. It's the number 1 thing I want to get out of this.


In other news:
Mm, the thing about emails is that people don't reply to them all that often. This is not your fault, but a problem of the medium: inboxes are overflowing and it's just a whole lot less personal.

Have you tried Facebook? Or maybe giving them a call?
Facebook might work. Let me try. I don't have any phone numbers, or if I do they're probably no good anymore.
Awesome! Did you hear anything yet?
They both connected back to me on LinkedIn. One of them actually called me, but he didn’t have any opportunities at this time in my area. He said he’d keep in touch though.
It's often these surprise things that are most fun/enriching. Plus, having a camera with you is a great way to start a conversation. Ask to take a picture, take it, then ask where people are from, what they're doing here, what they studied and whatnot.
It was my niece’s graduation party. Most of the people there I was related to. I did start a few conversations, some of them went nowhere (namely the ones with my niece’s friends), one of them resulted in me listening to a mouthful of political babble, and one of them outright embarrassed me. I forgot my uncle’s sister’s name in a conversation, and my sister then said, “oh, that typical of my brother. Bad with people.”

But, I talked way more than I normally do. I normally just do what you say at family events, “Can I take your picture” *snap* *show the picture to them*. And that’s it. Most of my family knows I'm shy.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by milesluigi (?) » Sat Jun 08, 2013 4:59 pm

Oh my gosh.

I've spent the last two days cleaning my room. If I wasn't at work, I was cleaning. I still have two dressers, my filing cabinets, and closet to go through; currently at two completely-full bags of garbage.

Pictures speak louder than words, so here's my progress so far:

Image
Full 360 degree gallery here:

I should have taken before pictures. :unenthused:

But, hmm.... since I looked ahead, I'm actually wondering what I want to add to the room. I hate clutter on my desk, and my big whiteboard gets sabotaged by my Niece and Nephew all the time (Otherwise my vision board would be there in a heartbeat.) Hm.... maybe my room is already near perfection.
:milkshake:

Since I'm a month behind on the 30-day challenge, I have a question for everyone else: Is your room dirty again? :smirk:

Ponder

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Ponder » Sat Jun 08, 2013 9:22 pm

milesluigi wrote:
Sat Jun 08, 2013 4:59 pm
Is your room dirty again? :smirk:
My table began to clutter up once or twice, but other than that I've been pretty good about keeping the place clean (mostly because I tend not to spend any time in areas of my apartment that aren't directly in front of my computer) :modesty:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Momo (?) » Sat Jun 08, 2013 11:42 pm

Officially bowing out of the challenge after this most recent setback. Part of me is dead, and I get to choose whether I want to spend the next week in a painkiller-induced or pain-induced haze.

However, my challenge did yield some fruit, so it's not a total loss:
Image

This is what a month of coffee and breakfast bagels looks like. I'm also down four pounds, and am seeing an actually sympathetic psychologist about transitioning issues. I can't thank you enough, Isaak, for putting this on. Even if I didn't complete it, I got some amazing introspection done, and discovered truths about myself that I didn't know. I can't underemphasize what a positive impact this exercise has made to my overall well-being. I get the irony of saying that when I'm bedridden, but it's totally true.

Aracat

Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Aracat » Sun Jun 09, 2013 1:26 am

milesluigi wrote:
Sat Jun 08, 2013 4:59 pm
Is your room dirty again?
It took me this long to actually get through the decluttering challenge, so I'd say it got real messy for a while and now it's mostly cleaned up - much cleaner than before. I got rid of a lot of useless crap.
I'm falling off the wagon in a couple areas, but I noticed it very recently; now I can cut it off.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Sun Jun 09, 2013 7:18 am

Whooo, go Miles go! :party:
Since I'm a month behind on the 30-day challenge, I have a question for everyone else: Is your room dirty again? :smirk:
I've done pretty well at keeping my room clean. I make it a point to clean my desk every two days or so and remove anything that doesn't need to be on it pretty quickly.
That's not to say it's squeaky clean. It's chaos, but organized chaos :-P

Having an empty inbox is amazing though.
Momar wrote:
Sat Jun 08, 2013 11:42 pm
Officially bowing out of the challenge after this most recent setback. Part of me is dead, and I get to choose whether I want to spend the next week in a painkiller-induced or pain-induced haze.
Feel better Momo :flutterunsmith:
This is what a month of coffee and breakfast bagels looks like. I'm also down four pounds, and am seeing an actually sympathetic psychologist about transitioning issues. I can't thank you enough, Isaak, for putting this on. Even if I didn't complete it, I got some amazing introspection done, and discovered truths about myself that I didn't know. I can't underemphasize what a positive impact this exercise has made to my overall well-being. I get the irony of saying that when I'm bedridden, but it's totally true.
:)

You're more than welcome! I'm happy it had such a great influence on you and I know you can make an awesomely positive impact yourself.

Go Momo Go!

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by milesluigi (?) » Wed Jun 19, 2013 12:00 pm

I'm almost done, so unless there's a quiet challenge-taker out there who's behind day 25, the thread is ready for its gem mining.
:yay:

I started exercising near the start of the challenge. My Dad has a really nice treadmill downstairs that no one's used in at least two years. I actually started exercising as a way to help my sleep cycle, not as a way to help me stay in shape, or one of many many other benefits of exercising.

I bring it up, because today I really, really didn't feel like getting on the treadmill today. I forced myself to under the idea, "I don't feel like it, I'll just walk the entire time." Well, 2,000 steps later, and I have the thought: "Want to run now? Yes! I mean no! What's wrong with me? Who cares, go for it!"
:awesomedash:

I have been sleeping a lot better. I feel tired around my sleep time finally, and unless I'm going through a lot of emotions, I've been falling asleep before 12:30am each night. It's both super liberating, and I'm not getting pestered by my parents who ask when they see me up late at night "Milesluigi, get off the computer / put down the 3DS. It's 3am in the morning!" For reference, I'll link what I posted on the RUSP on the topic: http://www.roundstable.com/forums/viewt ... 66#p429766

The biggest obstacle I have in front of me right now is day 28, letting something go. I have a personal grudge with someone who I haven't talked to in five or so months. I get scared to even talk to them, as they are a lawyer, and I'm scared if I butcher my words when I apologize for my bad, I'm going to suffer legal penalties. So, wish me luck that I don't do that.
:flipout:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Momo (?) » Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:02 am

How's that challenge coming, Miles?

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by milesluigi (?) » Sat Jun 22, 2013 1:03 am

I'm not quite done, I'm on the bucket list day (day 27), but I'll give an update report, especially since this probably won't change in just a day or two:

I'll start by reiterating how much I feel my health has improved over the last month. I put so much effort into getting over my insomnia, and it's now gone. I had improving sleep as my New Year's resolution, and have a log of my sleep times going all the way back to Jaunary 1st of this year. Looking at this log now, I have days with dashes through them (no sleep), days with multiple times (why did I take 2/3 naps?!), and days with a giant block (like 3am-4pm, for example.) Just logging the sleep wasn't enough, some correctly-placed effort was needed.

Ever hear of a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? I used to think I couldn't get into a good sleep schedule, and because I thought that way, it became true.
:iamapony:

On the other hand, I still feel like a social klutz. I didn't exactly have a super-definite goal here. I wrote down, "I want to be sociable." The most success I've had so far has been from talking to family members and my close friends (especially my Grandparents. Calling them was easily the best part of calling my family members!) But, I feel like I got no where in terms of trying to connect back to old friends, or trying to get out there making new friends. I also might have scared away one of my close friends when I, ever so brilliantly, left this friend a voice-mail asking, "I would like to reevaluate our friendship. Please call me back."
:-I

To not get too in-depth with my past, I've lived a fairly isolated life, and I want to get over the fear I can't create good relationships or good friendships. I know it's not true, but just knowing a fear doesn't make it go away.
:speakest:

But, at least I can say I've learned from the experience. Be curious about people, ask questions, and learn what makes people tick and motivated. Actually approach people and talk/message to them, don't wait for other people to approach me. Also, listen. I'm normally an introvert and a quiet person, so listening isn't a huge gap for me to get across, but it's one I need to work on more.

Finally, if it's worth something, I built up the courage to get a badge to go to Bronycon. I'm still working out the travel details, but it's something I would not have done if it hadn't been for this challenge.

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by milesluigi (?) » Sun Jun 23, 2013 2:50 pm

You want to know what? My future self is in for such a surprise December 23rd. Hope he enjoys his Christmas present. :allears:

One more day to go! :yay:

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by milesluigi (?) » Mon Jun 24, 2013 11:24 am

Alright. Here I go.

Wow, what a journey I started and took. I want to share something I wrote myself just before I started:
Milesluigi wrote:I am nearing the end of my college education, and life is about to let me go and release me to do whatever I want. Sounds good? It scares me! Education has been a wonderful life guide, and I'm going to have to bear the burden of being release from that wonderful guide.
Well, I'm still scared a little, but nowhere near as much. I've got a handle on what direction I want to head in the near future, and spent some great time building good healthy habits, and strengthening ties to my family and friends. Furthermore, something incredible happened: I found a super-duper amazing friend on the way.
:yay:

Thank you Momar for keeping the thread open for my late butt. Thank you Isaak for running the whole thing and spending the time writing the challenge. Thank you to everyone who participated, everyone who watched the thread, and even you out there who lurked and never posted in the thread, you're important too.




I want to leave everyone with just a little bit of a inspirational/motivational piece. :)

Have you ever watching a young toddler try to get up and walk? They fumble, they fall, and frankly they're terrible at walking. But that doesn't hold them back, they keep going at it, and keep trying until they finally do it.
:wantitneedit:

You've probably heard of that analogy before. No one starts out as the number-one superstar. In the real world, most entrepreneurs don't succeed their first time. Most artists create garbage their first weeks. Most of you had a friend that you lost for whatever reason.
:saddash:

One could look at their bankrupt business, their crappy work of art, or a lost friend as a failure. And, to be objective, it probably was a failure. However, failure is not a be-all-end-all. If you can learn, reflect, and understand why the failure occurred, it really isn't much of a failure. It's an experience.

It's an experience you'll have to be better the next time. To keep growing. To keep improving. And to never stop because it didn't work the first time, the second time, or even the three-hundredth time.

If I would have stopped after two or three days of just laying in bed for a few hours not falling asleep, I wouldn't have gotten over my sleep problem.

You too. Think of something in your life you just persisted at. Maybe you persisted to quit smoking. Maybe you persisted on finding a new job/career. Maybe you persisted on improving that relationship. Maybe you persisted on something wild and unimaginable! You might have made it, or you might have slipped, fell, and didn't succeed yet. Regardless of which is true, don't stop! Don't give up because it's not working. Keep going. Keep improving. And keep learning. Life is a journey, not a destination. You're too important to give up on.
:wink:

The golden rule, "Love others as you love yourself", makes the assumption that you love yourself. Always believe in yourself. If you do that, I really do believe you will continue to live life to the fullest and best-est you can.
:party:

To conclude, the image in Isaak's first post does a good job summing everything up:
Image

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by !saak (?) » Tue Jun 25, 2013 11:45 am

Heya Miles, welcome to the finish line! :party: (Even though I'm kinda late :v:)

You are superwelcome, reading about all the things you've accomplished is giving me all sorts of wonderful, fuzzy feelings :allears:

Here's to your future! :D

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Re: 30 Days of Life Improvement Challenge

Post by Momo (?) » Tue Jun 25, 2013 1:56 pm

I can't think of a better note to end this on. Congratulations to everyone whether they finished or not!

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