wookieshark88

?I highly suggest doing a gratitude list if you already have a journal. If not, I would just focus on doing short and simple journal entries first. I find that good habits are more sustainable when started gradually and built upon. All my life, I would throw myself all out at a good "habit" only to flame out after a few months or even days. Give yourself a goal that you 100% know you can attain if you just give an honest effort. Once you get comfortable, then you can increase that slightly.

?Thank you! It's funny because I think Cam suggested that I pick three things every day, but I didn't pay close attention and did ten. I never wanted to change it because it taught me to analyze my life and search for the good things that I would tend to not remember. Sometimes I have my unfinished journal up on my computer as I search my day for things to be thankful for. It was unintentional, but it turned out great.

Today was a good day. I got plenty done at work. I listened to "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" by Deepak Chopra. It was decent, but the subject matter in the book is presented more powerfully in other books. It was a short listen which was nice. I got through it in about two and a half hours. Because Chopra's book was so short, I was able to start listening to "Einstein" by Walther Isaacson. It's so beautifully written like many of his books are. It's also presented in a story format instead of an explanatory tone like a lot of books I've listened to lately. I figure that listening to a biography of an iconic genius would be a good use of my listening time. So far it has been! Also, I'm over a third of the way done with my outline of "How to Meditate". It's coming out pretty good, but I think that I'll have to read and revise it a bit once I finish the first draft. It's such a good book, and I really want to make sure that my outline reflects that. Once it's in a condensed and quality form, I'll be able to read it over on a regular basis to internalize its wisdom. I was able to get a little bit of my homework done today which was great. On any given day, I don't know if I'll get a chance to study so it's really important to capitalize when I can. This semester has been about keeping my eyes open for a chance to study while balancing family time with it. I think I'm doing good so far! I was able to cook dinner for my wife tonight! I was able to make her some vegetarian burritos. I changed up my usual recipe just a little bit to accommodate the ingredients I had. It wasn't quite as good as I could be, but it was definitely interesting. I learned a few things I would do again and a few that I wouldn't. I'm thankful for: Getting a lot of things done.Having a blast playing with my baby after work!Being able to smile all day long!Getting some good exercise in because my lungs are feeling good again!A quality meditation session in the morning.All of the wonderful comments in my journal! Thanks Chris, Tom, and Phoenix!Being happy. It's just two words, but they're two very powerful ones!My wife for being a joy!My cholesterol lowering wine. I'm normally a beer guy, but I've been enjoying this.Being free. I chase my dreams, have my family, and learn every day. It's great!

?I'm really happy you took the time to comment on my journal! That inspires me to keep going strong too! As for the great days are concerned, I'm learning how great and bad days are in large part due to my frame of mind. As I learn to cultivate my inner happiness, the days seem great! Honestly, they really are so much greater than before because the black hole of games is gone from my life so that helps too.

?I'm getting really close! I'm already as fit as I have been in about two years! Today was a great day! It started great as my family and I went to the pool for swim class. Fun was had by all, but some of my baby's friends weren't at the pool today. I'm pretty sure they have the cold that has been ravaging this area lately. Next we all went for breakfast at one of our favorite local breakfast places! I got poached eggs over spinach and Canadian bacon on an English muffin. Delicious! After a great breakfast, we got over out to the bookstore to pick out some new books for the baby. She was laughing and sociable the whole time! Because she still had so much energy, we just had to go to the aquarium. We all had a blast seeing all the fish! Her favorite was the huge sting rays which she could stare at forever. From there we went home to get more chores done. My wife made a fantastic beef stew while I got a bunch of chores done. My habits are mostly done, except that I need to meditate before bed. Things are mostly in order to begin a new and successful week tomorrow! I'm thankful for: Staying on top of everything.Getting to see my baby stare in wonder at the fish.Beef stew!Getting pretty close to my goal weight!Being happy all day.Baby books.Mindfulness.Working on all my dreams!Having the family of my dreams.Having a great place to journal.

?Great write up on Marcus Aurelius! His stuff almost sounds Buddhist. I loved the complexity of his words and thoughts. It takes a smart guy to run an empire!

Today was another good day! It was quite busy all day as the wife and I got a ton of things done around the house and outside. It's awesome to get caught up on things. We did laundry, winterized, sent out some mail, vacuumed, cleaned, organized, replaced filters, grocery shopped, home repaired, did homework, got books for the baby, and had fun! My baby is almost ready to crawl! I can see her putting her knees up in the crawling position and moving them back and forth. Once she can coordinate her knees with her arms, she's going to be moving! That just makes the need for babyproofing a little more urgent. I'm so grateful that I can watch her be on the verge of crawling without thinking about playing some video game. I'm so happy to be fully present in these moments. I'm thankful for: Not being a procrastinator anymore.The fun new books I got from the library for myself and my baby! She enjoys when we read to her, and I hope to help make her love of books a lifelong one.The insurance I bought for my wife's engagement ring. Today was the fourth time she's had to use it. I love the ring design, but the quality is not as good as it should be.My cat cuddling up with me as I relax.My wife for putting up with my spastic way of getting things done sometimes.My baby for being so determined to crawl.The delicious wine we're having right now.Having a great mental focus throughout the day.Getting one day closer to reaching my goals! I'm definitely on the right side of the Slight Edge.Being happy. This is how I know I will be successful in all of my goals!

Marco, that's some real wisdom right there!

?Thank you so much for taking the time to read my words! I feel proud for you as well! Is there anything you would like to ask about my journal?

Today is another good day! My baby was able to sleep straight through the night so my wife and I were able to start the day fresh. This is such a big difference maker. I guess that it's normal for babies that usually sleep through the night to have isolated nights where they wake up a whole lot. It's very comforting to feel like I don't have to keep trying to figure out what is wrong and how to fix it. Also, my cold is 95% gone. I was able to do some light exercise, but not too much because I can feel that if I start breathing too hard, my asthma is going to act up on me. Meditation is really becoming more powerful for me as I learn more about it. I'm able to combine my newly acquired knowledge with my headspace routine and it's a whole new experience. I've got all my notes together, and I'll soon create a coherent breakdown of the wisdom contained in the book. I'm really looking forward to seeing the end result of this effort! The weekend has started, and it's a great thing! I spent most of the week feeling sick or sleepy. Today, it's all coming together, and I look forward to spending this time without work very effectively with a feeling of happiness! I'm thankful for: Feeling better today.Getting a good night's sleep last night.Getting a lot of work done today.Finishing my awesome book.Being happy.A new record low weight! 28 pounds down and 7 to go.My library card. We'll have to see what books I can come home with tomorrow.Having the strength to live my life the way I want to. This definitely has not always been the case.Having the opportunity to see my baby love life.Being able to share my life with a wonderful woman.

Today was another good day. My test was super easy, and I would be surprised if I scored lower than 95%. I also finished so fast that I was able to walk around campus for 30 minutes while I waited for the test to end and for the lecture to begin. During this time I practices being mindful and in the moment. That time was such a blessing because of how busy I am these days. My drive to and from school was nice as I was able to listen to some Tim Ferriss podcasts. The more I listen to his stuff, the more I get into it. Last night was rough. My baby woke up five times during the night. The norm for her is to sleep until morning. My poor wife got up to take care of her three times, and I got up twice. This definitely has made me more tired today, but I'm getting through the day pretty well regardless. She has been really happy all day today so I'm not really sure what was going on. Being a baby, her habits can change literally overnight so the wife and I will just have to observe how she's doing and act accordingly. Work was good today. I got plenty done and learned a few new things which is always nice. I just found out that a guy I work with is preparing to start meditation which is awesome. It'll be nice to have something in common with a coworker. I often feel like I'm not too compatible with most of my coworkers (which really doesn't bother me). I also listened to disc 3 of 5 of my book and took two more pages of notes! I'm loving this one so much. It will be fun to finish and rewrite my notes into a coherent overview of what I have learned. I've done the same for the first third of "Think and Grow Rich" and I'm going to finish doing it when I wrap up the semester. That is a book that I need to read and not listen to. I really miss reading things right now. I'm thankful for: Doing good on my test.Having 30 minutes of mindfulness time.Tim Ferriss's podcast."How to Meditate" by Pema Chodoron.My common interest with a coworker.My new boss seeing to be a good person to work for. I always get so nervous that I'll get a disastrous boss like the one I had three years ago.Upping my meditation game this morning to a new level! I'm not really trying to reach enlightenment, but I am trying to kick ass at life and be really happy every day (so far so good!). If enlightenment comes, that's cool too as long as I can still kick ass at life and be really happy every day.Noticing how positivity has become a more natural part of my thought process over the last few months.Having a nice little conversation about my quitting games with my wife last night. She showed more interest than the last time I talked to her about it. It's hard for her to comprehend how much I struggled with it. It's hard really show her what it did to me because I hid it way too well. She's getting it little by little though.Being really happy and kicking ass at life today.

My advice is to listen to Cam. It's working for me. My own advice is to dare to dream big. Think about different awesome things that you would do if you were some sort of super talented or smart person. You will be able accomplish at least some of these things if you really want them! Dreaming big is scary (for me at least), but it's worth it.

So far, today has been absolutely fantastic! I feel 90% better from my cough. My habits are going well as usual. I feel like I'm just about ready for my test tomorrow. However, these aren't the reasons why today has been absolutely fantastic. The reason is the I started listening to "How to Meditate" by Pema Chodron. I honestly had minimal expectations for this book. I just got it from the library with other audio books because I wanted to make sure that I had enough listening material to keep my reading habit going along. My logic was, "I meditate, and this book is about meditation so might find it useful. No matter what, my reading habit will be met, and that's awesome for me." I popped the CD into my computer and hit play hoping that I would actually be able to just absorb some of what I was about to hear. With some of the audio books, I felt like I had very little retention which is frustrating. After about 5 minutes of listening to this book, I restarted it with a pen in my hand ready to take notes because it was awesome! I've finished 2 out of the 5 discs and I've already taken four pages of notes! I've tried the different things I wrote down in mini meditation sessions and they are amazing! I cannot wait to finish this book and incorporate the whole thing into my meditation practice. For me this book has reached the top tier of books I have read. "The Power of Habit", "The Slight Edge", and "How to Meditate" are my three favorite books of all time now. If you are practicing meditation and wish to improve, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Haha, I guess my journal entry turned into a book endorsement of a book I have not even finished yet. Oh well, I'm happy with it, and this is my journal! I'm thankful for: "How to Meditate" by Pema Chodron.Being inspired today by a book.My habits leading to the discovery of an inspiring book.Learning about habits from "The Power of Habit".Learning to give self improvement books a chance from Cam.Finding Game Quitters.Finding /r/stopgamingQuitting video games.Wanting to quit video games.Having a strong and burning desire to be a great father and husband.That stuff I read in "Think and Grow Rich" about how wanting something bad enough will cause the universe to make it happen for you seems a little less like BS to me now. I love how the world can surprise me. For me, hell would be complete and utter predictability.

Do you have any recommended brands of green tea? I've been drinking a few cups a day to work on my cholesterol. My house probably goes through 20 bananas a week and there are only 2.25 of us! History is awesome! My current class is the History of Architecture (Ancient through Renaissance).

What I do at night to fill my time (6 PM - 9:30 PM): Play with my baby.Put her to bed.Clean.Cook.Eat.Journal.Food Journal.Talk with my wife.Watch a TV show.Get ready for bedSleep.Edit: I should mention that this is after months of working on making my life the way I want it to be. Also, I'm probably older, married, and have a kid. This is most likely a very apples to oranges comparison. I just felt that you deserved an answer to the question you asked. I hate putting myself out there in the form of a question to get nothing.

Scoring points with a professor is a good thing. This guy sounds like he just wants to see true competence and passion in the work. That should always be your goal anyways. Think about the throngs of people who talk about how they have a degree, but can't get a job. Do your best to grow and master your subjects. Even if you master your subjects, you'll have a lot of competition out there. The key is to be passionate and explore your field to try to pinpoint a niche that not too many people are pursuing and you feel you can be great at. I'm working on doing the same thing myself in my chosen field of academic study as well as other areas that aren't so academic.

I didn't plan this in my original journal entry, but I want to share it. This article talks about how using willpower saps memory power. I really believe that we need to set up our lives in a way that minimize the need for willpower. Keeping the memory in top shape is a good reason to do so! Today was a good day. I finished listening to my latest book, Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner. It's not a very tough listen and has a pop-sci feel to it. What I have taken away from it is that intuitive thinking can often be very wrong although very popular. I found myself compelled to disregard some of the data that was presented in the book like reading to a child and taking her to a museum has no impact on her success. Of course these are things that I have wanted (and already) do to provide the best for my baby. I particularly enjoy doing these things because I love to see the wonder and smiles on her face when we do these things. They're a lot of fun for me personally, and I enjoy spending the time with her. Back to the subject of this paragraph, the book helped me to realize that I should do my best to make decisions based on facts, and not intuition. Data is a very tricky thing to interpret which can be a blessing and a curse. It's tough to make the best decisions in life when it's tough to make sense of what's going on around us. Conversely, because of the amount of non-intuitive truths out there, a key to forming a very successful business could be to discover a frequently overlooked and non-intuitive solution to a common problem. Of course a solution would need to be formulated and marketed effectively etc. Perhaps the way I will find out what my business should be is to create and administer surveys and to find existing statistics and see how if they can show a subtle unsolved problem that I can offer a solution to. This can help me to find a niche that doesn't require a mountain of specialized knowledge or have much competition. I have no desire to try out compete hoards of smart and creative people. I'll definitely be pondering this (although maybe that's a waste of time because the solution is non-intuitive anyways, haha). School, work, and habits have all gone according to plan today so all is well with that. I've had to keep myself from exercising again today because I want go get over this cold or whatever it is as soon as possible. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel well enough to get back on track with that. Perhaps I should read a book on statistics and surveys at some point! I'm thankful for: A mentally stimulating book.Things not always being what they seem. The world is more exciting that way.Quiz #2 on Wednesday. It's my next chance to solidify an A in my class!A delicious lunch.Feeling better than yesterday.Getting lots of sleep last night.Meditation being particularly good today.Getting to the library on a regular basis.My wife getting Pho for dinner tonight!My baby not getting sick. I really hope this continues. I've been sanitizing my hands regularly and wearing a surgical mask since yesterday when I'm around her.

CERN sounds awesome!

Congrats on the great presentation!

?Do you still get to post on Game Quitters?

?That's on my list too!

Don't forget to tell us how your presentation goes! A huge part of my education is presentation, and it fascinates me. In architecture school, we have "critiques" where you present your designs to actual architects, and they'll give you feedback good, bad, and ugly. I've seen many people leave these things in tears, angry, thrilled, confused... name the emotion. I always make mental notes on how presentations go, what kind of feedback they get, and how the presenter deals with the feedback. Good luck!

I had the same prejudices as you! I felt like I had to swallow my pride to try those things out, but now I have way more pride because of them! I tried to hit "Like", but I already liked 10 posts today. This is an excellent post!

What is this silent retreat you are all speaking of? Edit: I know I could google it, but I'd rather hear your thoughts rather than random people's thoughts.

You may want to add Daring Greatly by Brenee Brown to your reading list. I think it will be a perfect fit for you! Cam recommended it to me, and I was able to benefit greatly from it.