wookieshark88

I tell people that we met online and I describe how she's the absolute best! I also point out how many crazy women I was able to avoid before I made the mistake of meeting them in person. I once had a woman try to tell me what to do before we met. It's just effective is how I tell people. I've dated a few that I didn't meet online, but it wasn't as good as what I have now!

This may be your third quitting attempt, but I think it will be your first successful one! Make yourself a journal and post (even if it's a tiny post) every day. Many here will be able to help you along the way.

Welcome! Your English is very good, and I look forward to reading your journal!

Today was the perfect day to have heading into the workweek. We had swim class with my baby which was a blast! At one point she starting crying because she swallowed a bit of water, but her little friend who is 4 days older than her came over and cheered her right up! He and that little boy are so cute together. Swim class is a great place to get to know some parents. I'm really happy to have it be a part of the family's weekly routine. The wife and I accomplished a bunch of cleaning, laundry, homework, and cooking today. We also went to have lunch with her parents which was delicious! We ate outside at a byob seafood place. The weather was picturesque. We even got to take a nap this afternoon. I couldn't ask for more! Meditation was good today. I was hoping to have a session like yesterday's, but that's okay that I didn't. I'm sure there will be plenty of great experiences to be had as I continue to meditate. I'm thankful for: Having the perfect Sunday.Getting things done while having fun along the way.My baby's friend.Having a solid mental foundation. I've spent many years without one.My wife. Today wouldn't have been as great without her.Getting a little bit ahead with my studies.My baby's new leopard print pajamas. They're half cute and half ridiculous.Having plenty of work do to tomorrow.All the books I'm going to read!Keeping all my habits without wasting willpower to do so.

I met my wife on OKC. It was a great too for screening people that I would have regretted meeting.

I still use that headspace video as part of my routine!

Welcome aboard! Marcus Aurelius is my next book. Thanks for getting me pumped to read it!

I got three books I need to read! Edit: Hooked y Nir Eyal, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate, and Gorilla Mindset by Mike Cernovich

Today was such a great day! There was a food festival at the local Greek Orthodox church. I loooooove Greek food! I bought a bunch of it and brought it to the inlaws' house so we can all enjoy it together. Every time I eat their food, I consider converting because it is definitely god inspired food. My meditation has most definitely reached a new level this morning. I had quite the unique experience that I have been dwelling on all day. I need to keep my experience private for now. What I will say is that meditation will be an important practice for me for the rest of my life. Mindfulness during the day is starting to become more natural to me. It has become a passion for me to explore and expand my practice. I was able to spend a few hours in the library by myself today. This gave me the chance to study, browse the audio books, and get some different books for the baby. I have four audio books in my backpack now including The Origin of the Species which I'm halfway through! I'm thankful for: Having the time to read other people's journals. You are all inspiring to me (seriously, I draw inspiration from your words).Being able to play with my baby a lot. She is my treasure.Greek food! Take my money!Smiling a lot. It feels so good.Becoming a more mindful person. I love this personal development journey I'm on.Joining this forum!Baby swimming class tomorrow!Being excited with life. I've never had that feeling for so long before.Baby smiles! It's one of the most wonderful things ever.My wife. She's perfect for me.

Keep on going on your journey! Remember to enjoy and celebrate your small successes. We're all striving towards an idea, but the key is to truly enjoy improving little by little. I'm always happy to read anything you write!

Today was a fantastic Friday! I think I've reached a new level in my meditation, and it's impacting my life quite noticeably. During the day, I am able to take the time to just observe a moment with a neutral mind. Sometimes I'll look inside myself and observe the emotions and thoughts. I'm starting to be able to let unnecessary ones go while basking in desirable ones. I've been at it every day for 82 days now, and it's been such a blessing in my life. I listened to Tim Ferriss today. It was the episode about psychoactive drugs. I've never done any before, but it really piqued my attention. What has me most interested is the spiritual aspect of it. I have my own very basic form of spirituality, but I wouldn't mind seeing if or how this kind of experience would influence it. This is something I may have to try in a few years or so. It sounds like something that should be thought about, researched, and planned well in advance to ensure that it is a safe and proper experience. Work was really good today. I went to a meeting for the project I'll be taking a lead on and got to know a bunch of the players and an overview of what's going on. My positive demeanor helped me to have friendly conversations with them so that we know each other and feel comfortable communicating together. It's been a while since I've been in this atmosphere, and it's nice. I was able to get home nice and early today and spend some real quality time with my daughter. I haven't really had too much time with her since last Sunday. We had a blast together! We read a bunch of her new books, sang, danced, laughed, went for a walk, had dinner... we had a blast. I know that the old me would have seen this much time at home as an opportunity to get some gaming time in. I'm so happy I'm not that person anymore. I'm thankful for: Getting through week 3 of the semester in style. All habits are intact, all assignments are done, all family members are cared for, and all is going well in the workplace.Having the most positive work environment I've had in years.Not gaining weight since class started. I usually gain during the semester.Having a great evening with my family.Relaxing.Happiness.Having the courage to chase dreams.My friend that I made. He's taught me some good stuff.Feeling content.Personal growth.

?That, my friend, is a newly acquired skill of mine. It's is also how I achieve success in all my different goals. Happiness is the key to success, not the other way around.

Today was another success. I was able to get to class 10 minutes early and get ready for the exam. It was a fairly easy exam and I expect that I'll have scored around 100% (there were extra credit questions that I felt comfortable with). This is the exact class I needed to take for this semester, my first one as a father. It's not difficult but interesting still. If I'm going to be this busy, I need to enjoy what I'm doing. Work is going well today too. I'm going to a meeting tomorrow as the department representative for my first project. It's not the biggest project, but that's good because I'm determined to use it to show what I can do. As long as I have the Slight Edge mentality with this project, I think I'll do great! My boss has been pleased with my time management skills too which feels good. I'm making progress on mastering this job (one of my goals). I really can't wait to spend time with my daughter this evening. I didn't get to do much with her the last two days because I had my doctor's appointments. I finally get to read those books I bought with her! Also, today is her 6 month birthday! It's funny because the time seems to have flown by, but at the same time it feels like she's been in my life for such a long time. I wonder if this paradox is common with other parents. I guess I'll just have to ask some. Habits have been going very well. For the third day in a row, my meditation has been spectacular. I don't know if I'm just getting better at it or if I'm just on a hot streak with it. Reading (listening) has been going well. I'm halfway through Darwin's "The Origin of Species". It's a book if heard so much about all my life (like we all have). There's so many differing opinions on his work, but I'm glad I finally get to form my own opinion from firsthand experience. The man is a damn genius! It would be a very hard book to read so listening is a great option. I never knew how he thoroughly addressed so many detractors in the book using specific examples from data and observations from scientists the world over. At lot of the criticisms he addressed are ones that I've heard people bring up today. I would recommend this book for sure as long as you go into it knowing that some percentage of it will be in over your head unless you are well versed in biology. I'm thankful for: My daughter's 6 month birthday!Thanksgiving is coming soon(ish) and the wife and I are going to make a full spread. It's easily my favorite holiday!Getting the opportunity to get some responsibility at work.Doing well on the exam.Driving safely.Meditation.Fall weather. It's the best weather around here.Having a relatively less busy day today.Having no anxiety today.Getting my exercise in.

Today has been a good day. It's as busy as yesterday, but so far I have been energetic and focused. My meditation, exercise, reading (listening), and food journaling have been completed as usual. I'm really happy that I'm able to keep up with all my habits despite not stopping from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. It's probably not sustainable for many days on end, but that's okay because we're going to have a laid back weekend. I'll need it for sure! I should journal a breakdown of my days so that I can keep track of how I'm doing. Breakdown of time for yesterday: Morning Routine - 1 hour Driving - 4 hours School - 2 hours Work - 6.5 hours Doctor's Appointment - .5 hours Study - 1.75 hours Cooking - .25 hours Family Time - 1 hour Sleep - 7 hours Total - 24 hours Breakdown of time for today (projected): Morning Routine - 1 hour Driving - .75 hours Work - 10.5 hours Doctor's Appointment - 1 hour Cooking - .5 hours Study - 1.5 hours Family Time - 1.5 hours Sleep - 7.25 hours Total - 24 hours It's pretty clear to me that the added stress of video games or craving them would make these days impossible. Also, the good habits really give a boost of energy that is worth was more time than they take up. Tomorrow is my first exam of the semester too which is why the studying needs to be there. Cooking is fun and relaxing for me (as well as healthy and money saving). Work is how I pay my bills, school, gas, and everything else I use to advance towards my goals.. School and studying is to reach my goals. Doctor's visits help to keep me in top health. Driving is because I don't yet own a self driving car to convert that time into a better use. Family time is because all achievements mean nothing without my family. Sleep is so I live long enough to reach my goals. I'm thankful for: Learning how to craft myself into a more capable self.Not wasting time with games.Having supporting people who allow me to do what I do.Feeling positive.Taking moments to just be in the moment.My car. That thing is still serving me well into its 14th year.The weather is awesome again.The food that I will grill for dinner.Slimming down as much as I have. Just a little more to go!Cats. They're so low maintenance, and I still get to be a pet owner!

Today has been another good day. I was able to get to school five minutes early. This is important because my professor did a review for the quiz on Thursday right at the beginning of class. I feel like I'm mostly ready for this quiz because I've been taking plenty of notes and reviewing them afterwards. I've been answering too many of the questions in class because nobody else will answer the questions and we'll linger on a topic for too long if I don't. I try to wait five seconds before answering to let other people have a chance though. My goal is to absorb all the information and get back to work ASAP so I don't have to work later than I already do. At least I know that I'll score well on the class participation part of the grade. My work day was routine. I was able to get a good amount done while listening to my audio book. Unfortunately my retention while listening to the audio book is not as good as when I read, so I'm going to make sure not to listen to anything too information dense. Think and Grow Rich would be an awful choice for me to listen to. It's still good that I'm able to continue my reading habit even if it's not in the optimal form. Oh well, life is all about creating success from varied and usually less than optimal scenarios. This will just make the success that much sweeter! I can't wait to read more of the new books to my daughter. She loves having time where we sit together and read books. She's even learned to turn the pages! I'll be forever grateful that I'm reading books and laughing with my daughter instead of staring at a screen like a zombie while she cries. I'll never sacrifice the quality of my family's life ever again to play a game. It feels good to feel so confident that it's over. Still, I have to be vigilant to resist the urges that still pop up once in a while, and make sure to not let anybody talk me into trying any games. Quitting was not effortless and staying game free won't be effortless either. Good thing I know all about the Slight Edge because my victory over games is in the smallest decisions that are easy to make! I'm thankful for: Books. My books, my daughter's books, my audio books, my school books (even if they're expensive)... They come in so many wonderful forms.Working in a tall building. Stairs make exercising so quick and inconspicuous.Coffee. It keeps my car on the road when I'm going to and coming from school.Meditation. Today was another good one!A new record low weight. 26 down and 9 to go. Single digits!Having a supportive wife. She makes so much possible.Brita water bottles. I love the built in filter.Not finding cat puke in the house yesterday.Having a mother in law who absolutely loves baby sitting. The wife and I save lots of money, she has fun, the baby has fun. We all win.The weather. It's amazing outside!

Today is another good day. There's always people at work who complain about Mondays, and I have been one of them at times throughout my working life. I haven't felt much any of the Monday struggles since I quit games and started building habits. Also, my general punctuality has improved in the mornings. I used to be one of those people who was often a few minutes late for work in the morning. Today, I was at work ten minutes early with lots of energy and a focused mind. It's nice to be able to look back and see the very real difference that all my positive habits have made in my day to day life. I never thought it would be possible for me achieve this amount of change in the way I feel in the morning! I'm so thankful for learning how to accomplish this. Work has been going well, and I'm going to take a lead role in a small project! This will be another opportunity to grow and build my reputation. Luckily, I have a boss and coworkers that help me to succeed. The other great thing about getting this work is that I'll be challenged. A lack of challenge is the most difficult obstacle for me to overcome when working. I'm sure that I won't have that problem at all as I start my own business! School has been going well so far. I'm mostly caught up with my studies since my trip to see my family. There's still more for me to do, and I'm going to get ahead eventually. I plan to get an A in the class so I'm treating every day and study session the way an A student would. The subject matter is very interesting to me which really helps. Family life has been going very well too. I ordered a bunch of new baby books that should be at the front door when I get home! I can't wait to read them with my baby. She always gets a big smile on her face when we read books by Sandra Boynton so I bought a box set of them. Last night, I made a roasted chicken and vegetables for the wife and I. She really enjoyed that I took the time to make such a nice dish for her. She's awesome because we both go out of our way to do good things for each other, and we both show gratefulness for each other's actions. This is by far the best functioning relationship I've ever had in my life. I'm thankful for: Baby books! I honestly never thought I would ever be thankful for such a thing. Becoming a parent has changed me on a fundamental level!Leftover chicken and vegetables. It's great to have something nice to eat without have to spend a lot of time preparing it.The feeling of peace that has mostly replaced anxiety in my life. This is world changing for me.Being able to enjoy all parts of my days. No time killing here!A new record low weight! This last pound took me a while to shed, but I'm still doing the right things. 25 down and 10 to go.My cat. He was feeling sick for a day and a half, but he's back to normal. Looks like there won't be a vet bill in my near future.My parents. I want to call them when I get home.The fan at my desk. It cools me down after climbing 9 flights of stairs.My audio book. It's funny that a book on CD feels so antiquated these days.Keeping my habits going. For me, this is the main test I want to pass for this semester.

I'm writing my journal entry a little early because I have a bit of downtime. That's okay though because I have already done some noteworthy things today! Today was the first day of my baby's swim class! I'm not exactly sure why they call it a class because it was completely unstructured, but it was a blast. My baby made some new baby friends during class! They were babbling and laughing at each other. This is her second time in a pool, and she interacted with the water much more than the last time. She was splashing, laughing, and having a ball. My wife and I were doing the same with her! What an excellent way to spend part of a Sunday morning! Meditation was of a higher quality than average today. I was able to see some of the emotions inside of me like impatience and judgementalness. I acknowledged them, sat with them, examined them, and let them go because they were unnecessary. The impact on my day of cleaning that stuff out of the mind first thing was great. It really helped me to enjoy pool time, exercise time, and laundry time. For the rest of the day I plan to get some groceries, clean, cook, do some homework, and spend quality time with the family. It will be a great second half of the day! I'm thankful for: A productive meditation session.Fun in the pool!Living today like it should be lived.Coming up with fun dinner plans.Enjoying the other posts on this site.Getting my run in early! Usually it's an evening thing for me.Getting the last load of laundry in the dryer before noon!Having my grocery list just about done.Tying my record low weight. Still 24 down and 11 to go.Having motivation and joy throughout the day so far.

Today was another success. I was able to meet with my friend who has been teaching me about business. He gave me lots of useful information today, and we enjoyed hanging out. It's nice to know people who are able to understand that I'm not interested in fitting in or an average life. After that, I went to the library to do some studying and get my homework done. I was able to focus very well there so I'll probably make a habit of doing my longer study sessions there. My wife, baby, and mother in law were able to enjoy the day together. Of course, I would have preferred to spend the time with them, but I have my goals that I need to meet. Since I was already at the library, I got myself a library card, some books for the baby, and an audio book for myself. Once we were all home again, we went out as a family to get some clothes because my wife and I have lost a bunch of weight over the last few months. Then we went to one of our favorite sushi joints before heading home to get a few more things done and finally relax. This is me completing my last habit of the day! I'm thankful for: Friends.Getting some studying done.Sushi.New jeans that fit.Running in to a person I knew from years ago.Being able to enjoy the day.Remembering to be mindful.Studying something that I think is fascinating.Making progress towards all my goals.Keeping up with my habits.

Today was a good day, but not as productive as I hoped it would be. I'm fairly buzzed right now so please forgive any incoherence you come across in this journal entry. My morning routine was spot on perfect, but work was more chaotic than I hoped it would be. I had to perform a peer review of an electrical system diagram with very little turnaround time. I find it insulting that the design department would give me a two day turnaround window for a review that would typically be given a week's time for review. This would have rattled me before I quit games, but I just decided that I would review the drawing as thoroughly and prudently as possible without feeling an ounce of pressure. I got it done in 9 hours, and gave them my comments. Like always, I found and called attention to an embarrassing amount of errors in their work and withheld my approval until they were fixed. It was actually much better quality than the last drawing I reviewed from them too. The problem with having to do a quick turnaround is that I needed to focus completely at the task at hand and not listen to awesome podcasts while working at a modest pace all day. Oh well, sometimes you just have to work really hard at work. Go figure. The thing is that after I reviewed it I had to go an "educational" meeting. This 90 minute disaster put me right to sleep. When I woke up, I was worried that I would be in trouble. Thankfully, I spotted two other unconscious folks in the room! I wasn't the only person there who had discovered the cure it insomnia. One of the supervisors was also quite glazed over. I had to climb eighteen flights of stairs and consume a cup of coffee to recover from that PowerPoint lobotomy. There was no way that I was going to listen to a podcast when my short term memory had been decimated. This means I didn't listen to a podcast all day! This is not what I wanted for my work day. When I got home, I was thrilled to play with my daughter as always. We laughed together like we always do, got her bathed, and my wife got home shortly thereafter! This part of the day was very gratifying. I have the family that I used to dream about as a kid. This is why growing up is great. You are free to craft the life you want. I'm thankful for: Journal entries fueled by ethanol.My family.My meditation quality was excellent again today.Relaxing on a Friday night.Dinner was great!My baby gets the biggest smile when I get home from work.The posters who introduced themselves. Hopefully they become regulars!Needing to buy smaller jeans. It means I've lost weight.Having pets. They keep things interesting.Being happy. I'm so happy for my post video game life.

?The weird thing is it doesn't feel like the rat race of corporate life like I thought it would. I've always been wary of falling into the trap of chasing the monetary or social carrot. This is much more like aggressive exploration of myself and charting a path towards self actualization.

There are many ways to grow, and physical growth is sometimes just not going to happen. It's a great opportunity to take on a mental growth challenge. Sometimes the mind is exhausted, but the body is ready to work out. It's all about maximizing whatever you are primed to do at any given moment.

Welcome! There's a bunch of really great people on this forum. Just about all the posters here are quality posters and are so helpful! I do my best to blend in with these great folks! If there's anything you'd like to ask, I'd be happy to try to answer.

Today was another packed and crazy day. It was also a happy day filled with progress and habit keeping too! I got up fifteen minutes earlier than usual thinking I could get to school on time for the first time this semester as I was fifteen minutes late last time. That turned out awesome as I got to class fifteen minutes early! I was able to chat with the professor some and be calmer on the commute and ready to take notes right off the bat. It just feels so much better to be ahead of the game. It's funny because I've turned into the anti-procrastinator since quitting games. I'm all about kicking ass ASAP so I'm ready for the next thing! Work was good. It was a very typical day which is great because I was able to do my work on autopilot while focusing my attention on Tim Ferriss. That show is like crack once you get rolling! I'm averaging 50-60 flights of stairs I climb every day at work these days too. My quads are noticeably bigger. I either go down and up one flight of stairs (around 8 times a day) or I go up and down 9 flights of stairs (around 5 times a day). It ends up being quite the workout that almost nobody notices that I do. Once I got home, I had plenty of fun time with my baby and put her to sleep early! This let me do my evening exercise routine, write my journal, clean, and do some homework. I'm trying to get as much done as I can before the weekend because I want to maximize my family and friends time for a couple of days. I'm thankful for: Maintaining my weight instead of gaining. I'm still above my goal weight, but I'm patient to let my habits do their thing.My improved meditation this morning. Thank you Tara Brach!Getting to class early! I'm determined to keep this up.Keeping my habits while wrapping up week 2 of the semester. 14 weeks to go!Coffee. It keeps me awake on my drive to and from school!Learning that I should flex the muscles twice after 8 seconds of stretching them to prevent injury.Feeling centered while identifying and defeating moments of anxiety or other negative emotions.Becoming braver and daring to dream bigger.Fulfilling more of my potential than ever.Having a wife and daughter to love and that love me.

?Better to have 247 books to read than zero! Also, once I eventually finish reading and outlining Think and Grow Rich, I want to read 59 Seconds by Richard Wiseman. Has anybody read this? Thoughts? I'm doing a lot of reading, outlining, and sketching of architectural history right now for school, but I'm going to fill every moment that I'm caught up on in that book, with progressing on Think and Grow Rich.

Today was a good day once again. I listened to three episodes of the Tim Ferriss podcast while at work getting things done. I hear all these awesome sounding books on there that I want to read. Hearing about so many books and not having the time to read them all (right away) is one of the best problems I've ever had. I'll never be short on excellent reading material! I'm really starting to see the value in the show. I loved the Brene Brown interview and will need to read more of her books at some point. Tara Brach was excellent as well. I picked up a few tips to try out in my next meditation session! With school in session, my reading time has really dwindled so I'm just trying to listen to podcasts for now. I'll probably start doing audio books when I'm caught up with all the podcasts. I'm hoping to put a nice dent in my homework load tonight so I'll have more of my weekend to pursue family activities. I didn't get much homework done last night, and I missed class last Thursday to visit my family so I really need to get caught up. I was able to spend my 30 minute lunch at work doing a little, but I still have plenty more. Also, I have class tomorrow which will add a little more to the plate. Hopefully the universe (and my baby) will conspire to make me productive tonight. No matter when I get it done, it will be done well and I'll get an A in the class. I'm determined to excel and prove to myself that I can balance the different parts of my life. My habits are all doing well except for my reading which has been replaced by podcasts until I get ahead on my homework. I had no video game nightmares last night which is a relief. A few years ago I had a terrible job that caused me a lot anger, depression, and anxiety. Once I left that job, I had nightmares about it a couple of times a week for months. Those dreams seem to occur only once a month or two now. Hopefully my video game dreams will follow that same trend. I only hated that job for about 18 months (I spent 4 years really loving that job and 6 of those 18 months were spent job hunting when I realized that things weren't going to improve) while I gamed for 25 years though. I guess we'll see how it goes. I'm thankful for: Having another productive day at work.Not letting anxiety dictate my actions. This is one of my major breakthroughs in life.Learning a lot today with the podcast.Being mindful for stretches throughout the day.Beginning to be less fearful of "failure". This is a huge deal for me.Journaling. It really helps me to keep track of things I want to remember.People who record their wisdom and knowledge and make it accessible to others.My nightmares not being real.The class I'm taking. It's actually very interesting.Not settling for the status quo.