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My Journal - Joe


wookieshark88

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I just want to take a moment to say that I love this site. Every day I read other people's journeys, and it lifts me up. I enjoy doing my best to provide everybody here some encouragement on their journey. The community seems to be getting more awesome as time goes on too! If you're reading this, and you're a part of this site, you are awesome.

Today was good! I've been saying that so much lately. I think what's going on is that my mind now has happiness as a baseline which is why every day seems good to me. I'm sure the old me would have thought that some of the days were bad, but that's not me anymore!

I have a new goal! I want to live in Antarctica for a year once my kid(s) are grown. I'm watching a documentary about it, and I feel like I don't want to leave this life before experiencing that!

My baby is learning to crab walk! I really have to keep a closer eye on her now. What a wonderful kid.

I ran today! It was only for a minute, but it was nice. I didn't even get my heart rate up or sweat at all, but I got my legs moving! I'll probably do a minute for the next few days and evaluate how the legs feel before upping the time.

I'm thankful for:

  1. Crab walking babies.
  2. Dreams.
  3. This site.
  4. Avocados.
  5. My goofy cats.
  6. A new work assignment.
  7. Running!
  8. Family.
  9. A new record low weight.
  10. Living a real life and not a video game life.
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Congrats man :)

We're all in this together. One day at a time. I know what you mean about some days the old you would not have thought much of. But it's amazing how your personality changes.

Recently my internet has been on and off for no reason. If I was still gaming I would have been furious, but now I don't really mind. Shit happens!

Keep up the good work, reading all these posts helps keep me going and I couldn't have done it without you guys!

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I just want to take a moment to say that I love this site. Every day I read other people's journeys, and it lifts me up. I enjoy doing my best to provide everybody here some encouragement on their journey. The community seems to be getting more awesome as time goes on too! If you're reading this, and you're a part of this site, you are awesome.

?Made my day!!! B|

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My baby has been fussier than usual today. A few weeks ago, that would have really rattled me, but today I took it in stride! She's now sitting calmly with me and I calmly with her. I'm really proud of both her and myself for getting through the crying and back into a good mood! We're definitely learning to work with each other to get through those rough patches and not let them spiral out of control.

I ran for one minute again today, and it was good! This minute came after a 55 minute walk so I got lots of exercise in today. My super slow progression has been good as I haven't even had a hint of my leg problems acting up. I'm sure once I lose 22 more pounds my legs will be more capable of hard work too. I'm one day closer to running a marathon!

I've been working my way through my to do list. In the Slight Edge, it says that having unfinished business keeps us in the past instead of living in the present and looking forward to the future. This in turn keeps us from the success curve. It feels great to have fewer and fewer things hanging over me as I get them done. I'm going to work on my baby photo album after this post and get close to knocking that off my to do list.

I'm thankful for:

  1. The baby photo album. I cannot look at it without smiling and laughing.
  2. Going from screaming baby to happy baby this evening. I'm not sure if I got lucky or if the baby and I are getting better at dealing with each other. Nevertheless, I'm super thankful it happened.
  3. The clouds. They made it cool enough to get outside and walk. Normally, I would walk even if it was hot, but my wife probably wouldn't appreciate me cooking our baby.
  4. Airplanes. I get to ride an airplane, visit my relatives and show off my awesome family in a few weeks!
  5. Books. I'm loving that I can read the thoughts of great minds!
  6. Being way under my calorie goal so far. I'll be able to enjoy some pizza in a bit and still be decently under my goal!
  7. Getting things done without using anxiety as a motivator. I'll never forget this as long as I live. It changed me.
  8. Documentaries. I love learning about animals, ecosystems, space, social issues or anything else. It's nice to do some learning while idle.
  9. Breathing easy. I'm not feeling a hint of asthma in my lungs right now.
  10. My wife. She's bring home our favorite pizza soon!
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I ran for one minute again today, and it was good! This minute came after a 55 minute walk so I got lots of exercise in today.

?In case you haven't done so, I strongly suggest you to do your walking/running with headphones while listening to one of the books. When I do, I get so into it that I lose notion of time and end up doing more work out than I had initially planned, which is great :P

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?In case you haven't done so, I strongly suggest you to do your walking/running with headphones while listening to one of the books. When I do, I get so into it that I lose notion of time and end up doing more work out than I had initially planned, which is great :P

?I can second this! One of my biggest hacks!

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Books are a great idea for walking! Currently, I use my walking time to talk to my parents on the phone. They live on the west coast and I live on the east coast. It actually helps me keep in contact with them more frequently when walking time is talking time. I do plan on doing audio books when the semester starts up because I drive about 70 minutes to and from school. I'm going to need to line up a book for that. Reading has been a huge part of my success and I'm open to ideas for books!

I was able to complete all of my habits again today and reached a new low weight! I'm down 14 pounds with 21 more to go. I feel so much better physically than I did 14 pounds ago. I also quit my e cigs three days ago! It really is amazing what I can do when my keystone habits are maintained diligently. Things just seem to naturally right themselves when my foundation is solid.

I'm so sleepy right now. I'll have to check everyone's journals tomorrow.

I'm thankful for:

  1. My cats have been behaving very well lately.
  2. This week was a success.
  3. A record low weight.
  4. A peaceful home.
  5. The sunshine.
  6. The comments in my journal. I appreciate all who take the time give me strength!
  7. The feeling that my dreams will become reality. I never had this before!
  8. Freedom from games. Real life is better.
  9. My baby ate applesauce for the first time today. It seems to be her new favorite!
  10. Evening time with my wife.
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Loving the avatar! That pool blue is a good look on the forum. xD

Talking to your parents on the phone is great. If you want an alternative to books for walking I'd also recommend podcasts (like the Tim Ferriss Podcast). The next book I'd recommend reading is A Man's Search For Meaning. It's a classic.

Congrats on cutting out e-cigs. That's a big win!

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What a nice day today was. We (my family and I) went for a really nice breakfast then a walk at the beach! The weather was absolutely amazing today. Afterwards, we came home to nap and clean. I surprised my wife by detailing the interior of her car, taking the car to the wash, getting the oil changed, fixing the burned out headlight, and filling up her tank when her and the baby were napping. The weather was so great that we decided to go to the local park and get more sun and walking. Now, the baby just went to sleep and the wife and I are going to fire up the grill and crack open a beer! I'm loving my game free life.

I'm thankful for:

  1. Beautiful weather.
  2. Fancy french toast and blueberry pancakes with REAL maple syrup!
  3. Exercise.
  4. Ginger beer with whiskey.
  5. Baby babbles.
  6. A sense of accomplishment.
  7. A sense of relaxation.
  8. A wonderful wife who actually deserves the good things I try to do for her.
  9. My school plans for next semester are coming together.
  10. Running!
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I have a buzz right now, but I want to make sure I finish all my good habits before bed. The wife and I had a delicious stir fry that I made and enjoyed our drinks together on the porch. We just spent a good 90 minutes talking about our lives and anything else that was on our minds. It was such a relaxing and bonding experience. She's such a great person to have in my life. I can be myself with her and be completely comfortable with it. The video game talk will be coming soon, and I know that she'll be so proud of me for bettering myself. That's the kind of person she is. She knows that I love her and our baby, and I would do anything for them. I'm going to feel so happy when she knows about all of that stuff. I've been vulnerable with her more than a few times before, and it's always been work it.

I'm thankful for:

  1. Having somebody who I can just talk to and listen to and feel great about all of it.
  2. Cooking. Making food and sharing it is an excellent bonding experience.
  3. Ice cream. We ate ice cream that was made on a farm and it was amazing!
  4. A new record low weight! Food journaling allows me to make good food choices and still eat fun things like ice cream in moderation.
  5. Crabby's ginger beer and Maker's Mark whiskey. This is all the rage in my house right now (baby excluded).
  6. I'm so thankful that my addiction is not alcohol. I can enjoy a drink and quit exactly when it's appropriate. I had one (fairly strong) drink and was happy, and stopped. I probably won't have another until Friday and that's fine by me.
  7. No e cigarettes for me today. That's four days!
  8. I'm actually good with the work week starting tomorrow. I'll get better at my job and get closer to becoming an expert at it!
  9. My baby had a very happy day. I'm so happy I could contribute to that.
  10. My habits. I never knew the power of habits until last month.
  11. My cats. They're so loving and funny. I'll always have pets in my home.
  12. My wife. It's like she crossed from my dreams into reality. I'm a lucky guy.
  13. My car. It's been super reliable since 2001.

I could go on and on, but I need to sleep.

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Haha, that was a funny post last night.

Today was another day of habits and momentum building! I started doing minute and a half runs today because my legs have been feeling good with the minute runs. During my work mini walks I've been going down and up three flights of stairs multiple times a day, and my legs and lungs don't mind nearly as much as when I started. I even treated myself to a slice of pizza today because my calories were too low. I had a shingles outbreak years ago when I was eating too little and exercising too much, and I really don't want to do that again. It's a good thing I'm food journaling so I can address these things before I get sick.

I'm on a 37 day meditation streak! I really look forward to it as part of my morning routine these days. It makes a giant difference when I head out the door centered and focused. I've been doing the creativity pack on headspace. I don't really feel like it's doing anything for creativity, but all the other benefits I've come to enjoy are still there so I don't mind.

I guess it's pretty evident that I've been faithfully journaling too. The thankfulness lists, feedback, and writing of thoughts really helps process the day's events.

Reading has been going good as well. Daring Greatly really gives me a more educated view on how to be introspective. I can identify if I'm being properly vulnerable and be combat shame. I really see the value in reading even just a little bit of good books every day.

I'm thankful for:

  1. Seeing the future with optimism.
  2. Committing random acts of kindness.
  3. Grilling.
  4. Not living a life of killing time. My time is used and never killed these days.
  5. Talking to my parents today.
  6. Daring greatly.
  7. Having patience with my baby. It's been a little rough for her today.
  8. My job. The positivity relative to my last job really helps a lot.
  9. The weather.
  10. Peace of mind.
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I'm on a 37 day meditation streak! I really look forward to it as part of my morning routine these days.

?Which would you say are the biggest and more noticiable benefits of daily meditation you've achieved so far?, what has changed?, also, what type of meditation do you do?, standard mindfullness with no music?, guided meditation? visualized meditation?, etc.

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?Which would you say are the biggest and more noticiable benefits of daily meditation you've achieved so far?, what has changed?, also, what type of meditation do you do?, standard mindfullness with no music?, guided meditation? visualized meditation?, etc.

?Biggest benefits:

  1. I think more clearly.
  2. I have more patience.
  3. It gets one of my core habits done (meditation, reading, journaling, food journaling, exercise) right off the bat which is motivating.

Most noticeable:

  1. I'm much happier.
  2. My anxiety is completely controlled.
  3. It enables me to form other good habits more easily.

I use the headspace.com site to do guided meditation.

Here is the typical routine:

  1. Sit down with good posture.
  2. Softly gaze forward and take notice of surroundings while deep breathing.
  3. Close eyes, return to normal breath, and focus on the feeling of being in a chair and the feet on the ground.
  4. Listen passively to the environment.
  5. Scan your body from head to toe while neutrally noticing areas that are comfortable and uncomfortable.
  6. Think about your motivation for doing the exercise.
  7. Focus on your breath.
  8. Let go of any concentration.
  9. Focus on the feeling of being in the chair.
  10. Open eyes while maintaining focus.
  11. Gently transition back into your day.
  12. At any point when you notice that you mind has wandered (will happen often and that's okay) gently refocus on the step you are one.

They have a 10 day free trial on the site, and it's worth doing all 10 days before deciding if you want to join. Worst case scenario is you wasted 100 minutes over 10 days and lost no money. We all know that we've wasted more time in money on video games on any given day during our playing days.

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I see, so basically Mindfulness med is what you do, I'll pass, can't do that with my health anxiety, gonna stick to guided meditation, hopefully it will give me similar results, thanks tho, it really has done lots for you, glad to know!

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37 day streak is amazing man! Way to go!

?You're one of the few people I've ever seen be so continually encouraging without coming across as patronizing. I want to become like that.

Today I listened to the Tim Ferris Project for the first time. I've never gotten into podcasts before, but I enjoyed it! School is getting closer and closer, and I want to get comfortable with listening books or podcasts before I start spending all that time in the car.

I've been making steady progress reading Daring Greatly. It hasn't gotten me pumped up, but it's giving me a lot to consider. It's been a good read so far. I'll probably be finishing it in a few days, and am going to start looking for something new to read. I'm definitely open to suggestions as all the suggestions I've gotten so far have been A+ material.

I did my 90 second run for the second day in a row and the legs still feel great! I think the 20 or so flights of stairs I climb and descend during work hours has really prepared me for this. My old self would have thought that my running progress is obnoxiously slow and stupid. My new self is proud to have formed good habits, is enjoying the process itself, and knows that steady growth at the rate that is right for me is how real progress is made. I'm happy to say that I'm smarter than I was before I quit games.

I want to take some time to evaluate my progress towards my goals that I had listed a while back.

  1. Be an excellent husband. - I've been being mindful of my wife's emotions and needs and have made her the target of random acts of kindness.
  2. Be an excellent father. - My patience is way up since starting this journey. This helps me to work through my baby's rough patches and emerge victorious on the other side. I also don't think about pacifying her just to get back to my stupid games. I spend time with her and enjoy the moments without looking forward or back in time.
  3. Get my bachelor's degree. - I got signed up for my next class.
  4. Learn and practice self development. - I'm reading my third book, listening to good podcasts, and implementing the lessons.
  5. Enjoy every day. - Definitely done.
  6. Excel at work. - This isn't coming as fast as I like, but I just have to keep at it.
  7. Reach my goal weight. - 16 pounds down and 19 to go.
  8. Run a marathon. - I've got a good running habit going.

I'm thankful for:

  1. Having decent enough walking weather today.
  2. Hitting a new record low weight. I hope I'm not losing too quickly though. I want this to be sustainable.
  3. Having this journal. It's so great to have positive and constructive feedback during this journey.
  4. /r/stopgaming. I read it at work when things are slow (I'd rather be working at work). It's a nice midday shot of encouragement.
  5. My wife. She ordered a jogging stroller, and we're both going to get some good use out of it!
  6. Bibs. Those things are great for keeping babies (relatively) clean.
  7. Quitting e-cigs. I have cravings a lot, and I need to figure out how to alter that habit loop.
  8. My home. It feels much more like a place of comfort since quitting games.
  9. Feeling calm. I have spent a lot of life with anxiety. Feeling calm is such a savory experience for me.
  10. A nearby park with a nice playground and a track. I went for the first time this weekend and will be returning!

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?You're one of the few people I've ever seen be so continually encouraging without coming across as patronizing.

?Thanks!

What episode did you listen to? I listened to the one with Dr. Astro Teller and Dr. Daneille Teller. Currently listening to the one with Jon Favreau now.

Next I would read A Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It's a classic.

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I'm going to make this a quick post because the grill is calling to me!

This was another good day of successful habits.

I met with my therapist today, and I talked to her about how to share with my wife my video game compulsion. It was hugely beneficial.

I'm thankful for:

  1. A good therapist.
  2. Riding the success curve.
  3. Learning how to dare greatly.
  4. Getting skilled at building habits.
  5. Another record low weight (17 pounds down and 18 to go).
  6. My grill.
  7. Baby babbling with my parents.
  8. Photo albums.
  9. Physically feeling stronger and more fit.
  10. My treadmill for hot days like today.
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Today was a good day. I was less enthusiastic about today that I have been lately, but that's okay. Since getting my habits all set up, I've actually been looking forward to days like today to really see how they make a difference. After all, anybody can do good when it's smooth sailing. Writing my journal entry here is my second to last habit to be completed for the day. I just need to close out my food journal after dinner.

This weekend is going to be awesome! The family and I are going to two farmer's markets! I have never been to one of the markets so it'll be a fun new experience.

I finished up reading Daring Greatly, and I'm happy to have read it. Forming deep and meaningful relationships is important to me, and this book has plenty of tools for doing that. I wasn't as enthusiastic while reading it as I have been with other books, but I feel that I'll be revisiting this one in the future because it definitely has a lot to offer.

Man's Search for Meaning definitely has me intrigued. I've only read the forward and the first few pages, but I feel like it's already becoming a page turner for me. I never mentioned that I'm a bit of a slow reader. I cannot read faster than a slower speaker so having read 3 books already is huge for me! I'm certainly not a dumb person, but if I try to read any faster my brain just won't record the words.

I'm thankful for:

  1. Starting a new book.
  2. Upping the intensity of my runs.
  3. Spending the evening with my baby.
  4. Feeling stronger and lighter.
  5. Farmer's markets.
  6. Learning to dare greatly.
  7. Having inner peace.
  8. Deliberately formed habits. I never believed I could do that until recently.
  9. Knowing the future will be good. This is the polar opposite of anxiety!
  10. I'm wearing a shirt that didn't fit me two weeks ago!
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