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Okay. I missed...a challenge? More than one challenge? I don't know. It's been a busy six weeks. I'm proud of myself for mostly keeping up with workouts, and keeping up with hydration and sleep. And writing a ton. But I'd like to get back on the wagon. Things aren't going to get simpler anytime soon, but I want to be doing better on my goals. I want to be less reactive. I want to focus on my own goals and move those forward. It's way past time to update my goals for Q2 2019, so here you go: So, since last we talked, the gaming con I was co-planning happened, it was awesome. My poetry Patreon launched. And probably some other super big things happened. Between now and the end of June (WAIT WHAT, THE QUARTER IS HALF OVER WTF) I have a few big things I want to get done: My partner is starting grad school. We're gonna buy a house. Plus dozens of small but still big things: I'm getting certified as a master naturalist (wat) I'm DM'ing some D&D adventures, for like, money? THAT'S NOT INTIMIDATING AT ALL I'm taking on the leadership group of an OSS community group and that's great but again NOT INTIMIDATING AT ALL. The house purchase is starting to feel...semi-urgent as roommate relations have been deteriorating faster than they seem to recover. I'm bummed about that, but just trying to use that as motivation to get the house sorted out. SO. ANYWAY. That's the landscape. Now for the quests. Q1: Workout three times per week. I've been doing a fair amount of yoga and sometimes walking, rather than the bodyweight stuff I was doing, and I'm hitting 2x week pretty often. I want to get back to 3x per week. Q2: Swap tea for DDP twice per week. Caffeine is nice, Diet Dr. Pepper is not as nice. I'd like to try swapping it out for something a little healthier. Q3: Take at least one step toward home ownership each week. This can mean: Calling a realtor, going to open houses, talking to a mortgage person, doing research. Looking at houses on realtor.com doesn't count. Q4: Doing at least one hour of writing, three times a week. I have this time blocked off, but I frequently don't make it for the whole hour. Time to be a bit more focused there. There's a lot demanding my attention but writing is my rock. I feel...okay about this challenge. I think salads were causing freakouts and then I wouldn't update and then a terrible spiral would begin. Sorry for vanishing on y'all. <3

December of 2017 was my first time in 51 years of life doing a formal year-end inventory, and I am using the data I gleaned from that experience to formulate my goals for 2018. I modified the categories from Level 10 Life, and came up with what I want to focus my attention on for this year. I'm stashing these here so I have a place to look for inspiration to create my four-week challenge goals more intentionally vice haphazardly as I have been doing. Spirituality: Add a daily prayer focus to the beginning of every day; add a brief gratitude bullet at the end of every day (record in BuJo) Re-boot prayer journalling habit, using The Power of Prayer Journal because that actually worked out great for me when I used to use it Physical Health: Participate in my gym's annual 3-month nutrition Transformation Challenge, starting Jan 13 Figure out what my actual maintenance calories are Learn to do unassisted chin-ups Squat my bodyweight Add HIIT sessions to strength workouts 3x/week Marriage: Verbally express gratitude/appreciation at least daily Environment: Convert horribly cluttered and neglected bonus room/junk storage room to cozy, welcoming Hobbit Hole/library/writer's sanctuary Incorporate Weekly Home Blessings into weekly routine (FlyLady quickie whole-house-cleaning) Commit at least 15 minutes/day to de-cluttering and tidying up using combination of FlyLady and Marie Kondo methods Relationships: Commit at least two days a month to face-to-face time with friends (women's ministry events, coffee dates, Wednesday studies) Call at least two out-of-town family members (mom, one of the sisters, eldest) every month Career: Schedule specific daily times for records maintenance and reporting Use Pomodoro technique for mundane tasks Finances: Pay of three smallest of remaining student loans using snowball method Replenish emergency savings used during recent emergency veterinary surgery Pay off medical/veterinary bills by July Helping: Volunteer at domestic violence shelter Take supplies to DV shelter at least monthly Buy at least one thing for food pantry at every weekly grocery trip Mental: Take another Coursera course, possibly Stanford's "Mathematical Thinking" Learn contact juggling "Butterfly" Finish Duolingo French, start Duolingo Welsh Complete BookRiot 2018 Read Harder challenge Read 120 books (Goodreads goal) Emotional/Personal Development: Continue daily meditation Write Morning Pages Finish rough draft of novel The BIG THREE goals for the year are officially: Finish novel Create library/writer's sanctuary Pay off three student loans I plan to re-visit these at least quarterly, modify or add to as needed.

REVISING IN PROGRESS (indefinitely): ENCUMBRANCE #1 - Financial encumbrance ENCUMBRANCE #2 - Fatness (non-fitness) ENCUMBRANCE #3 - thriving vocationally THE CORE - Grounding in truth and knowledge - soul, science, world events THE LIST OF THINGS - the stuff about which I'm passionate and hope to do in this life... * Have 1 viable business * Learn Python (thank you Catspaw) * Master double unders * clean / jerk over 200 lbs * Break 30 minute 5k * Take my family on journeys around the world (well-traveled family) * Master outdoorsman, forager, hunter * Journeyman filmmaker - this is just fun for me * Journeyman guitarist * Study Physics (hahaha!.... mastery? maybe hobbyist) * Investment and trading mastery (CFA & CAIA & CMT?) - my job is in this world, and the capital markets are infinitely fascinating to me (and infinitely complex, it seems)

Tuesday, May 10 - June 7 (Had taken me awhile to get here, but I am HERE, and going to enjoy the last month of the school kids in school!) Heyo, back for another month! Here to roll for the fifth month of making a thread, and hoping to be active for my goals. The month of Quotes! Bringing in the Good Vibes! Good quotes of reminders, and pretty pictures. I actually had fun finding all these pics! (Usually I get tired or angry by the end). These last five months! Wow! Can't imagine a life without Nerdfitness, with all the positive vibes ping ponging all over the forum walls. Sadly last month I got swung with tiredness that then ended me spiraling down the hole of loneliness that turned into depression. (Got triggered by pregnancy announcements- one being a high school friend, my mother finding a really good guy friend-she is pretty much my closest friend, along with not having much else going on). Pretty much was told being a "twenty something" is hard (especially when you're not in college or working). Found out Barnes and Nobles actually has a self help section So yeah the main beast I'm fighting isn't necessarily getting off my butt, but keeping the good stuff and working toward the light and away from the pain of loneliness. Fitness Nutrition Life Goals

Get a helmet and strap yourself in. This will be a long and, hopefully, exciting journey, and I’m glad that you’re here along for the ride. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do. Below is a living list of my goals in life; they are constantly adapting and evolving as I level up my life, complete these goals, discover more concrete steps for each, and find new goals to work toward. Fitness Goals reach 30% body fat live without added sugar do a full, dead-hang pull-up reverse my anterior pelvic tilt deadlift 250lb/bench press 200lb/row 150lb Hobby/Skill Goals re-learn and become fluent in Russian complete writing my (fictional) stories complete costumes (list in process) join the 501st Legion/Rebel Legion/Mandalorian Mercs re-learn and become proficient in Physics/concepts learn and become proficient in Electronics get involved in the local Makerspace learn to align and use my telescope Capoeira Goals attend first ten classes achieve first cord level Life Goals get married (currently engaged, need plan of action) live off last month’s income (budget goal) live without social media (except the Rebellion) minimalize clutter (physical and digital) host weekly/bi-weekly game nights with friends train the huskamute Travel Goals Camp Ranger Fitness 2017 take the husband to Otakon take the husband to GenCon Feel free to join me in my daily grind to reach these goals. However, you will know when significant progress has been made along these goals and when they have been completed.

Events: IPF World Open - 10/11/2015 (live streamed on goodlift for those that are interested) Edinburgh BJJ Open - 21/11/2015 Southend No Gi Open - 29/10/2015 Newcastle BJJ Open - 6/12/2015 Goals: Competition: IPF Worlds - Top Ten STR - 3, Top 5 STR - 5, Podium (lol yeah right) STR - 7 Edinburgh - Gold CON - 1, DEX - 2, SIlver CON - 1, DEX - 1, Bronze DEX - 1 Southend - Gold CON - 1, DEX - 2, SIlver CON - 1, DEX - 1, DEX - 1 Newcastle - Gold CON - 1, DEX - 2, Silver CON - 1, DEX - 1, DEX - 1 Life Goals: Be more social Do at least one thing a week which isn't training related, even if it is with training partners. CHA - 2 Keep on top of all social media. CHA - 1 Helping others Be timely with my online coaching input instead of hitting it all at 23:00 every night. WIS - 2 So the name of the thread explains itself really. It's a month of competition. I think an obligatory "Pls b safe" is required here.

So after almost two years of no serious competition (TBH the Scottish Judo Open was more an experiment in seeing if I could still cut weight like a pro) I'm returning to competition. My first will most likely be a judo grading as the London IBJJF Open is a bit out of my league, bearing in mind I have to fight at blue belt. "Gentle means tired" was a favourite phrase used during competition preparation at the judo club, and right now I'm gentle very often. Sport Specific Activity: I'm already at classes regularly but I shy away a bit during rolling, people are gentle and won't hurt me. I can get in on this. Goal: Rolling and Randori - aim for only sitting out one round max. ( STA - 2) Conditioning: I have a conditioning program in place that will help me with power output in competition. I just have to actually do it three times a week. I will also keep up the drills from my previous challenge and shift the focus on inversion and DLR/ Spider guard drills. Goal: conditioning program 3xpw (STA - 3) Goal: Morning drills 4xpw (DEX - 5) Healthy Eating: This is where IIFYM goes back to "if it fits your macros" and not "if it fits your mouth" Goal: Keep avg calories below 1900 (as I'm still needing to lose extra bulk weight ;_; ) (CON - 2) Respecting the Men Folk: To put it bluntly, I'm good at respecting them in a sporting sense but not in a relationship sense. Over the past six months I have upset many of the men folk by really just not caring. The worst part was calling out another black belt (who I really should have respected as being the same level) purely because of the dating scenario presented. Worked out OK and mutual respect developed. This incident made me realise I'd gone a bit weird. I just haven't got round to do anything about it till not. Goal: Keep trolling, teasing and "Fite me bro" to a level that doesn't cause angry texts and getting ignored. (CHA - 3)

Not very assassin-y but after the last two hectic weeks, I feel like Memphis tonight: MEMPHIS: "You'll have to forgive me. The music's gone clean out of me." MUMBLE: No, it hasn't. It's just like singing with your body. MUMBLE: It's just one big old foot after the other. That's it. MEMPHIS [singing]: You don't have to be beautiful... MAIN GOAL: Get that body composition in place - loose some weight! Loose 10kg by end of June 2015. I lost a couple of cm during the last/first challenge, and in this week that I took off, inbetween challenges, I lost just over 1kg! HOW: Q1 - Exercise 3x/week: (for 6 weeks: A -> 3STR + 2STA + 2DEX) one Butt Blast (legs and glutes),one AAA (Abs & Arms Annihilation),one Jump & Jive session (Dexterity and Energy) with the boys (afternoons)Q2 - Right of Weigh: (5-7 days per week for 6 weeks: A -> 2CON) Eat Paleo and drink 1.5Lt water (2x bottles) per day. Max. 2 small treats allowed per week.Q3 - Sleep: 6-7 hours every night. (5-7 days per week for 6 weeks: A -> 1CON) LIFE SUPPORT: LG1 - Bible study on God's promises. (Keep up to date for 6 weeks: A -> 2WIS) LG2 - Spend more personal time with my boys. (Keep up to date for 6 weeks: A -> 2CHA) LG3 - Finances and Studies (keep up to date). (Keep up to date for 6 weeks: A -> 1WIS) Starting off as a Level 2. Adjusted point-allocation to 15 at end of challenge.

My Main Quest: In October I had a minor surgery. Unfortunately, I have to have a second very soon, likely in within this next 6 weeks. The recovery period from the first surgery did two things: 1) It inhibited my ability to work out for months. 2) It brought on about a week of intense anxiety attacks and about a month of not being able to fully control my stress levels. Going into this a second time my main quest is to make sure my body and my mind are as prepared as possible for the second recovery process. I want to be as capable of healing as I can be. My 3 Goals: 1) Record everything that I eat. The idea here is to make small improvements in my diet every day and foster a habit of healthy eating. Recording it allows me to easily see what improvements I am making and keeps me honest about what I am putting in my body. (If I know that I am going to have to write down that I ate an entire box of Little Debbie christmas tree shaped snack cakes, I am less inclined to do it.) I've had a lot of successes and failures in the last year with my diet. The biggest hurdle was overcoming a nasty bout of candida. Most of the struggle was from suddenly being put on such a strict diet. There are lot of ups and downs when making drastic dietary changes. The crashes feel terrible, physically and mentally, and the changes rarely stick around. I want to make small steady changes that lead to long-term habits. A consistently healthy diet is going to allow me to heal more quickly. 2) Small daily workouts. I can say with certainty this second surgery is going to prevent me from working out for a while, but there is no reason to not work out every day until that happens. In fact, the more fit my body is, the faster my recovery time is likely to be. I am doing a small warm up every morning to keep myself loose. I also started the PLPS workout (ask me what this is if you are interested) again on 12/31 and plan to continue to do it daily. In addition to this I am going to be attending weekly parkour classes again starting next week. Once the surgery happens I can move to meditation. This second recovery period is only going to be a minor pit stop on my overall path to fitness. 3) Clearly define my life goals. This may not be directly related to fitness, but when I was having anxiety attacks the issues that bubbled to the surface were a lot of worry about not having a clear path for myself. Now that I've turned 30 the question is burning even brighter for me: What's next? Do I travel, go back to college, WWOOF around the country, start a business, go back to Detroit, head out west, stay put, what? I don't know if I will have all of the answers in the next six weeks, but I am going to have a damn good understanding of my options. I'm going to get clear on what it is I'd like to be doing and the direction I'd like to be heading in. Side Quest: Learn geography. I want to travel and I want a better understanding of the world. Knowing where everything is will be the best starting point for me. I found a wonderful flashcard app that is has already allowed me to quickly learn country locations and major currencies. It will eventually get me through capital and flags as well. Guild: Although my heart lies with the assassins I'm going to be siding with the adventurers for this since this is my first challenge and my goals are a bit more general. I'm proud to be among them. I'm excited for this 6 week quest!

Hi everyone, I've been around here a bit and am very glad to be part of this community. This is my first post in The Respawn Point, and I just wanted to make something clear first: I have not let my fitness and diet go (although it's Christmas so I'm a little more relaxed with my diet at the moment), so I don't need to respawn with that. Improve, always, but not totally respawn. No, I need to respawn in a different way. I guess you can call it a re-roll or a redistribution of my experience points. WARNING: This is long, so don't feel obligated to read or respond. I'm sort of ranting. It's therapeutic. >>>>>>>>>>> Right, so down to it. I am 22 with two children under two. I am aspiring to be a successful novelist. I used to live in the country, but when I got laid off from work, there was nothing left for us there. No jobs, poor access to medical care (found out we were having our second baby and I don't drive yet), and lack of education were the three reasons we decided to move to the city. I am now a stay-at-home dad while my girlfriend goes to school, which is great. So why do I feel like such a failure? I'll try to explain the best I can: I have always felt like a failure at life for various reasons. Being bullied for 15 years comes into play. I have never went to college. I was too scared to get my G2, so I can't drive without someone else in the passenger seat. I've worked a lot of shit jobs just to get by. I've watched my younger siblings surpass me financially (none of them have kids and are peaking early because they have no desire to obtain more in life and are okay working in a scrap yard and a factory forever but I'm still upset by this) and I'm worried I'm going to end up like my father (young dad, shit jobs, depression and a slave to the system in his 40's with no way out). My siblings are constantly bragging about how much stuff they have (my youngest brother leaves for cuba in a couple hours...again), and I just feel like I'm doing nothing and going nowhere. All of my high school friends have surpassed me in an even greater way. They're living the high life at the moment, full of trips to mexico and casinos, and don't really have time for me. I'm just the boring guy with kids, even though there's this passionate, fun, adventurous guy just raging to break free and fly (cliche, I know, but it's how I feel). My girlfriend is in school so she can have a solid career, so that's awesome. If I end up not going, at least we can tell our kids one of us went. A couple months ago, I decided that once my girlfriend was done school in August, I would start a 2 year program to become a personal trainer. I finally felt like I had something to prove I wasn't a loser. And then I discovered that where we want to be has 0 opportunity for any new personal trainers. The market is so heavily saturated that people are turning to Facebook and Kijiji to get clients in a Freelance manner. That risk is too big for me to take. If we stayed in the city, I'd be fine. But the whole point of coming to the city was so that we could live a better life back in the country, which is our home. If I'm going to go into thousands upon thousands of dollars into debt and keep my family here an additional 2 years minimum, it better be worth the risk. And it's not. I'm trying to figure out another program I could take that would make me feel fulfilled and where there are actually jobs, but I'm having a hard time with it. Writing doesn't pay the bills yet, so I can't rely on that. And my family thinks I'm a joke. They've shittalked me for so long, and I want so badly to prove everyone wrong. I have so many goals in life, things I want to strive for, and I feel like I'm getting nowhere. And I want to respawn and get stronger at this. It's been a problem that's plagued me my whole life, the feeling of immense inferiority, and it's time that I overcome it and move on. It all starts with small steps, and I will be writing out detailed step by step mini-goals to achieve my large ones. This is definitely key. But right now, I'm just trying to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do. I just want to be somebody my kids will look up to. I used to be the one supporting us, and now the roles have reversed. But one of my biggest problems is that I measure my own success by the success of others. I need to stop this. I'm struggling so hard to beat these feelings of not being good enough. My fitness successes so far have been helping. But that's something new and nobody in my family (not gf and kids; I mean mom, dad, and siblings) cares. They just make fun of me for being so strict with my diet and routine. There's just so much to say and explain. I feel so overwhelmed. Some of my goals are: -Conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro (I was going to do this, even paid $3000 for the trip, but it fell through last minute. One of my biggest life regrets so far. Gets me every day.) -Found a non-profit organization to help young parents have the basic necessities for themselves and kids, and to provide means to better themselves on mental and physical levels. -Become a successful novelist (by successful I mean earn a full-time income from it) -Maintain a high degree of fitness and health -Start a website meant to help young parents in all aspects of young parenthood (monetize it when it's worthy) -Get my full license -Get an education in something that fulfills me -Start a business (a bookshop cafe) -Hike on trails and mountains worldwide -Travel -Increase literacy in youth by providing easier access to quality reading material through some sort of non-profit organization Basically, I just want to inspire my kids and make the world a better place. I'm just a mess right now with figuring out what to do. Do I go to school to become a personal trainer and risk being far up shit-creek with nothing but debt to paddle, while keeping my kids someplace we don't want to be, or do I figure something else out. But as for me, I feel like a rotten leaf caught in life's current. No clue what to do or where to go and slowly disintegrating in the passage of time. The only time I feel in control and that I'm not failing is when I'm exercising, so I'm alright on my workout days. But on my rest days, like today, I get anxious. And then this mess of a post happens. I need to respawn from this, but I don't know how. There's an immediate need for decisions that affect the rest of my life, and more importantly, my kids lives. I don't want to be another statistic. "oh yeah, I remember Matt. He was that fat kid who had a couple kids young and never went to school. Guess he's going nowhere, just like we said". I refuse to accept this as my reality. Ah, hell. I'll get there. I just need someone to tell me I'm being an idiot and already have the answer. I probably do, but just don't see it yet. I'm too close to the situation. There's so much more to it, but that's the basics. If somehow somebody has read this whole mess, thank you very much. You're awesome.

Not quite sure how to do this. I thought it started today, not yesterday. Oh well... Okay, going to start. My main quest is to get to a healthy weight and be fit enough for my future which will hopefully be in a job as a prep cook and for being a better cosplayer. To do this, I will stay on Weight Watchers and start by slowly losing ten pounds, although I plan to lose fifty or so. I will also keep up a regular exercise routine that will give me strength and energy to last for a long time. (CON, STR, STA) Thirdly, I will study hard in my classes and do my best in whatever task I need to perform. (WIS, DEX and CHA) My life side quest is to finish my project for Front-of-the-house class. I really hate those sorts of things and I'll give myself some wisdom and willpower for finishing it. Charisma as well, if I do well in the oral report. My fitness side quest is to get skilled in DDR enough to do five "feet" songs easily and comfortably. Yeah, I'm not that great at DDR yet, I can barely do four "feet" songs, but I'm getting there. (DEX and STA) I'm doing this challenge to be a better person inside and out.

Hello, everyone! I'm new to the NF Rebellion, but have been reading NF articles and blogposts for YEARS. I finally decided to work up the courage and take the plunge and join the rebellion, since I feel as if I've been missing out on so much by being afraid! I'm known as exlibrispdb, but you can all just call me Libris I'm not completely new to working out, but I tend to lean towards a whole mind/body/spirit health and wellness as well wanting maximum agility, flexibility and dexterity. I'm still trying to decide which guild I belong to, but I'm hoping you all can help me out! Some of my goals are: 1. Shave off twenty-five (25) pounds in the next year! 2. Learn how to do more bodyweight exercises 3. Learn how to do lift weights! 4. Create my own workout circuit 5. Work in at least one yoga/pilates/meditative session a week! Any guidance that you rebels can give me is much appreciated; I'm seriously extremely excited and honored to be here!

As my journey through life has progressed, I have come to realize that I need more out of it. My journey has been long, but it hasn't really taken me anywhere. I feel like, just maybe, there is way more to living than eating and breathing. Recently I came across an artifact that I had heard of, but never before seen with my own eyes. I feel, if I could just unlock its wonders, its secrets.. its power.. than I could harness some of it. I could become more than what I am right now. Brothers and Sisters of the Rebellion, I show this to you so that you might help me glean some insight into its purpose and its power. I don't yet know how powerful it may be, but perhaps you may ALSO gain something from it. At least, I hope so. Thus, I submit to you.. The Map of Infinite Pathways Gather close and follow me, the World's bigger than you may see. Your hearts desires, I unfold. Untold Power, I yet hold. Travel well these Paths I show Scratch them off as time will flow More appear, but little fret You, yourself, your biggest threat Landmarks on the Path of Mortal Travels: Step foot in Japan - During the Cherry Blossom Festival Wander Iceland Explore a rainforest Travel to Scottland - Do some Scottish Country Dancing at a festival Enjoy the sights of New Zealand Board a boat on the Pacific Ocean Bask in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean Revel in the joys of Comic Con Attend a Ballet Witness the performance of - MC Frontalot - Schaffer the Darklord .... .... Productions in the Path of Skilled Hands: Hand Craft and Wear Cosplay of - Shannon Casull - Scrapped Princess - Vincent Valentine - FF7 - D - Vampire Hunter D - Legato Bluesummers - Trigun - Alphonse Elric - Full Metal Alchemist - Richter Belmont - Castlevania - Hard Suit (group cosplay) - Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 - Vicious - Cowboy Bebop - Rin Okumura - Blue Exorcist - Kraft Lawrence - Spice and Wolf - Yuri Lowell - Tales of Vesperia - Voltron - Voltron: Defender of the Universe - Gene Starwind - Outlaw Star Construct a Bookshelf Produce a Comic/Manga Finish a painting Work to improve someone's Home .... .... Lessons Learned on the Path of the Mind: Learn to Speak in the Foreign Tongues of - Japanese - Gaelic - Spanish - Mandarin - German Become an Adept at - Drums - Bass Guitar - microKorg Get a Degree .... .... Prowess on the Path of the Body: Learn the Art of - Fencing - Capoeira - Jeet Kun Do - Parkour Become capable of 20 push-ups - Push harder: 50 push-ups - Evolve power: 10 Handstand Push-ups Endure a Warrior Dash Endure a Tough Mudder Endure a Spartan Run Become competant at skateboarding Complete a 5 mile run Break the habit of cigarette smoking Go rock climbing Walk from Ames to Boone - Faster now: Jog to Boone Go bouldering 4 times in one month Compete on Ninja Warrior .... .... Events on the Path of Success: Become financially stable Start a band Accept payment for performing Music Accept payment for producing a work of Art Act the Voice of a character in a game or animation Maintain motivation for something for a Month - Motivation maintained for 6 Months - Motivation maintained for 1 Year Become Self-Employed Create a Line of clothing Publish a Book Publish an Album Get married .... .... Objects on the Path of Gain: Become the owner of motor vehicle Purchase a 40"+ flat screen tv Own a sewing machine Be the owner of a pinball table Purchase a fine pool table Put together and own a desktop computer Buy a home Have a home theater .... .... Delights on the Path of Fanciful Longings: Own a Castle Discover a new creature Attend 5 conventions in a single year - Attend 10 conventions within a single year Discover "Magic" Get a half-sleeve tattoo .... .... .... .... Current Level: 2 Progress towards next Level: 0% *Afternote- It seems that this artifact continues to grow over time. I will endeavor to keep you all updated on what new information it reveals to me. Until then, may your own journeys lead you down a successful Path.

Vengefulpear Eats Senzu Beans in the Medi-Chamber! Welcome back to another awesome challenge my Assassin friends Some of you may know that my shoulder is all messed up right now (well not that badly, but it's still on the mend) so this time around my challenge is going to be based around recovery, the final stages of slimming down and life goals! This year was supposed to be the Year of the Dragon, so I went with a Dragon Ball Z theme for this! Rather than just kicking some dragon bottom... Damn you shoulder! My main quest for this challenge (hopefully it wont last any longer than this challenge) is to fully recover and slowly build myself back up so I don't do myself further harm. Anyway! Onto the goals! Goal 1: Eat Senzu Beans (Like a good Assassin) Lose 6lbs +2 CON +1 DEX Starting Weight: 152lbs Last time I had the same goal and managed to smash it! Yay! So this time I figure I'll do the same, as 6lbs is a good amount to lose in 6 weeks. I am getting close to where I'd like to be I think, I'm certainly nearing where my lean body mass used to be. I know that I will have lost muscle whilst not being able to workout as much as I want because of the stupid efficient body. Damn you shoulder! *shakes fist* Now that I have successfully eaten a certain amount for a challenge, I'm going to add on to that to eat right. That's right, upping it to Hard difficulty! So here's what my dietary goals to achieve my 6lb weight loss are this time: Eat 1850-1950 calories per day average (see calorie PVP)Eat 80% paleo (Minimum 5 days per week)Bonus Objective: Eat 100g protein per dayThe bonus objective is there to hopefully minimize any more muscle loss that might occur. Hopefully with paleo that will happen anyway but we shall see! As per usual, I'm going to throw out the calorie PVP for anyone who wants to track their calories The rules are simple, track your calories and see if you meet your target as an average for the week, whoever does or is the closest is declared the winner. And the overall awesome-person/winner is whoever had the most weekly wins! So I'd be honoured if anyone wants to join me https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmtRMwoMwJORdG9zYkU1TVAtSkduTXhMUHZkaFdZYXc&usp=sharing Goal 2: Run Snake Way +2 STA +1 DEX +1 CON Run 650,000 miles, kidding! Actually; Run 2-3 times per week and do interval/sprint training 1-2 times per week Again this will be building on the success of my running goal from last challenge, although I do realise that some of that was down to be not being able to do strength training on its own so I just went running instead. I went running 3-4 times per week last challenge, mainly going for 5km runs and then some longer ones at the weekends. Now I want to add in speed training to help my stamina, fat loss and speed. To make sure I don't feel like I have to go out all the time and just run, I'm lowering the goal of normal slower runs to 2-3 instead of 3-4 and then adding in the interval training at 1-2 times per week. If I keep up with what I was doing in the last challenge then I should be able to achieve that no problemo. Goal 3: Stretchy Stretchy Stretch or practice yoga every day +3 DEX +1 STR This goal is subject to change. But I will stretch and/or start yoga to try and keep myself limber and help along the recovery of my shoulder. Also if my shoulder keeps giving my grief after a couple of weeks of the challenge then I will be off to the doctor so this goal may change to reflect what they say. I'm pretty new to yoga and things so any suggestions on this front would be appreciated Goal 4: Study like Gohan Work on life goals at least 1 hour per day +2 CHA +2 WIS Maybe not just like Gohan, but the boy did study hard! I want to add in this because I do want to kick my writing up a notch this year and we've all got loads of things we want to be able to do but never seem to get around to (right... Right?!). So I want to do them rather than just diddling time away on my computer of an evening not doing a lot. Life goals include but are not limited to: Writing, learning a language, researching for writing, studying on writing, practicing my guitar, meditation And to be clear for my own benefit, practicing Smite does not count as a life goal. Bonus points for hitting 50,000 words written towards the book (I'm on about 8,500 now so that might be a stretch but if I actually sit down and write instead of just splooping paragraphs out every now and again I should be able to do it) That's my challenge, then! I wish everyone the best of luck, I'm sure we can support each other and make sure that everyone achieves the very best they can I look forward to it

Guess I am one of the only ones here on a non-fitness challenge...but being without an income for almost 5 years , fitness isnt really the first thing on my to-do list (also because I am pretty happy with my weight of 48kg at 5ft height and I dont find it difficult to work out consistently....yes I'd like to get stronger..but,God willing, that'll be for some other challenge so, my main quest is to GET A JOB, God willing, by end of this year. I am a animator by profession who left job after 3.5 years of work in a big studio to make my own independent shortfilm with my boyfriend, which took 3.5 years in its making. Though we loved and adored it, it didnt get much response in the film festivals and now, we are back trying to make a good demoreel and get a job. my motivation - I want to get married and we cannot do so in such penniless, dependent-on-parents state. my goals for these 6 weeks are :- 1. to animate at least 3hrs everyday, working on my demoreel. 2. to post what progress I've made each day. 3. to evaluate every sunday my work and the strengths and weaknesses and what needs to be done to improve. I guess the goals arn't that impressive, but being new to such challenges, I am trying to keep things easily doable that I may stick to it till end, God willing. looking forward to some good productive days ahead, God willing

Cleaning the litterbox: it's a daily chore. Actually, it's a twice-daily chore if you don't want your place smelling like cat pee. I tend to look at my life like it's a litterbox. I mean, I have two cats IRL, so I already actually have to clean two litterboxes (my boyfriend helps!) - but RL is the "dumping" ground for a lot of crap, and unless I take care of it on a daily basis, things get unpleasant pretty quick! I feel like I have a strong grasp on most of the stinky parts of living: doing the dishes, doing laundry, keeping the floors swept and the countertops wiped down, making sure my half of the bills are paid on time - and of course, keep the real litterboxes clean. But some parts I don't feel I have a good handle on at all. Those would include my strength and endurance, my ability to entertain myself and/or relax without prerequisite alcohol, and my long-term financial situation. Incentives for accomlishing those things include: - Better ratings on my NCOER, which translates into a better-looking resume' when I get out of the Army - More personal confidence in myself - More enjoyment from my normal hobbies (drawing, writing, reading, crochet) - An easier transition to civilian life (without having to worry about money when I get out) I do feel that I am working through a HUGE hurdle ATT by quitting smoking, and that's been a great confidence-booster for me. I am, however, consistently terrified of losing that momentum and falling back to my old habit, so right now I have a genuine love/hate relationship with the whole episode. On the upside, since I'm not deploying (hence, my new DBL - the old one was "Sandbox Prep") I hope to have more time to devote to really leveling up my life. I may even take some college courses, if I get the chance! But first, I have to keep my head in the game and help get all deploying personnel onto the planes and safely to their respective war posts. LOL Looking back on it, it really seems like my decision to enroll in the Army's ASAP Smoking Cessation program was... well, TBH, a little premature! This is definitely the most stressed I've ever felt in my entire military career - and yet I chose now to quit smoking?! Sometimes I really do wonder about myself. But I've already come this far, and I don't see any benefit in moving backwards (again), so I'll just have to keep pressing forward. Speaking of quitting smoking, I should note that as of this Saturday I will once again be out in the field. I've been slotted to help support this next JRTC rotation. Hurray. I have ZERO clues as to what specifically that entails, but the information I've managed to glean thus far suggests it's a lot of standing around in the LA summer weather and occasionally dirtying my weapon by firing blanks at some 11B's dressed up like terrorists. There is a SLIGHT possibility that we'll be allowed to return to our own housing whenever we're off shift, in order to shower, wash our uniforms, and sleep in our own beds ... but I'm not holding my breath about it. However, I'm far less concerned with being stinky, rashy, and tired than I am with the temptation I'll face to smoke while I'm out there. I DON'T WANT TO BE A SMOKER ANYMORE!!!! Anyway, if I get the chance to update this log while I'm on rotation, fantastic - but if not, at least I'll have it waiting for me when I get back. In the meantime, I'll keep on keeping on trying to keep my "litterbox" clean. Meow.

Everyone who's ever set foot into Vana'diel know that it was an endless, bone crushing grind back in it's day. I was one of those who had the willpower to play it out, so I figure I have a shot here at making my goals come to life. We shall have a number of different categories to play around in, each coinciding with various milestones in the FFXI world. Get My AF Set: As it stands now, I have 81 pounds to reach my goal. Every 10 pounds will give a piece of my artifact gear with level 8 granting me my Joyeuse (yes I know the game has far progressed past these items, but these were Holy Grails when I first took up the journey so many years ago). 10 lbs - Warlock's Torque ACQUIRED20 lbs - Fencing Degen ACQUIRED30 lbs - Warlock's Boots40 lbs - Warlock's Gloves50 lbs - Warlock's Tights60 lbs - Warlock's Tabard70 lbs - Warlock's Chapeau80 lbs - Joyeuse The end goal here is to look good enough that I would be comfortable cosplaying an Artifact level Red Mage. Only then will I have completed my quest and unlocked my new Job. Traverse Quon and Mindartia: Here is where I see the sights in my homeland. Just as proud Elvaan from San d'Oria should set out and see all that Jeuno, Bastok and Windurst have to offer, so should I see places in North America. Visit/live for a time in New YorkVisit/live for a time in SeattleVisit Alaska ( I want to experience untamed wilderness)See Montana (always had a weird fascination, I want to see if there's anything there)Hit the other states at some point, even if it's just a pass through.See various wonders of our lands (Grand Canyon, revisit Arches)Make my way to Jeuno (Hawaii in this case)Step north of the border and visit my Canadian brothersVisit Roslyn, Washington (the real life Cicely, Alaska) preferably during Moosefest Traverse Aradjiah and Ulbuka: Now I take the airship out of the surrounding lands and see new places far and wide. Visit/live for a time in the UK (near about London)Visit IrelandVisit ScotlandVisit Japan Visit Australia Subjob Scholar: Here is where I flex my mental muscles and add to my Red Mage repertoire! Write a story or book and be publishedFinish my Degree ACQUIREDPick up, pursue and improve my languishing art skills Subjob Warrior Here's where the physical goals are. Get to a weight of 250 lbs. Complete the Festival Quests We all know that Vana'diel is the host of many seasonal celebrations and with those come various garment to celebrate. My biggest seasonal event is a Yearly Con I attend known as AnimeIowa and I have always wanted to do a truly awesome cosplay but never felt comfortable with my weight to do it. Cosplay something truly awesome! Finish my Quest Log: In here you will find the various quests I have assigned myself to complete as time goes on. Stick with and paint a Warhammer 40k army.Run a long term (successful) RPG again.Much as my travels through Vana'diel were long and meandering, so shall bits of this be I am sure. This list will grow and evolve over time, but nothing will leave it until it is completed. That being said, I am determined to unlock all the possibilities this world has to offer and though it will be a grind at times, the rewards will be well worth the work. Won't you journey with me friend?

I figured that I had better go ahead and throw something in here to track my goals since I'm already starting to accomplish ones that I planned out previously. Check back for continuous updates to expand and reorganize this list, as well as progress reports as I start to cross them off this list. Current Status: Level 1, 40% more EXP needed to reach Level 2 From the Nerd Fitness Spartan Warrior challenge: 50 Push-Ups in a row 10 Pull-Ups in a row Bench press body weight 10x Press 75% of bodyweight overhead 5 times Deadlift 1.5 times bodyweight 5 times Squat bodyweight 5 times Run a 5k in under 24 minutes Hike for hours with a 30# backpack Touch toes Completed 4/23/2013 Receive a Bachelor's Degree in English Receive a Master's Degree in English Gain a position teaching at a Community College or University Commit 50 Bible verses to memory Learn 100 Bible verses Learn 250 Bible verses Learn 500 Bible verses Learn 1000 Bible verses Read the Complete Works of William Shakespeare Read War and Peace Read Les Miserables Read the Wheel of Time series Deadlift 1x body weight Completed 4/22/2013 Bench Press 0.75x body weight Completed 4/24/2013 Overhead press 0.5x body weight Squat 0.75x body weight Complete 25 Pushups in a row Complete 100 pushups in a row Do a pull-up Complete a 3 minute plank Complete a 5 minute plank Run a 5k in under 30 minutes Run a 5k in under 27 minutes Run a 9 minute mile Run an 8 minute mile Run a 7 minute mile Run a 10k Run a 20k OR Half-Marathon Run a marathon Attempt to Qualify for the Boston Marathon Publish a poem Publish a short story Complete a first draft of a novel Revise the draft of a novel & send for publication Own & learn to shoot/clean a handgun Own an electric guitar Learn basic french Read a classic book in french

I'm taking this challenge off - I'll still be in and out of this thread and the forums, but I've got a lot going on, and many of my goals will be non-fitness related. This will be my log for the time being, but expect sporadic updates and no scoring this time around. Anyhow, misc stuff I'd like to do: Life stuff: ALL the homeownership stuff:Move inFix the initial stuff that needs fixing(electrical stuff, hot water heater, mold in the attic)Furnish the place, including *the mancave*Lots of other little bits and piecesOther Life StuffMove forward with enrollment in Grad SchoolSucceed with my request for tuition reimbursement from my employerAttempt to also summon the energy to manage work craziness and my personal lifeFitness stuff:Drop about 3-5 lbs/ 2% BFWork on/improve the speed of my lifts, and the ROM on my squatHold a 7 minute mile for an 8k coming up at the end of May