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A meaningful life For some time now I've been slacking off and saying to myself there will be time for my goals later... A stupid thing to do when you just turned 40. Procrastination and laziness, added to my floating anxiety episodes, have made me feel a little sad lately. Despondency and criticism have appeared. But I don't want my life to be dictated by my thoughts or my feelings, so I've been taking the time to ponder and write about my values and the kind of life I want to live. I must say I don't know whether I got the right answers, but at least I've come up with some steps I want to take in different areas of my life, and some of these steps will appear in this challenge. For my main goal, this is, living a meaningful life: · I won't let bad feelings or anxiety dictate my life. I will accept those bad feelings and the anxiety, and will experience them. I won't ignore them, nor fight them, nor pretend I can control them or change them into some other thing. I'll stay with them and will let them express themselves. But they don't get to decide how I live my life. · Same goes for anxious, negative thoughts. They will be acknowledged, brain will be thanked for offering the information but I won't buy it. I won't argue with my critic nor will try to refute whatever comes to my mind. These thoughts are not the ones making the decisions here. So, I can be anxious, but I can also have a life, despite being anxious. For all of those described situations, I'll rely on the exercises I've learnt these past weeks from a couple of ACT books I've been reading, and which have proved themselves extremely useful. Everytime I'll find some resistance to take action, or want o leave things for later, or put excuses to justify procrastination, I'll use these exercises to help me. Barriers I think I may found: · thoughts: in the form of excuses, like, I'm too tired, it's too late, it's too cold, I don't feel like doing "X"; or in the form of discouraging thoughts: it's too difficult, I can't do that, I don't know how to do it, I will fail... · emotions: anxiety, fear, despondency, guilt, boredom... · sensations: cold, cold feet, jaw tension, knot in the stomach, hunger... · memories: from times when I've failed or quit · behavioral tendencies: procrastination, mindlessly spending time on the internet, eating sugary things, refusing to eat... I'm someone who cares about improving both her mental and physical health 1) Do some type of physical activity everyday Actions: · attend self-defence lessons twice a week. WEEK 0: DONE! WEEK 1: ONLY ONCE. SICK WEEK 2: ONLY ONCE. AWFUL NECK PAIN AND HEADACHES WEEK 3: ONLY ONCE. SICK WEEK 4: NOPE · take note of every move for subsequent practice at thome. WEEK 0: DONE! WEEK 1: there were no new moves WEEK 2: no new moves WEEK 3: there were no new moves WEEK 4: NOPE · practice self-defence at home at least once a week. WEEK 0: DONE! WEEK 1: SICK WEEKS 2&3: AWFUL NECK PAIN AND HEADACHES WEEK 4: NOPE · do at least one strength workout per week at home. WEEK 0: DONE! WEEK 1: SICK WEEKS 2&3: AWFUL NECK PAIN AND HEADACHES WEEK 4: NOPE · go to the woods and walk briskly for a while at least once a week. Biking is ok too. I can be excused from this action if the weather is really bad, like heavy rain or strong winds. WEEK 0: DONE! WEEK 1: SICK WEEKS 2&3: AWFUL NECK PAIN AND HEADACHES WEEK 4: NOPE · clean or declutter at home. WEEK 0: UH-OH WEEK 1: SICK WEEK 2: JUST OK WEEK 3: OK WEEK 4: OK 2) Frequent use of meditation Actions: · meditate for a minimum of 10 minutes everyday. Ideally meditate once in the morning and once in the evening. WEEK 0: DONE! WEEK 1: DONE! WEEK 2: DONE! WEEK 3: NOPE, only short meditations (3-5 minutes) WEEK 4: DONE! These goals start right now. I'm someone who cares about her students learning while having fun 3) Prepare this year's technique competition GOAL ACHIEVED! Actions: · look for some maps on the internet, or find some map generator DONE! · make some first drafts of the map DONE! · think of how many good, bad and neutral squares I want the map to have, and which drawings will be on them DONE! · think how I want the deck of cards to be, how many cards and with which content and difficulty no cards. It would make the game far too complicated. I'll be using one dice to decide the random aspects of the game. · define more clearly the game's rules DONE! This goal starts on week 1. I'm someone who likes to be in constant development and who has considered taking a step forward in her performance career 4) Do your technique everyday Actions: · Just. Do. It. WEEK 0: DONE! WEEK 1: SICK WEEKS 2&3: AWFUL NECK PAIN AND HEADACHES, but managed to do it 3 days each week WEEK 4: DONE! This goal starts right now. 5) Make a plan to start working on e-minor Bach's sonata Actions: · make a clean copy DONE! · listen to several recordings and take notes WEEK 1: DONE! WEEK 2: NOPE WEEK 3: DONE! · analyze the piece. Don't go mad on this, just a few lines each time WEEK 1: DONE! WEEK 2: DONE! WEEK 3: DONE! · devise a study plan DONE! · follow said plan ON IT This goal starts on week 1. 6) Find some time along the week to read, and/or to work on icelandic Actions: · choose a book from the pile on the desk fellow rebels will help me pick (18 pending books so far) Chosen book: FLOW · read said book for 10 minutes at least twice a week WEEK 2: DONE! WEEK 3: DONE! WEEK 4: DONE! · take notes WEEK 2: DONE! WEEK 3: DONE! WEEK 4: DONE! · choose an icelandic lesson (from grammar book, comicbook or whatever) WEEK 2: DONE! (Ástríkur!) WEEK 3: NOPE WEEK 4: NOPE · work on said lesson for 10 minuts at least twice a week WEEK 2: DONE! WEEK 3: NOPE WEEK 4: NOPE This goal starts on week 2 OR week 3, depending on how much work I've done on goal 3. I don't want to get overwhelmed. This area included another goal: writing an e-mail to a new teacher to book a lesson, but I've done it already. Now just have to wait for an answer, keeping my composure if possible to avoid checking my e-mail twenty times a day. To reduce pressure, every action can be divided in smaller steps whenever I need it, such as reading for only 5 minutes and leaving the remaining 5 for another moment, listening to only one movement of the piece, dividing the time to clean or declutter in short periods along the day, and so on. Points available: Goal 1: 2 STR, 1 STA, 1 DEX. Goal 2: 1 WIS. Goal 3: 1 CHA. Goal 4: 2 DEX. Goal 5: 1 WIS. Goal 6: 1 CHA.

Hey there NF team! Ken the Brave here returning after a long hiatus to get married and take a honeymoon. Now I'm back and looking to keep leveling up my life. A little info about me: I'm a Colorado Vault Dweller who found a beautiful woman to spend my life with, and recently realized that I need more of a life to share... Most of my friends who I grew up with moved away (why anyone would leave this state is baffling to me) and I haven't really made many more friends since college (which I graduated from 8 years ago). So, long intro short, my new mission is to get more in touch with myself. How? Well, that's what I'm looking to find out here... How did you meet your best friend or friends? They say strangers are friends you haven't met yet. What do you like most about them? What helps you feel like yourself? A good book? A long hike? Drinks or games with friends? Have you found your calling in life? How? And what is it? I'll refine my quest for this challenge soon! Good to be back!

The topic turned out maybe too honest. A fair warning: I personally think you should read this as an adult, and then decide if it is okay for your kid to think of such. Concerns dark and sad emotions and suicidal feelings. -Thank you My motivation: See to that all the true and beautiful things what I learned from my clear moment after the really dark patch in the middle of 2014 does not become one of those times I’ve had many before, where I see clearly, and then I let it all drop because of the struggles of day-to-day living, and they never get a chance to become reality from thoughts. There’s been many lapses before and thinking about every single time pisses me off. How could I blow such a great chance? The quote encompassing this is: Author probably unknown. My big goals, broken into achievable steps: Skim on everything non-essential, that, in the end, only takes from my happiness, getting me only a short burst of pleasure. Coffee, buns, junk food. I don’t eat them all that often, but I feel unable to dodge the thought of paying 5 € for a pizza to get to stuff it in my face feels like selling my dreams a tasty piece-by-piece. And with that thought the pizza tastes like ash. And burn ludicrous amounts of money into things that really are important, show in my life and others’ lives and make them better. Quality healthy food, exotic+expensive fruits that spice up the meals, good quality meat and fish, the occasional, to-die-for melt-in-my-mouth chocolate, quality, emotion inspiring movies and visits to movie theater with friends, to use money to get more time… I get that as I drop out those useless experiences that I already forgot? Yes all the way! Because one day I thought: “How much good memories cost, anyway?†They are priceless. I want to save up 1000 € by the start of the Camp Nerdfitness (640 for the camp access, 400 for travel), because I want to be there. And even if I do not make it to the Camp, I have a whole grand to use on something awesome. Win-win situation. Yes, partially I want to show my family that I do a thing that’s completely my own . I will swap the NF camp to at least a month abroad, preferably more. With 1000+ euros I can do a lot better than 3 days abroad. I know the NF camp would've been fun, but this will reap more benefits for sure. How: I will take part in No soda PvP, cutting down coffee, soda and sugary juices completely during the challenge. One cheat allowed per week,if it is something amazingly good, like thick, warm choco. I drink coffee twice a day, like a clockwork, juice daily, but soda very seldomly. I have a jar in which I wrote “Dreams†to remind me to save all the small coins from my wallet every time I pass it. --------------------------------------------------------------- I am going to continue the Zenhabits 1000 cuts fitness program that is making progress. Fearkiller, on 26 Feb 2014 - 11:46 PM, said: My first touch with parkour was Mirror’s Edge, and when you speed-drilled you way through the level, and it went good, the flow was amazing. I want to be like Faith, a flowing thing of movement, grace and beauty. And brag about it as I do the ever so casual vault over the fence that everyone else is taking as a obstacle. And if parkour is a awesome way of life as a side effect, it is a sweet bonus "Parkour is natural, effective movement. That’s it. In French, we use the term passement for overcoming any obstacle. You pass or traverse a barrier in whatever way suits you and the moment; there’s no one prescribed method for anything. Parkour is a lens of efficiency applied to every aspect of your movement through life. At its broadest definition, it implies a low-impact and considerate attitude towards bosses, co-workers, family, friends, driving, consumer purchases, and the environment (natural or manmade). What is the least effort and stuff you need in order to live the most meaningful and happy life you can make for yourself? As with the Nerd Fitness Rebellion, it is an exuberant and responsible celebration of life." -Dakao, in The definitive guide to parkour for beginners 2) And we were watching a parkour video from Youtube with my little brother, and this was the discussion: Me: That is wicked cool, just look at it! Seriously! Him: Yeah, it is. Me: If I start right now, I could be there, doing that! In a decade, easily. Him: Yeah, like you could. You’d be tumbling on your face in a second. Me: Oh, but it has to be started so slowly, with the basics, working your way up… Him: Mmh… Just forget it, it’s not going to happen. Me: Oh, we will see. I will get there, in ten years, vaulting over things and being awesome! You just watch! How: I will start making the ‘cuts slowly into something more parkour like: plyometric box jumps on top of and over objects, running through uneven terrain in the woods, learning three easy parkour moves that can be done everytime the opportunity arises. And I am planning to join the Assassins the next challenge. ---------------------------------------------------------------- The practical training place – go to work, be in time, and do actual work there, every single day. Even if there’d be a “fuck-it-all, hopeless, dark negativity†somewhere in between there. That demon has been beaten, and I fear to talk about him, or he might come back. There must be a ridiculously, immensely good reason not to go. If I play the fuck-it-all-card even once, it’s fearfully easier the second time, and third, and then… I would lose the golden line of doing things, if I get kicked out of there. I will not go there again, if I can help it. NO. Also, I am fortunate in that when I walk out of the door at 5 pm, I do not have to drag a single piece of my work home. So, as it is common that people say “I am so tired after workdays, I really can’t imagine doing anything else than fall to the sofa and zone out†and I have been there seldomly with the schooldays, and I see people in my family do it often. I want to experience how do I have to use my limited free time usefully so that it helps me to be alert and vigilant. How: Go to sleep at 10 pm, get up at 6 am, and find a way to get up, even if it is that alarm clock that sounds like a fire alarm (but I hope I don’t have to go there). Spend 15 minutes daily/an hour weekly thinking what I did wrong/right, how do I feel, why, and what can I do to improve. The practical training work starts 14.7, so this goal would only apply the last week of the challenge. I will switch this simply to a sleep goal. To sleep at 10 pm, up at 6 am. I will find a way. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Life goal: I have had trouble lately, because not much gives me joy anymore, and life feels useless. Living life because of the life itself is pointless, and even the good moments, while nice, lack a reason, they have no deeper meaning. I could shrug all I do away with little effort, not a lot of things feel real. 3 minutes of meditation daily. Whenever I have spare time (have to wait for something, have a break, etc.) I will close my eyes and breathe from my diaphragm, letting my mind settle, focusing my attention to the breathing only. That’s how the theory goes, my practical application may vary