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Hi everybody, it's been a while I've been wanting to work on my anxiety from new points of view, and I've found a nice resource in Kelly McGonigal's book about stress. It is a pretty interesting book, maybe not as good as her previous work on willpower, which I absolutely recommend, but it has some nice ideas I want to test. I will divide this thread in 3 types of posts, as I did in my willpower thread (if you want to take a look at it, check my signature), to make it easy for everyone to find the main ideas in the book instead of needing to read all my ramblings mixed up in the middle. So: posts who reproduce ideas from the book will be marked with the letters TH (theory) at their top. posts who will present the exercices or techniques proposed in the book will be marked with the letters PR (practice). posts I'll use to comment those ideas/exercices or to talk about my own experience with them, will be marked with RA (rambling). You can skip them, really, I won't mind. I'm pretty tiring when I ramble.

As many of you know, I'm in the middle of a mindset shift, and my last challenges have been all about changing my perspective. This work has had great rewards, and I think there's yet more to be done, so this challenge I will focus on developing more self-awareness and self-acceptance. MINDSET SHIFT GOAL Weeks 0 and 1 These weeks will be entirely focused on the "my why" goal. I've been trying to work on this these last 2 challenges but somehow it didn't work. I'll retake some affirmations I wrote in my willpower thread, and, maybe after re-writing them or polishing them a bit, will take the effort of copying them everyday. It sounds silly but I know it works. I will copy them, by hand, and I will repeat them to myself in loud voice to help ingrain them. Weeks 2 to 4 Self-awareness. I have a meditation routine now, and I would like to go up from 10 to 15 then 20 minutes a day. To help with physical awareness, will also work with Feldenkrais exercises which work pretty well for me. Self-acceptance: inner acceptance leads to outer control of our actions. I'll focus on describing what I need, or feel I need, instead of criticizing myself; I'll examine and accept my feelings, thoughts, emotions and wishes; I'll keep my exercises for anxious thoughts and cravings. WELCOME SPRING GOAL Look at those sunny days! Swifts will come soon, and cold nights will be over: it's time to get out of the house. So, big YES to outside activities: do you want to read? Go to the park and read on a bench. Do you want to do some push-ups? Do them in the country while you're on a walk. Are you going to do an IS workout? Try it in the patio! SIDE MINI-GOALS · Willpower developing activity: 15 minutes of cleaning/decluttering everyday. · Track what I eat. Something is happening with my diet and I'd like to fix it before it is too late. Extra points if I manage to prepare a fermented vegetable each week. · I'll try to "forget" my wallet at home when going to work to avoid temptations in the evening. Points Mindset shift goal WIS 3 points (my why 1, self-awareness 1, acceptance 1) Welcome spring goal STR 2 point DEX 1 point STA 2 point Side goals CON 1 point (track eating) CHA 1 point (cleaning)

Hi everybody, this new battle log will be focused on willpower. I think everybody deals in one or another way with those terrible moments when we do exactly the opposite of what we need to do to accomplish our goals. Sometimes we'll feel guilty, other times we will look at ourselves and say "what was I thinking?" Well, I've been recently reading a book about willpower, challenges and goals (this one) and it gives many ideas on how to manage our willpower failures as well as good explanations to our sometimes irrational behavior with our goals. It has left me feeling there are many things I can do to improve the way I face my goals and how I manage challenges. I think this can be a very useful book but only if I work a bit on it and reflect on some ideas, so I've decided to open a thread because sharing always helps. I will be taking notes of the ideas most relevant to me and will try to work on the exercices proposed to better understand my "failures" and to make it easier to accomplish my own goals, so they will also be discussed here. Every chapter of the book has some physiological/psychological explanations about human behavior concerning goals and willpower, illustrated with the studies made about the topic, and also a practical section on how to apply those things to your own life, so to make the reading more easy to those interested only in the ideas, or the exercices, or both, I will divide my posts in 3 different types: 1) those who reproduce ideas from the book, will be marked with the letters TH (theory) at their top. 2) those who will talk about the exercices or techniques proposed in the book will be marked with the letters PR (practice). 3) those I'll use to comment those ideas/exercices or to talk about my own experience with them, will be marked with RA (rambling). And of course, everybody is welcome to write, comment, and share experiences.

Watterson knew what he was doing: Hobbes is most of times the voice of experience and wisdom: While Calvin is... well... He's got that wild imagination... They can sometimes fight each other But when they really have fun is when they are together. Because they are inseparables, like the two sides of only one being... Like my Smartypants and The Untamed. Which are, from now on, going to cooperate and learn from each other. Goal 1. Remember my why. To help my two-selves keep focus, I'll save some minutes everyday to think about my long-term goals regarding my health. Thinking of my goals, picturing scenes, drawing, writing... Goal 2. Smartypants and The Untamed stop fighting and play together. I'll keep on trying to make those two rascals to dialogue and cooperate. We've seen last challenge it is not always Smartypants the one who is right. Smartypants has a tendency to despise The Untamed and make it feel like there is something wrong with it (and thus that there is something wrong with me*), and so The Untamed decides to go wild every now and then to get rid of the strict control of Smartypants. I'll also want to try the following exercise, to help them cooperate, and feel understood, and to try to let guilt** out of my cravings (Smartypants feels like it should be able to control itself and to control The Untamed, and if this doesn't happen, it feels like there is also something wrong with itself, and thus that there is something wrong with me. Again). *So this goal will also include taking time to think about moral licensing. **Moral licensing again. Goal 3. Stay active. IS workouts, stretching, walking, biking, running, slow movement... Anything goes! Goal 4. Anxiety first-aid kit. Meditation, breathing, relaxing... and also trying an exercise for anxious thoughts. Now...

Hi everybody, I've thought of coming with the druids many times, and this new challenge feels like the kind of challenge a druid would take, because it is about inner change. So here I am! I've been at NF for two years now, trying to build a better and healthier version of myself. I've tried small steps, motivation, rewards, routines... I got results and I won't undervalue them (I especially appreciate the clearer thoughts I have since I decided to focus on lowering my anxiety), and I'll keep those ideas that worked, but I am kind of tired of my on and off pattern with exercise and food. Recently I've been reading about willpower and I've found some ideas I want to try in the long run (for those interested, there is a more detailed thread on those ideas here), so I've designed a challenge with this thought in mind. I want to be strong, agile, flexible, have a calmer mind and a controlled metabolism. But right now, I need to become the kind of person that takes action everyday towards those goals. I need to become the kind of person that finds the time for the things she enjoys, the kind of person that looks for ways to achieve her goals. I've been thinking about: if I don't do this now, when? If I don't take those steps, who will take them for me? There are no chances than in a near or far future it will be easier to change my health. If I want to change I need to commit and take the responsibility of my own health. And I have to do it now. Ways to start my mindset shift: 1) Remember my why · Take a moment everyday to remember my why and to picture it. Remember that the more I work towards my goals, the more easier it will be. 2) Pause and think · Be mindful of my decisions regarding food, exercise, meditation and so, and notice my feelings and sensations: before, during, after, and when giving in and going against my goals. No judging allowed. 3) Stop the inner debate · Be respectful of both my two selves: hedonistic and smartypants. “The part of you that wants to give in isn't bad, it simply has a different point of view about what matters most “. 4) Never leave the table feeling hungry · Maintain steady energy and blood sugar levels. "When sugar blood lowers, brain shifts to a more impulsive state". 5) Moral licensing · Think and write about the concept of moral licensing. Commit to my goals and think of my why, instead of feeling good or bad about my actions. · Think and write about the concept of progress. What counts is building my healthy identity. I hope this ideas will help me to have my goals more present and to start a change I feel I need. Points I can win: Remember my why. 1 WIS Pause and think. 2 WIS Stop the inner debate. 1 WIS Never leave the table feeling hungry. 2 CON Moral licensing. 1 WIS I reserve 3 points to divide between STR, STA, DEX, depending on the amount and type of exercise I'll do during the challenge.