Search the Community

Another go at this. Last attempt at getting a challenge going again was riddled with stress factors that knocked me out of the game. Ideally, I want to get to a point where I can let stress hit me but not get through my Fortitude... but I am just a fledgling and these things take time to build up. I've been stuck in a rut for ... way too long. I need to get out of it, but, just like a wagon wheel stuck in the mud it's going to take my effort, and my willing to get dirty. So I need to push through with discipline until motivation shows its beautiful face again. Biggest backslides over the past year have been food and exercise. (Lol, nice time to get a double whammy) - I've lost the momentum and discipline on getting some daily movement, and the food gets worse with the less I move. Instead of getting brain boosts from activity, the brain asks for quick hits from junk food and the like. So this challenge is going to be about two things first and foremost. And these things are my current 'beast'. In VtM they refer to the beast within as that monstrous voice leading you away from maintaining your humanity. Many, but not all, vampires put up a valiant effort to fight off that beast. THE GOALS Food - Track calories. It's not always the most fun, but it's the most accurate way for me to pay attention and make good choices. I too easily say "that's probably not so bad" and let things slide when I am not tracking accurately. So we're tracking calories daily. I realize some meals I can only 'best guess'. So the rule for that is, over-estimate the best guess, or eat just half. I don't want to become someone that 'can't eat out with friends' so the compromise is to make eating out less about the food more about the people - and choosing smaller plates, and/or eating half. Track Food 7x / Week -- Allowances for things I can't be accurate on, so as not to make this an all or nothing approach. Exercise - Move. In some way. At least 5x a week. Pretty self explanatory here. I lost the exercise habit and need to get it back. So for now, nothing more complex than "purposefully move, 5x a week" - that can be a 20 minute walk, or an hour long lift, or Beat Saber, or anything else. The idea is to just do it. Even when the brain suggests I do something else with that time. That's it. Oh, and track it. Because without tracking, I tend to get kind of careless. That's it. Those are the only two things that are going up on here. The rest of the things that I want to keep in habit of, I'll do my best to do that *guitar, music, art, etc, but they are not being prioritized right now, until these two habits get back to being habits.

I took a few months off from challenges, and think I am ready to make my return now. I've also opted to claim this month as "RESTEMBER" and I've alerted all my friends and family that I am 'taking the month off from all standard commitments'. I finished up the last of the plans I'd made before hand, and starting now - have nothing on the radar except for the couple things I really really have hype for. Namely, our still ongoing VtM TTRPG game(s). Since I tend to do a bit better with challenges when I have a theme, I've thrown up a fitting title/theme that ties in what I need to do for myself, with the VtM lore. Iron Heart is one of the powers that some Brujah can wield. - Common among Individualists who quest for self control, Iron Heart fortifies the Brujah against supernatural powers that affect her emotions, her self-control, or her reason, while also allowing her to inspire others to resist such manipulations themselves. I have slacked off so badly with ... everything. My consistency has flown out the window, and so the idea of questing for self control and mastering emotions seems a fitting connection. What I want: Better mood consistency, more energy, returned confidence, better health. What gets me those things: Lifting weights, getting some general movement, and eating like a sane person, and spending time with music and art. I was hoping to hit the ground running on this tomorrow (9/5), but one, it's zero week. Two, it's the start of two weeks being short handed at work. Three -- I'm not feeling 100% today and someone I spent Thur, Fri and Sunday all day with, started feeling sick Sunday night while we were gaming, and tested positive today for the 'vid. So I'm on standby with that. So tomorrow, after some sleep and figuring out what's what - I will come back and set up more measurable goals. But I promised someone to get this up and going today, so here it is!