EternalJourno will think of something clever later

[FatboySuave]

Introduction: Looking back at 2016 I accomplished a lot thanks to the Rebellion. I didn't actually expect myself to accomplish some of the goals I set for myself, but now that I have, I'm not quite sure where to go or what to do next. I'm planning to spend a little bit of time exploring what I want to achieve because I feel a bit aimless right now. I mean, my main goal is still to lose weight, but beyond that I'm not sure what type of person I want to be. I want to figure that out first so I can start setting quests to level up. Otherwise, all of my quests below are the same as they have been for a while. They've been working for me, so I want to keep it up and continue to build healthy habits. 

On an impulse, I joined Rising Heroes after I found out that my friend joined! I'm already doubting I'll keep up with it though, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it out if they're offering a refund. I don't think I'll be able to afford the monthly payments because of my financial situation. More on that later. 

 

Main Quest: I want to get down to 180 pounds by the end of the spring and I want to be strong enough to do a Tough Mudder Half in April, which I've already signed up for.

 

Quest 1: Complete my assigned Bodyweight exercises three times a week and complete a cool down afterward. I will update these daily on my battle log if you want to see details and follow along.

A = Complete workout/cool down 3 times a week.
B = Complete workout/cool down 2 times a week.
C = Complete workout/cool down 1 time a week.
D = Complete 0 workouts/cool downs in a week.
F = No physical activity.

 

Quest 2: Walk and/or jog every day with my dog Booklet and complete a cool down afterward. I usually track these with the RunKeeper app on my battle log as well. I'm also tracking my miles on my Walk to Mordor. 

 

A = Walk/cool down 6-7 days a week

B = Walk/cool down 4-5 days a week.

C = Walk/cool down 2-3 day a week.

D = Walk/cool down 1 day a week.

F = No walking/cool downs.

Quest 3: Drink less alcohol.

A = Have no more than 3 drinks per week.
B = Have no more than 5 drinks per week. 
C = Have no more than 7 drinks per week.
D = Have no more than 9 drinks per week.
F = Anything more than that. 

Quest 4: Cook paleo meals more often, eat out less. If I do eat out, I will find healthy/paleo-ish options.

A = Eat out no more than 2 times a week. 
B = Eat out no more than 4 times a week.
C = Eat out no more than 6 times a week.
D = Eat out no more than 8 times a week.
F = Eat out more than 8 times a week. 

Life Quests: I really need to get my finances in order. I will look at my expenses for the past year and make a budget for the new year. 

Motivation: I feel like my lack of self confidence is a big obstacle that gets in the way of enjoying life and taking chances. I'd like to look good, so I can feel good and live life to the fullest.

[Vibrantella]

Good luck with your new challenge!   I find that setting a clear purpose for your goals is very helpful.  Thinking about your own (not your parents/friends/society) values, desires, mission.

 

I was intrigued by Rising Heroes, but I knew I'll have absolutely no time this month due to family/community/study obligations - it will be difficult even to fit in my normal fitness goals.  But I might join in the future, so please keep us updated on how it goes and how you like it.

[Mon Mothra]

Hiya, eternaljourno! I think you have great goals. I'm new around here, but I'm already learning in week zero how important that it is to have clear and truly achievable goals.

Best wishes with your challenge, and with Rising Heroes.

[Bookish Badger]

Following! Let us know what you think of Rising Heroes, whether you choose to stay with it or not.

[Ennue]

I like how quest 4 will help you with both health and finances!

I am also curious to hear your opinion of Rising Heroes

[FatboySuave]

Welcome to the Rebellion, @Mon Mothra! 

I will definitely keep you guys updated on Rising Heroes. So far the backstory to the whole thing seems silly, and that may be a good or bad thing. On one hand I want to allow myself to use my imagination and get lost in it and be a kid again and have fun with it, but on the other hand it seems ridiculous and I just want to focus on improving my life without the gimmicks. But then again the gimmicks are part of the reason why I joined the Rebellion in the first place.

 

Also, I can't help but feel like I've joined some weird cult, lol. But then again I think I felt that way when I first joined the Rebellion. In an email Steve said something along the lines of how he wants everyone to get into the habit of doing what he tells us to do no matter what because it'll pay off later. I can't help but think that's what a cult would do, lol. First it's all fun and games. One day you're fighting people in Tyler Durden's basement and making soap. Then the next day you're defacing public property and setting off bombs around the city. Just saying... lol

 

Another thing that made me wary about joining was that the description for the whole thing was a bit vague. But I'm giving Steve and the team the benefit of the doubt because the Rebellion and the Academy have been good to me so far. 

 

I was assigned to team Tyrus, which my friend was also assigned to! Here's the description:

 

Quote

In Tyrus, it’s the character of our Rebels that drives us and binds us together.  In this fight where we face an enemy in the shadows, it’s the honor of Tyrus – your honor – that makes us different from the forces we oppose.

Our faction is united by our strength of character, our integrity, and our compassion for those within our community and for all. Throughout history, our heroes have been those who knew themselves deeply and took action to defend and support the greater good. Whenever you see someone compelled to stand up for what’s right, that’s the mark of a true Tyrus.

This Tyrus strength forms the heart of this Rebellion. It is vital that we keep the heart of the Rebellion strong. When forces across the world rally against the wellbeing of others, we bring compassion and kindness to the front lines.

Together, we will ensure the light of Tyrus remains strong.

 

I haven't really gotten started with the missions though. I'm planning to first thing in the morning. It starts off a bit slow with measurements and finding a wingman (aka acountabilibuddy) and finding your speciality and whatnot. There's also a mission to walk everyday to "search for a hacker in the shadow organization." These updates may be lacking in enthusiasm, lol. 

[fleaball]

Oooh a Tough Mudder, those scare me. I did a Spartan Sprint and the obstacles were mostly tame, but some of the TM ones I've seen (and tbf, maybe the longer Spartans have them too idk) are hardcore. Go you!

 

I was skeptical of Rising Heroes and it's really amusing to read what you're saying about it. Looking forward to your updates.

[Ennue]

Thanks for sharing so much detail! Like you said, the description was a bit vague. I hope it doesn't turn into an actual cult though

[Jessebel]

Good luck, sir! I'm in Havik and share similar sentiments regarding RH. It's fun for now though. Enjoy the tough mudder!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[Vibrantella]

15 hours ago, EternalJourno said:

One day you're fighting people in Tyler Durden's basement and making soap. Then the next day you're defacing public property and setting off bombs around the city

 

[FatboySuave]

Just finished a workout and had a random thought that I wanted to share. I started doing a new thing when I'm pushing myself and I feel like I'm about to break: I imagine I'm creating and holding a Spirit Bomb like Goku, lol. I did this a while back during zumba. We do this arm routine where you never put your arms down, and for the last 20-30 seconds we just hold our hands straight up in the air. It hurts sooooo much, but when I picture myself making a spirit bomb, somehow I'm able to keep my composure just long enough, lol. And I did the same thing just now while doing bar hangs. I haven't done them in a while, so they were especially tough today, but with my arms up I fight through the pain as if I were holding onto the energy of the entire planet. 
 

13 hours ago, fleaball said:

Oooh a Tough Mudder, those scare me. I did a Spartan Sprint and the obstacles were mostly tame, but some of the TM ones I've seen (and tbf, maybe the longer Spartans have them too idk) are hardcore. Go you!

Yeah, I'm a little scared of some of the obstacles, primarily the ones with water because I can't really swim, but I've read that you can skip stuff if you want. I don't want to skip anything, but I also don't want to drown. So we'll see how that goes. Thanks for the support! 

 

12 hours ago, Ennue said:

I hope it doesn't turn into an actual cult though

 

Day 3 and it's still totally not a cult. You should totally believe me because it's totally not a cult at all in the slightest. Hey, you look thirsty, want some cult punch? Err, I mean, regular punch that totally doesn't have cyanide in it? Did I mention Rising Heroes totally isn't a cult? Because it isn't.  

 

3 hours ago, Jessebel said:

I'm in Havik and share similar sentiments regarding RH. It's fun for now though.

 

Woot!

I completed my initial introduction missions. This is the first time since I joined the Academy about 5-6 months ago that I've taken my measurements and it turns out I've lost about 2 inches on my neck, chest, waist and hips! My thighs and calves have slimmed down a bit too. My biceps are still relatively the same, but I know for a fact that I'm much stronger than before. I also took some new photos and you can definitely tell I've slimmed down a bit, but I see much room to grow — err, to shrink. 
 

 

[fleaball]

Well done! I was dreading taking pics tomorrow but looking at your progress makes me want to do it just so I have "before" pictures haha. 

 

Are there a lot of water obstacles? I know I've seen one where you dive into a muddy pool thing. I would skip that because of the diving. No thanks.

[Jessebel]

You have made quite a bit of progress! That's awesome!

[Phoenix - AKA "TinkerBot"]

Look at you go! :-D I love how detailed your quest goals are, with the ranking system and everything. Really makes it easy to see how you're doing over the challenge.

[Butternut]

Yo!!! Thanks for sharing with Tyrus groups story. I can see why you'd think it's goofy but I think we get away from being silly way too much. It helps us not take life too seriously.

 

you still playing board games?

 

Before I clicked your challenge I was wondering if Booklet was involved! Glad to see he is! Having a dog with you eases tension and creates conversation.

 

I'm glad your working on your confidence because it matters now. When you lose the weight your going to already have confidence, instead of trying to find it then. 

 

One more thing, I think it's so cool your losing weight like people should be! Slowly and healthy! 

 

Keep up up the good work man!

[Ennue]

Haha, sounds like RH is definitely not a cult, you sound very believable.

Awesome to see progress pics!

[Mon Mothra]

Awwww you look slimmer, for sure! It's great that you took some before and after pics

[FatboySuave]

On 1/7/2017 at 0:05 PM, fleaball said:

Are there a lot of water obstacles?

 

Maybe I've only seen one or two obstacles that actually involve swimming. There's one where you swing from a rope and then you jump out to try to hit a bell in the air and then you fall into a pool of water and have to swim out. That's definitely on my "Oh No No" list. I think I'd be fine with other water stuff as long as it's shallow, like the giant rolling thingy that you have to climb over. You should totally take some before pics, at least for yourself. Of course you never have to show anybody if you don't want. I didn't think I'd share mine, but I was just really excited to see legit progress. 

 

20 hours ago, Phoenix - AKA "TinkerBot" said:

I love how detailed your quest goals are, with the ranking system and everything. Really makes it easy to see how you're doing over the challenge.

 

Thanks! It took a bit of trial and error to find out what worked for me and which benchmarks were reasonable. I don't always do well at tracking everything in my battle log though, so by the end of the week I'm not exactly sure what grade I deserve, lol. 

 

15 hours ago, Butternut said:

you still playing board games?

 

Before I clicked your challenge I was wondering if Booklet was involved! Glad to see he is! Having a dog with you eases tension and creates conversation.

 

I am indeed playing games still! I actually visited some friends last night and we drank beers (boo) and played Catan (yay). And Booklet is still right by my side! I'm noticing that she's getting a little chubby though, which is my fault because we haven't been walking much. So I'm determined to get back into the habit of walking daily for both our sake. We went hiking today (even though I didn't get much sleep and drank too much last night) since the weather was not so harsh (pic below). 

 

Thanks for the kind words, @Mon Mothra and @Ennue! 

I finally understand the way the Rising Heroes missions work. I was a bit confused at first. But there are recurring missions that you can complete daily, so it rewards you for coming back to the site on a regular basis and for being active. So our first major mission is to walk at least 1 mile a day. So you sign in and click that you've done your walk for the day. Then the next day the mission resets, so you can earn 2 points a day for every time you walk. Then there's a mission for completing a workout once every three days, and you get 6 points for that. Then after three days it resets so you can gain another 6 points the next time you workout. Then there's also a mission dedicated to your non-workout specialization, which is whatever you want to level up, like learning to play an instrument or becoming a better juggler or practicing your writing, which is my specialization. So the mission this weekend was to spend at least 30 minutes focusing on your specialization, which could include doing research about the thing you want to accomplish or taking any sort of steps toward achieving it. So far I've gained 118 points, which contributes to my faction's total. And the overall goal for the month for all the factions combined is 400,000 points. We're currently at 233,271. 

For my specialization practice, after Booklet and I reached the peak of our hike, I took about 30 minutes to sit down and write in my notebook about things I want to accomplish with my life, no matter how scary or how unattainable they may seem. I used the same notebook when I first started reading Steve's book, so it was interesting to see the goals I set for myself early on. My scope was much narrower then. I was primarily focused on losing weight, so everything revolved around changing my habits. But now that I'm in better control of my health decisions, I want to focus on grander goals. So I followed a similar approach that Steve encourages, which is to write about the ideal person that you are in the present tense. For example, I wrote things like "I am fiscally responsible." The biggest and scariest one is writing/publishing a book. I've been out of practice with my creative writing outside of work, so I've been struggling with the idea that maybe I don't love writing anymore. There are a lot of mental barriers to why I don't write anymore, including the fear of just not being good enough. During my hike I sort of had a fake conversation in my head with someone who was asking for my advice about writing but was scared of not being as good as others and something kind of hit me, but that was a few hours ago so let's see if I can phrase it in a way that makes sense — if it made sense at all in the first place. It's based a lot on Steve's idea of just doing things whether you fail or not. But the idea was that you will never be as good a writer as [insert amazing author]. But they can never be as good as you. You can only be as good a writer as you can be. It's not actually about who's better or worse. It's not a competition. It's about being better than you were a day ago or a year ago. You will never be as good as your favorite author because only they can be as good as they will ever be. They have their own unique style and voice and perspective that only they can provide. You can't improve on something that is unique to them. You can't be them. You can only write with your own style, voice and perspective to the best of your own ability. So write what you know and feel and think because nobody else can write about it in the way that you do. You have a unique outlook on the world and life, so share it. Maybe it'll resonate with somebody. Maybe it won't. You won't know until you actually write and get it out on paper.

 

Basically, what I'm trying to say is I'm done being scared and I want to write again and I want to level up, which means I need to practice daily. So in the coming days I'm going to come up with some benchmarks toward that end. There's a lot of other stuff I want to accomplish, but I want to pace myself and take things on one at a time. 
 

[FatboySuave]

 

Forgot to include this with my last post.

[FatboySuave]

I'm in a lull at work so I checked the RH site and there's a few new missions! Things are starting to get interesting. In addition to walking and working out, there are now missions to "debug your HQ" by recycling, donating or selling one item per day that you no longer use/need; cooking two meals this week without processed foods; and giving a drive-by compliment to a stranger.

 

I know I have some clothes that no longer fit that I've been planning to donate. I've also been trying to sell my treadmill. It was a great crutch early on in my journey. It really helped get me into the habit of walking daily, but now I am no longer afraid of the great outdoors, lol, so I just don't need it anymore. So that one seems doable. But one item per day seems weird. I may cheat and donate a bunch of stuff in one go and count that as my daily contribution, lol. [Edit: After re-reading the mission, the goal is to "resolve" to get rid of something. So you just have to identify at least one thing a day to get rid of.]

 

Cooking two meals is the easy part. I've basically accomplished this already with my meal prep.

 

The drive-by compliment scares me just out of pure potential for awkwardness, lol. I'm weird enough about complimenting people I know, let alone trying to talk to strangers. But this is actually a skill I wouldn't mind improving.

 

 

[Mon Mothra]

12 hours ago, EternalJourno said:

You have a unique outlook on the world and life, so share it. Maybe it'll resonate with somebody. Maybe it won't. You won't know until you actually write and get it out on paper.

 

Basically, what I'm trying to say is I'm done being scared and I want to write again and I want to level up, which means I need to practice daily. So in the coming days I'm going to come up with some benchmarks toward that end. There's a lot of other stuff I want to accomplish, but I want to pace myself and take things on one at a time. 
 

 

I'm a writer too, and I've gone through all of the thoughts that you had, including the one where you're not sure you enjoy writing anymore. I don't know what got me back to writing again, but one day I just opened my laptop and started brainstorming. Brainstorming lead to enthusiasm for the story. Enthusiasm for the story lead to... you get where I'm going with this.

You can do it!

 

9 minutes ago, EternalJourno said:

But one item per day seems weird. I may cheat and donate a bunch of stuff in one go and count that as my daily contribution, lol.

You know, I'm not sure that it's "cheating," so long as you downsize!

[Bookish Badger]

4 hours ago, EternalJourno said:

The drive-by compliment scares me just out of pure potential for awkwardness,

Find a fellow dog-walker and compliment his/her puppy! (Booklet sure looked happy to be back on the trail  )

 

I'm glad that RH seems to be making more sense. It sounds interesting now, and I might consider joining for the next cohort (or whatever they'll call the next enrollment period). I toyed with joining this round, but the part about regular group deadlines had Resistance rearing its ugly head and my heels digging in. So not a good choice for right now, at least.

[FatboySuave]

8 hours ago, Mon Mothra said:

I don't know what got me back to writing again, but one day I just opened my laptop and started brainstorming. Brainstorming lead to enthusiasm for the story. Enthusiasm for the story lead to... you get where I'm going with this.

 

I feel like Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange on his knees before the Ancient One after a psychedelic trip through the cosmos: "Teach me!" lol. I know that I just need to start doing it without thinking too much. I think just the act of doing it will get me to a better place. 

 

3 hours ago, Bookish Badger said:

Find a fellow dog-walker and compliment his/her puppy! (Booklet sure looked happy to be back on the trail  )

 

We took a walk today and I was actually hoping somebody with a dog would walk by us, lol. There was a lady walking in my direction, but she was swaying a lot and was clearly drunk, so I just kept walking. I passed another guy but he didn't look too friendly, so I chickened out there too, lol. But I've got all week! 

Minimalism and Happiness: I wanted to check in real quick because I have so much on my mind these days. I think my brain is coming alive because of all the RH activity and just the general spirit of this time of year with everybody focusing on their resolutions and whatnot. But somebody recommended the movie Minimalism on Netflix because of the "debug your HQ" mission and I just watched it. It was pretty good, although I do have some issues with it.

 

The main two guys are promoting their book on minimalism but they used to be advertising executives or Wall Street douches or whatever, so when they talk about minimalism, it comes across like they're selling a product, so they come across as less sincere. Also, it's hard for me to watch affluent people give everything up to have a simpler and happier life. Like, it just seems so easy for someone in that position to do something like that. And there's usually not a lot of diversity in these types of movies, so I can't help but feel like it's out of touch with regular people.

 

Otherwise, I did like the ideas they were sharing. I immediately started thinking about ways I could minimize my belongings. I don't want to get too hardcore, like living in one of those tiny houses, lol, but I have been thinking a lot lately about getting rid of stuff that I no longer need or use. I've got a bunch of movies that I never watch. And as much as it pains me to say this, I have too many books. They're just collecting dust on the shelves. I'm sure I could sell or donate a lot and focus on things that I actually plan to read.

 

But the main thing that got my brain stirring was their conversation on happiness. It reminded me of another documentary on Netflix called Happy. Both movies sort of harp on the idea that money can only but you so much comfort and happiness. At a certain point, more money no longer provides more happiness. And that got me thinking about what makes me happy or what would make me a happy person because I feel like I'm lacking happiness, and that's what brought me to the Rebellion in the first place. So in addition to looking for purpose out of what I want to achieve in life, I need to really break down what makes me happy so I can invest more time into doing those things.

 

As for money, I hate thinking about it and letting it rule me, so I tend to have a cavalier attitude toward spending. If I can find some form of entertainment or joy or connectivity with someone by spending some money, I rarely hesitate to bust open my wallet. But then when I can't afford things, I get stressed out. These days I've been stressing a lot about my bills. I don't want a lot of money. I don't want to sell my soul for more money. I want to enjoy my work and find meaning and purpose in it. I may not make a lot of money, but that's OK as long as I can get by and do things I enjoy. I mainly just want to not have to stress about money. 

 

How that relates to the challenge — I still intend to look at my expenses for the past year and find ways to budget for the new year. I'm thinking I need to talk to some sort of financial advisor with my bank and see if there's some insight they can offer. I know that I need to reexamine my relationship with money and consuming because things may bring me some form of temporary joy every once in a while, but I need to find something meaningful and lasting. I also need to break down what happiness means to me.

[Bookish Badger]

I don't have the greatest habits with money either, but I've never let that stop me from giving unsolicited advice! Maybe doing a ban on spending for a time would help. @NeverThatBored is doing such a challenge, where she has a temporary ban on shopping & spending money on things other than normal expenses and a few very specific exceptions. 

 

It might be a relief in a way, in that you don't have to agonize over whether to spend or not (or more likely, regret spending it later). You can just say, nope, maybe next month after the ban is lifted. If nothing else it may slow down the impulse purchases so that if you do buy, at least you know you gave it some thought first.

 

It might also be interesting to track the impulse-buy opportunities that you decline, and see how many of them you still want after the ban is lifted.

[fleaball]

Mint.com lets you input all your accounts, create budgets, and will categorize everything for you. I'm pretty sure that when you first create your account it goes through and suggests budgets based on what you've spent in each category in the past. Another option would be to start looking for things you can do with people that aren't so expensive. Maybe down the road when you've gotten sorted a bit more. 

 

I swear I have better advice than this but my brain is bluescreening right now.