IIII LIVEEEEE!

[NamelessTraveler]

Hey you guys, back again, and ready to kick butt and take names!

There were a couple goals that I want to reach, and I was doing ok at first, but then I fell off the wagon big time. xo

(I hadn't come to NF since July 2013...)

 

Last time, I outlined a couple goals out of a whole list that I wanted to reach (Which was a good thing, any more than those and I would have been overwhelmed even more) Here's the list of the goals that I was working towards:  

 

• Be healthier
• Learn to draw again
• Be more sociable,
• Get rid of clutter in my life 
• Improve my self-discipline

 

However, it didn't go as planned  because of a couple reasons...

For my health goal, I had a couple strikes against me anyway because I still live at home, and my family's eating habits aren't all that great so its all too easy to slip into eating what everyone else is eating, or being tempted by that fresh baked coffee cake that comes out the oven. Also, even though I planned my meals, I planned poorly. I didn't think about the time it would to take to cook these meals, take into account if I felt like eating something else, my cooking skills, or the price of everything. Which is another thing that really derailed my attempts, I can't cook very well, and eating healthy is EXPENSIVE ;____; I work retail, so its a real blow to my paycheck to buy all that stuff, especially with me saving for college. x)

 

 

As for the other four, I don't want to draw anymore, discipline I'll be passively working on by getting things done on this new list as well as figuring out what works, and what my stumbling blocks are.

 

 

Being more sociable is tough for me because of the way I look at the world, as well as my introverted nature (I'm not saying that I want to be an extrovert, its just that I love having time to myself, but when I'm ready to interact with someone and I don't have but one close friend to talk to (On the other side of the world...) its tough...) 

 

 

But the clutter part is tough just because of time and space constraints (I share a room with my sister, so there's a lot of stuff that I can't really move around, and once again retail has me working full time hours for part time benefits, lol. xP)

 

 

Coupled with depression* and my tendency to either forget things too easily or get distracted by little things, it makes it kind of hard to get things done overall

 

BUT LET'S FOCUS ON THE NOW!

As for this time, I have some new goals, a whole live goal list actually ^^:

 

• Being Healthy
• Financial freedom & security
• Making money in lots of different ways
• Buy a House
• Write a book
• Support various causes
• Learn a lot
• Learn about religion & philosophy
• Make friends
• Have new experiences
• Be self-sufficient
• Be beautiful
• Learn martial arts
• Learn feng shui/become a certified consultant
• Create an animation
• Create an app
• Learn to hunt
• Learn Taxidermy

 

This time, like last time I'll be taking it a little at a time, and pick the first 5 things off my list to do. That would mean that I'm focusing on being healthy, finding financial security, getting my own place, writing a book, and supporting worthy causes.

 

For getting distracted, I've downloaded a site blocker that will block my vice sites (Tumblr, Flight Rising, etc) and I need to make a playlist for chores that I do, because what I've been doing was going to Youtube and when I go to change the song, I end up either looking at the video that goes with the song, looking at related videos or both. ^^; I should outline what steps are to reaching my goals ASAP, but its getting late so I'll do it tomorrow at lunch. :3

 

 

*Although not diagnosed, I'm quite sure I have it because not only does depression and social anxiety run in my family, but I also show a lot of the signs of having it, so I should also really go to a therapist to get it checked out, and see if there's something that I need to work on. 

[MattGannon]

Man, you have this on lock lol you seem like a very interesting person.

 

As for the problems you had with your previous list of goals (all of which were awesome, too), there will always be obstacles. You just have to know that you can overcome them if you're willing to work hard.

 

You have a great plan in writing out the individual steps you need to take to acheive each goal. That way it's clear to you what to do. Work on them every day and log your progress, no matter how small.

 

Depression is serious. I've been through it (diagnosed), and lost much because of it. If you think you're suffering from depression, please seek help. It truly is something that can destroy your life (or take it).

 

Congratulations on respawning, friend. Fight to become who you want to be in life. If you want my opinion, I think you already are the person you strive to be-- you just don't know it yet.

 

Good luck, and keep on striving.

 

-Matt

 

P.S. Taxidermy? Call Chuck Testa.

[NamelessTraveler]

Thanks a ton!

You can bet that I'll be reporting in on my log too, if I get into the habit of doing something, I'll keep it up. ^^

Yeah, I really have to get checked out but I... Kinda don't want to have to tell my parents because they're going to have me medicated if in fact there is something going on because the same thing happened to my sister, and... Well, I'm worried that they won't even believe me anyway, they think I'm a hyperchondriac to begin with. Once I get my driving license I'll be able to take myself though. X)

[MattGannon]

Thanks a ton!

You can bet that I'll be reporting in on my log too, if I get into the habit of doing something, I'll keep it up. ^^

Yeah, I really have to get checked out but I... Kinda don't want to have to tell my parents because they're going to have me medicated if in fact there is something going on because the same thing happened to my sister, and... Well, I'm worried that they won't even believe me anyway, they think I'm a hyperchondriac to begin with. Once I get my driving license I'll be able to take myself though. X)

 

No worries.

 

If it's what you want, definitely try to see somebody. There's such a stigma attached to depression and it's ridiculous. It's a real illness, a chemical imbalance in the brain, that cannot always be fixed with exercise and clean eating. Sometimes we need a little help, and that's okay. Hopefully things work out for you, Traveler. Good luck with everything, and keep your head up.

[Bernard Marx]

Sorry, don't know why my phone posted multiples. I'm going to edit posts to remove the text so they don't take up so much so much space.

[Bernard Marx]

My two cents: Even five goals to work on all at once may be too much at one time. I know a lot of folks, and I personally, struggle to make changes, and the more you try to do at once, the more likely you are to get overwhelmed. I didn't start becoming successful until I stumbled on to a NF article about changing one small habit at a time, and staying with it until it's automatic before choosing the next habit to change.

Even 'eat healthy' can be broken down into smaller pieces. 'Eliminate liquid calories.' 'Replace one sugary snack per day with a piece of fruit.' 'Add a vegetable to every meal.' 'Have one meal a day with no refined sugars or refined carbs.'

Etc. Ad nauseum. It will take a lot longer, but I liked Steve's point that if you successfully make five changes one at a time and make them habits, when you fail on the sixth, you still have success on those five, and you just have to start over on that one change rather than the whole process.

YMMV, but I would strongly advocate thinking about one REALLY small change you can make, and sticking with it for the next three weeks. Then build on that momentum. This isn't to say you can't do everything on your list, but that you'll prioritize your list, then subdivide the changes into smaller changes and knock it out over a longer period of time.

I'm still learning this stuff myself and fighting to make my own small changes, but if ever you need to talk or get support, you're welcome to pm me.