I no longer smoke.
I go the gym.
I can play the keyboard.
I know your reaction dear reader. That's an impressive list. How did you accomplish these feats?
Change is a contradictory thing. It's very easy to implement and yet surprisingly difficult to sustain. Changing even the littlest aspect of your daily habit can have immeasurable differences to your life, wellbeing & happiness. Change can be thrust upon you through circumstance; losing your job, an accident or an alteration in shift pattern or it can be through conscious decision.
Conscious change is a life affirming experience.
Matt Cutts, in an excellent presentation on Ted.com decided to take the Morgan Spurlock approach (of Supersize Me fame) and try something new for 30 days.
Take something you've always wanted to add to your life and try it for 30 days. It turns out 30 days is just about long enough to add something, or subtract something from your life.
Inspired by this I did something I've always wanted to do and bought a keyboard. I rummaged around at the parents house and found my old piano notes book and set about re-learning my scales, my semi-quavers and my melodies. Reading music quickly came back to me and I've since mastered the classics such as 'What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor' and 'Old Macdonald'. 'Speed Boat' is decidedly fun to play.
This is my third such challenge and I'm two weeks in and instead of the time slipping by unnoticed, life has become memorable again. The time spent entranced infront of the PC where the hours slipped on through eternity and nothing actually happened have been replaced by quality time with my and my other keyboard.
I may yet bore of this. I may plateau and return to my old reliable friend. But that's okay. I've only committed to 30 days of keyboard playing. If at the very least I remember to play 'What Shall We Do With The Drunk Sailor' I've a new party piece.
This same technique can be used to remove the negatives. I recently quit smoking. This was achieved purely through self control, a 30 day time frame & the help of an attractive friend.
The point was made to me that on my recent trip to the States whilst on the plane I had no great mood swings, I didn't crash out or freak out. I didn't hold the plane hostage and demand a cigarette. My desire to go on holiday outweighed my desire to smoke. As such my subconscious was able to compartilize the smoking receptors & move them to the back of my mind. This brought me to the realisation that I don't need to smoke, I want to smoke.
Empowered by this I set about quitting. I enlisted the help of my beautiful work friend Simona who agreed to distract me any time I needed a smoke. The theory being smoking was a pleasant experience during my working day, as such at my regular smoking intervals rather than stepping outside into the cold I'd head over & see her. The Mrs didn't approve but the distraction worked.
But the biggest motivator for me was knowing that if in 30 days I wanted to smoke again I could. I'd not told people I'd quit permanently. Quitting permanently adds undue pressure & expectation. It sets you up to fail. Nobody likes to be a failure. I'm now 5 weeks in and feeling the benefits.
These three little changes coupled with the feeling that I've reclaimed some semblance of control over life have had an immeasurable effect. I feel more alert in the mornings waking up energized, no longer craving that first cigarette. My eating has improved & appetite increased motivated by the gym & I've generally a greater feeling of self purpose and wellbeing. I feel like I'm achieving something worthwhile learning the keyboard.
Small changes are sustainable. Make a small change today and take the 3 minutes 27 seconds to watch Matt Cutts presentation.
The next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, why not think about something you've always wanted to try & give it a shot for the next 30 days.
What will you change? Keep us updated in the journals.
I go the gym.
I can play the keyboard.
I know your reaction dear reader. That's an impressive list. How did you accomplish these feats?
Change is a contradictory thing. It's very easy to implement and yet surprisingly difficult to sustain. Changing even the littlest aspect of your daily habit can have immeasurable differences to your life, wellbeing & happiness. Change can be thrust upon you through circumstance; losing your job, an accident or an alteration in shift pattern or it can be through conscious decision.
Conscious change is a life affirming experience.
Matt Cutts, in an excellent presentation on Ted.com decided to take the Morgan Spurlock approach (of Supersize Me fame) and try something new for 30 days.
Take something you've always wanted to add to your life and try it for 30 days. It turns out 30 days is just about long enough to add something, or subtract something from your life.
Inspired by this I did something I've always wanted to do and bought a keyboard. I rummaged around at the parents house and found my old piano notes book and set about re-learning my scales, my semi-quavers and my melodies. Reading music quickly came back to me and I've since mastered the classics such as 'What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor' and 'Old Macdonald'. 'Speed Boat' is decidedly fun to play.
This is my third such challenge and I'm two weeks in and instead of the time slipping by unnoticed, life has become memorable again. The time spent entranced infront of the PC where the hours slipped on through eternity and nothing actually happened have been replaced by quality time with my and my other keyboard.
I may yet bore of this. I may plateau and return to my old reliable friend. But that's okay. I've only committed to 30 days of keyboard playing. If at the very least I remember to play 'What Shall We Do With The Drunk Sailor' I've a new party piece.
This same technique can be used to remove the negatives. I recently quit smoking. This was achieved purely through self control, a 30 day time frame & the help of an attractive friend.
The point was made to me that on my recent trip to the States whilst on the plane I had no great mood swings, I didn't crash out or freak out. I didn't hold the plane hostage and demand a cigarette. My desire to go on holiday outweighed my desire to smoke. As such my subconscious was able to compartilize the smoking receptors & move them to the back of my mind. This brought me to the realisation that I don't need to smoke, I want to smoke.
Empowered by this I set about quitting. I enlisted the help of my beautiful work friend Simona who agreed to distract me any time I needed a smoke. The theory being smoking was a pleasant experience during my working day, as such at my regular smoking intervals rather than stepping outside into the cold I'd head over & see her. The Mrs didn't approve but the distraction worked.
But the biggest motivator for me was knowing that if in 30 days I wanted to smoke again I could. I'd not told people I'd quit permanently. Quitting permanently adds undue pressure & expectation. It sets you up to fail. Nobody likes to be a failure. I'm now 5 weeks in and feeling the benefits.
These three little changes coupled with the feeling that I've reclaimed some semblance of control over life have had an immeasurable effect. I feel more alert in the mornings waking up energized, no longer craving that first cigarette. My eating has improved & appetite increased motivated by the gym & I've generally a greater feeling of self purpose and wellbeing. I feel like I'm achieving something worthwhile learning the keyboard.
Small changes are sustainable. Make a small change today and take the 3 minutes 27 seconds to watch Matt Cutts presentation.
The next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, why not think about something you've always wanted to try & give it a shot for the next 30 days.
What will you change? Keep us updated in the journals.
but will do when I can!
Stopping smoking is a strange one, it's like everyone that smokes wants you to fail. I'd also not tell people as they'll make a point of pointing out whenever you're in anything other than a brilliant mood which just wound me up!
I also still go with smoking mates outside but just have a biscuit bar or a drink to keep me going for the 5 minutes whilst they smoke. I was always more on the social side (but did smoke around 15 per day).
Among my buddies we usually try to help those who decide to quit / try.
And it wasnt hard at all. I realized I liked sober smoking way more than drunk smoking actually :D
I don't even think about quitting snus.
Perhaps you've always wanted to read more books so you set yourself the challenge of reading each night rather than watching the box. Or you cook a meal from scratch from a different country each week. Decide to have an action month & go rock climbing, go karting & sky diving.
I do find that a lot of the time I have been guilty of coasting through life. Especially when you've work / school taking up your time, you never really stop to evaluate things. Work, rest & drink on the weekends. It's almost like you're living a song from The Specials.
Or maybe you're just content with how you are so why change anything? I wanted these things. This was just one of many ways of achieving them.
In other words I'm guess you're right, there are no everyday things I'd like to chance except maybe try to find something other than gaming to do.
How do you suppose you randomly do that? Just walk up to a girl and say: "Hey, wanna be my girlfriend?"
It will take time:D And not your own will. Not a suggestion to make. And dont you think most males want to have a girlfriend of some kind :D?
And no, point is I'm not sure I'd want that unless I meet a girl worth it (perhaps, if that even exists). :)
still no idea how i was able to afford that shit, spent like 150e each month
it not only helps your health but saves you a shitload of money too!
I've been so lax on all that the last months. Feeling like crap compared to summer form.
Gotta love TED, so many great speeches :-))
not :P
You're so very wrong. Yes there's garbage on there (if anyone watched the Dutch general chap talking about how he bought a gun god help you) but I've never really noticed people pushing a product and there's some fantastic insights. From the playful (the shared experience of absurdity) to the interesting (recapcha) to how they taught rats to sniff out landmines.
It's a platform for brilliant and interesting minds to speak on their expert subject. A global classroom to instigate debate. It's like an international version of Radio 4 - yes you've got to sit through the fucking Archers every now & then but soon enough you'll be able to enjoy Material Worlds or the Museum of Curiousity. And that's what makes it worth it.
There are many many worst ways to spend 5-10 minutes of your time.
Just think of anything you've ever wanted to do, or someone you've seen & thought I wish I could do that but haven't made the time.
btw same effect was with movie editing and photoshop. from one to the next day I wanted to learn that amazing skills and it made more and more fun. now after 4 years of photoshop I can look back to some great time, motivated by my awesome experiences :)
There's a lesson to be learned, one that I will take home,
When I return to my normal reality zone,
Punk rock has the power to change the world,
It lies in every single punk rock boy and girl,
So don't let anyone tell you you're not worth the earth,
These streets are your streets, this turf is your turf,
Don't let anyone tell you that you've got to give in,
Cos you can make a difference, you can change everything,
Just let your dreams be your pilot, your imagination your fuel,
Tear up the book and write your own damn rules,
Use all that heart, hope and soul that you've got,
And the love and the rage that you feel in your gut,
And realise that the other world that you're always looking for,
Lies right here in front of us, just outside this door,
And it's up to you to go out there and paint the canvas,
After all, you were put on the earth to do this,
So shine your light so bright that all can see,
Take pride in being whoever the fuck you want to be,
Throw your fist in the air in solidarity,
And shout 'Viva la punk, just one life, anarchy'.
ppl are born with certain "pros&cons"... trying to get rid of your personal weaknesses is acting agains your nature, which is pointless, as in the end your true self will submerge
in the end, he would be brilliant, even if he wasnt billionaire... he used his "talent" to make himself succesfull...
so i would say he didnt have to change himself :S
My work is rearing children and we had some lessons on how to interact with kids. You cant really act something that you are not, children will sense it and they will never fully trust you. Some people will have a really theoretical touch and some can emphatize with the emotions of the children. Some are socially extroverted and really playful and others more introvert and pondering. Every kind of personality are needed because children are also different. It would also be really stressful and put strain on your mind and soul to try to be something that you will never be.
E: And your example about Steve Jobs kind of flew past me. He was known to be a bit of a asshole since empty pockets till the very end. :p And I guess gaining money has nothing to do with personality.
Taking opportunities is about shaping your personality to have the confidence to them. You have to be an 'alpha' character and essentially all alpha's are, is pro active. Nellie's column is about being pro active.
thinking about a change, and making it real are 2 different things... reply with contra arguments, and we can discuss it further when im sober
Ps. Quiting smoking and telling everyone is the way to go. That puts the pressure on you. Most sites I read how to quit, told that telling everyone will want you not to fail in front of everyone.
yes, wery.
if you want to be some generic cool dude go be it but dont post on the internet about your fears and dreams.
thats actually quite a sad post.
But I don't give a fuck because I'm enjoying what I do so I probably won't change that right now :)
good luck at all those "im quitting smoking&go to gym to look cool" etc etc
nellie i quit smoking last summer after i quit my previous job because me and my boss had a big disagreement.i always was a fan of gym,remember my father yelling and forcing me to make pushups when i was just a kid.changes are hard though,specially when u get used to a certain style of life,but if u change in good than is worth all the time in the world.
also a minor aspect that u did not mentioned and i think it was important for your readers would have been the change of attitude here.cause man is a complete mess
also, i began sketching around a month ago, but i've only done bits and bobs... i'll try drawing something every day for 30 days now!