Self Improvement
A community which focusses on improving yourself. This can be in many different ways - from improving physical health or appearance, to improving mental health, creating better habits, overcoming addictions, etc.
While material circumstances beyond our control do govern much of our daily lives, people do have agency and choices to make, whether that is as "simple" as disciplining yourself to not doomscroll, to as complex as recreating yourself to have many different hobbies and habits.
This is not a place where all we do is talk about improving "productivity" (in a workplace context) and similar terms and harmful lifestyles like "grindset". Self-improvement here is intended to make you a generally better and happier person, as well as a better communist, and any other roles you may have in your life.
Rules and guidelines:
- Posts should be about self-improvement. This is obviously a wide category, and can range from advice, to finding resources, to self-posts about needing to improve in a certain area, or how you have improved, and many other things.
- Use content warnings when discussing difficult subjects.
- Do not make medical decisions solely because of a discussion you have had with any person here (e.g. whether to take or not take medications; diagnoses; etc.) as we do not vet people. All medical problems should be discussed with a real-life medical professional.
- Do not post harmful advice here. If this is seen, then please report it and we shall remove it. If you are unsure about whether it's precisely harmful advice or not but feel uneasy about it, please report it anyway.
- Do not insult other users and their lifestyles or their habits (unless they ask, I suppose). This is a place for self-improvement. Critique and discussion about a course of action is encouraged over shit-flinging. Don't talk down to people.
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The all-purpose suggestion is to make your "default options" the right choice. E.g. if I only have apples on hand, when I want to idly snack I'll eat the apple instead of going to the store for cookies. You want to expend as little willpower as possible. Habit and routine help a lot but it is difficult to build that quickly.
Last year I read The Flinch by Julien Smith, which is a shit book you shouldn't read. But it has a good concept: a built-in propensity to flinch away from difficult things that becomes a general reflex. The feeling of not wanting to get into the shower, or not wanting to get out of the shower, or not wanting to get out of bed, etc. Smith says that this is a pretty general pattern of behavior, and if you can practice pushing through the hump in one area it will extend to other areas. Personally I've noticed that my mental state before I get into a cold shower does seem similar to that before I deadlift or do some other difficult thing.
So in addition to the default options thing, I suggest you schedule one unpleasant but achievable thing in the morning. Maybe a cold shower. Anyone can start there. It can't hurt you, it just sucks. There's no reason to do it other than to prove that you can do hard things. But with that proof you will find it a lot easier to believe that you ARE a revolutionary communist and you can get shit done.
Lol, someone recommended that to me some years ago and while I still haven't read it, somewhere from it I picked up hopping into my showers before they get warm. Not all the time, especially in the middle of winter, but most of them. It's interesting how you can breathe yourself to a kind of tolerance if you just get in there and hold still under the cold. And then as soon as you move, you gotta deal with the shock again.
No go, on the rest of the book though?
the only saving grace is it's short. basically a polemic, not a lot of content. he gives stupid ass reasons for overcoming your flinch reflex, like cops and soldiers do this to make decisions quickly. meaning shooting kids lol
Well if it works for them...