Total Transformation of the Self: A Personal Challenge

I'm done sitting on the sidelines being dissatisfied with life. I'm done allowing my internal narrative to be hijacked by exterior sources. I'm done being a stimulation junkie spending all of my day logged on and tuned in or stuck inside of my own head when I should be spending my time guiding this vessel to more pleasant waters.

Areas I will be working on (basically everything):

Spiritual Understanding
Worldview Development
Moral Understanding
Intellectual Development
Authorship/Writing
Musical Abilities/Enjoyment
Community Involvement
Familial Reconnection
Friendship Development
Household Management
Physical Exercise
Dietary Habits
Sexual Conduct
Economic/Financial Issues

Things I will be foregoing:
Convenience food, binge watching television shows, long hours of video games, long hours of browsing the web (especially on quick click sites like imgur), and internet porn.

Things I will be doing:
Daily journalling, time management, setting goals, making task lists, and reviewing my progress. Setting up a calendar to write out goals on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. I will establish a schedule and guidelines to make sure that each of the above areas are included in my life so that I am not disregarding any of the core essentials. I will probably be setting up some type of internet whitelist because that seems to be my core problem.

If I am going to be on this planet, I might as well make the most of it in the most virtuous way I possibly can.

Keep us updated as to your progress!

I've wanted to do this for some time now, unfortunately the stress in my life has caused me to drink alcohol daily to stay (somewhat) sane. Student loans and entry level wages are a bitch. What sucks even more is knowing that all of the money I stress out about is fake. fiat currency. we print the #. it's about as real as "debt" from education.

That is very admirable!

How are you planning on going about implementing it in your daily life? Its, as you say, quite a few different things. I am guessing that some of them have a bit more weight than others. It can be difficult to change from one set of behaviors to another. I know that sometimes I think I can just switch out time frames, and dedicate it to something 'productive' but it always ends up a bit more complex.

a reply to: 0bservant

The stresses in life can become overwhelming at times especially when your internal narrative is stuck on loop and you just can't break free from your own voice telling you over and over again how terrible things are. So far, I've set up a google calendar which lets me set things up on an hourly basis, I found a cool site called HabitRPG which is a task/to do list that is kind of dorky, but I like it, and I set up a private blog to begin journalling. I already ate some pretzels today, so that was a negative, but I haven't been to the store yet to set myself up for this whole no convenience food hooplah, so I won't be too hard on myself about that.

I was reading this study about how the choices we make in life are really effecting our whole dopamine reward system and how it is causing real problems in all areas of modern life, not just the ones we might assume intuitively. I've been reading testimonials from people all morning who simply gave up one area of over-stimulation and were able to completely turn their lives around. I honestly think this might be a very good thing to do, and if you can set aside even 45 minutes a day simply for goal planning, journalling and self-reflection, it seems you can vastly improve your own life.

Talk to me in six months. It seems people like me who have been raised on the internet generally take four to five months for the reward system of the brain to return to a more normal state of functioning.

a reply to: Serdgiam

Well, I'm thinking about every morning making a list of tasks I need to do for the day and then tenatively filling some stuff into my google calendar. During free time, check what I have to do and do the thing I think I can achieve the most effectively at that time, and then if I hit a slump, maybe have a list of approved activities I can use to reward myself. I know when I was rehabbing from drug addiction as a teenager, they talked a lot about keeping a bag of puzzles or activities to keep your mind off of things during the hard times and trying to get yourself back on task by doing the next indicated thing. I think there is wisdom in that.

DUDE!!!!!!!!
You have just blown my mind!!!!!!

Ive just today decided after almost 7 years Im going to go back to Australia to live, Ill be home next week, tickets booked.

I today had an internal dialogue with myself that was basically the same as your OP, minus the Music and Writing part.
With that in mind I wish you all the luck in the world although I think you know its not luck, its a decision.

I plan on quitting ciggies within a week of being home so Ill post back here, check in on your progress and fill you in on mine

a reply to: IkNOwSTuff

Quitting something is very difficult, but luckily I am a master procrastinator. I've failed at quitting smoking dozens of times, so the last time I just started teaching myself to put off the cigarette for as long as I could. Cigarettes in the morning time and those while driving were the hardest to put off, but gradually I even worked myself out of those. I still have cigarettes around in case I might want one, my girlfriend still smokes, I still go to bars where smoking occurs and every once in awhile I'll take a hit off of a good hooka or vapor cigarette just for the pleasure of it. The rest of the time, I put it off. I still want a cigarette every once in awhile and I just tell myself, "In an hour," or "Maybe tomorrow," whatever feels right. We could forego judgement day itself with this simple plan, I am confident.

May I suggest you invest some time daily sitting still, noticing what is going in in your body, noticing your thoughts and the difference between your awareness and your thoughts.

Do it consistently for at least 5 mins daily, more if you like it, for a week and see if it enables all the other things on the list.

That has been my experience.

a reply to: asciikewl

Thanks. It's not just my thoughts. There's something else even beyond the narrative, a sense of reality that is automatically approving and rejecting things as real or unreal, a filter or a lens through which I see the world, and it is this sense which seems to be the wall of the real cage, or maybe it is just another layer or another trick. What reality can my awareness know if this force is constantly playing goalie with the truth?