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/alpha/ - Self-Improvement and Motivation

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File: 1413298110504.jpg (90.86 KB, 514x650, 257:325, GWyd8sE.jpg)

 No.22[Reply]

Post your favorite motivational images/quotes
6 posts and 6 image replies omitted. Click reply to view.

 No.113

File: 1417414565201.jpg (242.49 KB, 1067x1479, 1067:1479, 1411852580485-1.jpg)


 No.203

File: 1419704835386.jpg (414.32 KB, 1600x1067, 1600:1067, 1419704342287.jpg)

I like the graffiti ones.

 No.251

File: 1421213281479.jpg (31.37 KB, 714x495, 238:165, FEAR.jpg)


 No.279

File: 1423491495906.jpg (198.69 KB, 526x526, 1:1, Practice-Quotes-PRACTICE-Y….jpg)


 No.283

File: 1423702507612.png (327.3 KB, 1000x628, 250:157, url.png)




File: 1413219909203.png (31.23 KB, 661x598, 661:598, Duolingo_logo.png)

 No.14[Reply]

What languages are you learning and why?
12 posts and 2 image replies omitted. Click reply to view.

 No.202

I'd love to learn Chinese but if I do that, I'd like a recommendation for a technique from someone who learned it well. It seems like there are a lot of books and recordings out there that are part of series that are used to teach Romance or Germanic languages which don't really work when you bring them to Chinese (for example, Rosetta Stone). I've seen some good books but Chinese is obviously something you need to learn to listen to, having all those tonal cues in it. I think this would be a good choice for a language because China is becoming way more significant lately.

 No.204

>>202
I studied abroad in China for a bit. It's definitely a great language to learn for intellectual enrichment, but in practical terms whatever I learned ended up being pretty useless, and I've since forgotten most of it. Unless you plan to settle down long-term in China or do serious business there, it might not be worth the effort. I didn't want to do either so I kinda feel like I wasted my time.

It's not even like Japanese or Korean which at least seem to have the benefit of countries that export lots of entertaining movies, shows, literature, animu and all that. Chinese culture still feels pretty closed off.

 No.220

File: 1419865679785.png (156.24 KB, 860x3034, 430:1517, wTZvXZ6.png)


 No.282

File: 1423685583528.jpg (1.02 MB, 799x6222, 47:366, bCiPTU5.jpg)


 No.306

latin for religion, hawaiian for fun

german cause I took b4 in high school

french, spanish, anything else for extra reading ability




File: 1419615837252.jpg (110.66 KB, 519x652, 519:652, Shiva_meditating_Rishikesh.jpg)

 No.187[Reply]

I want to try this to see what happens. My goal right now is at least 90 days.

I'll use this thread to report on anything noteworthy that happens.
16 posts and 2 image replies omitted. Click reply to view.

 No.261

When you guys are doing this, do you have trouble sleeping? If so, I would think lack of sleep would sap your motivation more than being relaxed from masturbating.

 No.266

>>260
This makes sense... going NoPorn + NoFap was maybe too much all at once. I'll definitely try NoPorn only for a while and see what happens.

 No.272

So is anyone still giving this a go? I rebooted at the beginning of feb, So currently 7 days in.

 No.273

>>272
Yep, starting over today. I was 9 days into NoPorn but failed today.

Learning to fap without porn is not as easy as I thought it would be. Almost like some part of your brain really believes the porn women are real.

 No.277

>>273
I can recommend a good website about recovering from porn.

http://yourbrainonporn.com/



File: 1421730334615.png (39.24 KB, 600x700, 6:7, get-back-to-work-peasant[1….png)

 No.257[Reply]

A consistent problem I've had all my life is that I really, really have trouble starting things. Once I've gotten going I'm usually fine, but I usually have a huge mental block keeping from starting shit i gotta do.

I know that ultimately, I just have to force myself to start, I'm wondering if you folks have any ideas on more effectively forcing myself to start tasks and remain focused?

 No.259

>Once I've gotten going I'm usually fine

You've made this important observation and can recall it at will. If, perhaps, you want to strengthen the influence of that observation, perhaps you could make a literal list of the number of times you observe it again? Like from this point on, try to collect a hundred new examples of you getting up despite not being motivated, doing what you need to do, and finding it not such a bad thing. My guess is that you won't even get to twenty before you really get the point, but at the same time, you'll never be at the point where you don't feel like procrastinating. But that feeling might stop you less frequently. I'm pretty sure that almost everybody feels it, though.

 No.269

When I have this problem I find it helpful to break down and analyze the thing into details -- As many "steps" as it takes to get me off my ass.

Sometimes if I'm really blocked I may need to go down into excruciating detail, like "stand up..."



File: 1422594335490.jpg (891.27 KB, 1920x1476, 160:123, OxV9K7U.jpg)

 No.267[Reply]

What is the most difficult challenge you've faced so far on the road to self-improvement and becoming /alpha/?

For me it's been those times when things seem to be going great, and then shit happens and you feel like you're back to square one.

You aren't really back at square one though, you've probably made a lot of progress, but it's hard to find that motivation again when life knocks you down.

Recently I felt I was truly on the path to getting my shit together. Most of my major challenges seemed to be overcome, and things were looking up: I was exercising regularly, using the internet productively, and was on good terms with everybody in my life... then shit happened in quick succession (a death, the holidays, family drama) and I seemed to disconnect from all the progress I was making.

I stopped exercising, went back to obsessively wasting time online; shit, I even stopped brushing my teeth for a while.

I've started picking up the pieces again, but it's been a good reminder to be ready for setbacks. It could be a good idea to put plans in place for what you'll do not if but WHEN things in your life take a sudden turn for the worst and you lose your motivation... sort of like the way Batman is always ready for when shit hits the fan.

 No.268

>>267

For me, I keep track of the habits that I'd like to cultivate, and whether or not I took the action that I set out to take on any given day in a spreadsheet. Even just doing this can get you to be more observant of your habits if you do something to derive some kind of "score" from it. Just set out to increase your score. For me, if I fail on certain tasks (and my rules have gotten pretty complicated), I "fine" myself - I charge myself an amount to be deposited in this savings account that I've set aside for the event I lose my job or something, I don't allow myself to use it for anything else (and I don't even have an ATM card at that bank, making it a little more difficult to get out of it). But people often find it more motivating to keep a "score" of what they do, and you'd be surprised and how once you boil it down to a number, how much more attention you pay to it for some reason.



File: 1420175061431.jpg (32.99 KB, 291x300, 97:100, Warren-Buffetts-Ten-Rules-….jpg)

 No.227[Reply]

I don't go to Jimmy John's very often, but I did so today and was surprised to find this on the wall.

http://spearsmarketing.com/2154/warren-buffetts-ten-rules/

 No.247

File: 1420998260262.jpg (55.6 KB, 533x400, 533:400, McDonald's_Adams_Wabash_Ch….jpg)

Another example of public success teaching is the "Pyramid of Success" that's posted in the McDonald's at Adams and Wabash in Chicago (pictured). I think it may be posted in some other McDonald's as well, and they look to have invested a surprising amount of effort into a website about the person who devised it.

http://www.coachwooden.com/

You'll find a diagram of the "Pyramid of Success"

It's interesting that a lot of people who pass through that McDonald's probably live largely day-to-day and never really raise their standard of skill or success, and yet there's something of a handle to some ways of thinking that could really change things that they might look at for a while and pass on. It makes me wonder what things I don't really notice or investigate.

 No.248

>>247

I forgot to include a topic for further discussion: what other /alpha/ material have you seen in public spaces?



File: 1420910968344.jpg (3.08 MB, 800x9685, 160:1937, 1418821034829.jpg)

 No.246[Reply]

I found this info-graphic on another board and decided it would be a good start to a general weight loss thread.

Does anyone know how tripcodes work on 8chan, or if 8chan even has support for them? Maybe we could use them to post progress over time.


File: 1419626426714.jpg (120.53 KB, 900x1307, 900:1307, 1017588-goldstar-1-900.jpg)

 No.191[Reply]

Was told by some nigger to post on this board when I had my thread in /b/, so let's do this.

>inb4 an hero

>inb4 tldr

What would you do if you were me?

I'm 24 years old, was diagnosed with cancer three years ago right after my mother also had a relapse with cancer and passed away from it. Before any of that, my father had also passed away when I was 16. When my father had passed away, I missed a week's worth of school and didn't have much of an opportunity to cope with him passing. Also, with my mother I didn't have any outlet to cope with, since I had been diagnosed with cancer just a few months later after her passing.

I know that I've been affected by my parents passing and having my own battle with the disease, but I've persevered without the aid of any antidepressants and minimal exposure to therapy. I didn't have to go through any type of treatment for my cancer, but did have to go through an extensive period in where I may be at the risk of relapse; it's fine now. In the time which I'd go through these checkups, I was living with an estranged sibling and the situation there was tense enough that it resulted to me using my inheritance to live on my own.

Throughout the checkups, my mother being so sick in which I needed to be by her side until the day she passed, and going to school, I've been feeling considerably out of sync with who I was prior to all what was going on. What might have been an existential affair on the life that I was leading at the time was really just a way for me to find out who I really am. In lieu of sleeping away my life, I sought out help through psychiatry.

And here's where I am right now:
>24 going on 25 in 2 months
Post too long. Click here to view the full text.
11 posts and 8 image replies omitted. Click reply to view.

 No.218

>>217
cont.


>But here's the big "open secret" of people who accomplish a lot of things: they don't always feel motivated! I don't. I think others might chime in here and tell you the same. But here's another open secret: sometimes when you start anyways, you get motivated. And once you find out that sometimes motivation follows action, that inertia breaks. But after a while it won't matter so much if you are motivated because you'll start and get things done anyways, and it will feel better having done what you need to do afterward. And you can do things to smooth over the tedium (listen to music while you're doing chores, etcetera).


Hank's a cool guy. I was really into Black Flag growing up, especially was into Dischord Records and definitely know about how these old dudes tout their D.I.Y. lifestyles. Ian Mackaye's also a cool guy. And yes, you're absolutely right, motivation doesn't find you. Well, unless you're being faced with the real-life repercussions due to your inactivity and ineptitude, then you're certainly to get motivated. Much like I'm trying to scramble. Getting a job is something that needs to happen. Getting back in school is something that needs to happen. Paying off these bills is also that. You get my point. You're frozen in time for so long, you're suffocating.

Thanks for the reply.

Also, I know that I'm jumping the gun wanting those things right now, so I shot a few emails at some local volunteering groups to get me acclimated with being away from bed all day.

 No.219

File: 1419845041808.jpg (52.25 KB, 709x906, 709:906, PORTADA LA NAUSEA.jpg)

>>212
>>213
I'll be checking out that website to see if I'm eligible for someone under my coverage. Wound up with someone through ratemydoc.com and a slew of quacks on ZocDoc, wasn't pleasurable. I'm very much still on the fence when it comes to antidepressants. I'm worried in having an antidepressant mess with pathways that aren't related to my alleged ADD diagnosis. I'll wait for a second opinion on that one, but I'll need more convincing. Assuming, since you're versed in price brackets and types of ADs, that you're on one? How well have you tolerated the AD?

Treading back to the first post you've replied with now, your assessment had me choked up somewhat. No doubt that the episodes I've gone through have impacted me and shaped my worldview to what I'm imparting in this thread, how now I'm expecting a course with checkups at oncology and hospital visits to not wanting to participate with it at all. Tired of it all.

Where's the baggage claim in the airport terminal of life? I'm always attempting to reclaim or hold on to something, it seems. I'm not religious in any way, but I've squandered most of my rationale away by accepting the absurdity of what life throws at you, no matter how much you sleep or how much you do. I'd have to say, in the past year alone, I've made strides in continuing with life and sharing it with someone who I love more than anything else.

I just want to stand firmly on my own, beyond anything else.

 No.221

File: 1419898733226.png (44.84 KB, 2560x1600, 8:5, minimal-desktop-wallpaper-….png)

>>219
Yeah, I was on venlafaxine and it was great; had no sides. It quickly fixed my sleep schedule, which was a big source of stress for me (used to stay up late and slept all morning). I was only on it for six months, and the only thing was when I stopped I had some shivers and wooziness for a few days but it wasn't too bad.

ADs are rather weak drugs, IMO, not much better than placebo, but they're better than nothing. It's just that you need to find the right one for you. You don't have to put up with any effects you don't like, since there are so many you could try. So if one makes you too sleepy, try another on; if one makes you too anxious, try another one, and so on.

 No.240

>>219

Did you get hooked up with the therapist, OP?

 No.244

>>240
Unfortunately, no. I'm having a difficult time managing resources to pull from to get a decent therapist. I've recently started reading Albert Ellis' book recommended to me ITT. I'm not that far along into the exercises, since it took me a while to find a .pdf of the book, but from what I've read so far it seems like a practical approach to what I'm able to do this given moment.

The only other developments that I come to report with is that I'll be attempting to regulate my fatigue with modafinil and a membership to Hamplanet Fitness. We'll see how that goes until I can find a patient psychiatrist that can see to it that the medication I get is coupled with therapy, as the ones that I've been to operate as a Rx farm (my insurance isn't the best).

I'm slowly easing into reintegration, but I need to be a realist and say that things aren't going to get better unless I find a job that can help better the situation. That would also be another step towards reintegration, hopefully.

Thanks /alpha/.



File: 1419539460653.jpg (725.14 KB, 1280x905, 256:181, sylvester-435376_1280.jpg)

 No.186[Reply]

In a way, I think new year's resolutions are silly, because if you want to do something you should try to begin as soon as possible, but I do recognize that there's a certain momentum that is convenient to catch when many people around you are also trying to accomplish new things.

But I'll tell you something: I think that if you begin now, rather than a few days from now, you might be more successful.

For one, a lot of these goals require a certain amount of set-up. If you want to go to the gym regularly, there is the business of signing up, for instance. If you get this out of the way before the new year, you can hit the ground running on January 1st.

I also think that it will keep you from losing that new year's momentum. If it takes a few days past January 1st to start, you might even give up before then. So start now and even if you run into some setback before then, you can get right back up and keep going before the new year even starts.

Also, you might just be sitting around a lot the next few days anyways.

Also: this thread can serve as a new year's resolution general thread.

 No.189

File: 1419618509051.jpg (329.66 KB, 1500x844, 375:211, hxhhw94.jpg)

>>186
Well, my main goal for the new year is probably to move to a big city.

I'm conflicted though. There is not much variety, opportunity, etc. where I currently live, but it's really nice, convenient, and well... just comfortable. Moving to a big city is probably going to be a hard shock.

I think the main tasks will be to pick a place, save up enough money or line up a job, and take the leap.

 No.201

>>189

>Moving to a big city is probably going to be a hard shock.


I did this fifteen years ago and found that I liked it. (Though I do visit the suburbs occasionally.)

Something that really made me want to do it is that me and a friend who was already living there challenged each other to a long walk (we had been walking for a while and somehow it became a contest about who would want to give up the walk first, the penalty being they would have to pay the bus/train fare back home). You might find a lot of cool ground-level things to enjoy.

When I got there I found that commuting by bus and light rail allows for a lot of time to read, which was a plus.

 No.243

File: 1420595634375.jpg (38.88 KB, 389x295, 389:295, HEmf2R9.jpg)

I stopped smoking



File: 1420595391686.jpg (110.39 KB, 720x960, 3:4, Its-Dangerous-to-go-Alone-….jpg)

 No.242[Reply]

Fears. We all have em. This here is a very good introduction to facing fears using exposure therapy.

http://gettingstronger.org/2012/12/conquer-your-fears/

>Let me give an example of exposure therapy to treat a fear of snakes. If you fear snakes, you should first make a list of possible exposure experiences, and then rank these from hardest to easiest, with 100 being intolerably high fear, and 0 representing no fear at all...


If you make a list for any particular phobias, feel free to share them, or we can help each other come up with possible actions if we're stuck.

 No.311

I fear hell

the solution is moar prayer




File: 1420306373992.jpg (1.06 MB, 3543x2362, 3:2, minimalism.jpg)

 No.234[Reply]

http://thelala.com/minimalism-2015-resolution/

I'd heard the personal-finance concept of "minimalism" a few times in the last year or two, but haven't really looked at it too far in depth other than some writing by Aaron Clary in Bachelor Pad Economics. The link leads to a list-style treatment.

 No.241

I really enjoyed this article linked at the end of that one, "The Buy Nothing Year":

http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2014/08/20/the-buy-nothing-year-how-two-roommates-saved-more-than-55000/



File: 1417097293324.png (18.38 KB, 278x68, 139:34, xlogo4.png.pagespeed.ic.BL….png)

 No.107[Reply]

Bloody brilliant recent article at Return of Kings. This one is a must read:

http://www.returnofkings.com/48800/why-completion-is-better-than-sex

 No.109

I like the article, but I was expecting from the title that he was going to actually compare, say, the physiology of achievement and sex. I've heard the idea that achieving tasks releases endorphins, and I'd believe that it at least feels very good, but I've never seen a citation back to the research that produced it.

 No.222

File: 1419969117774.jpg (30.7 KB, 620x350, 62:35, xwoman_men_find_attractive….jpg)

http://www.returnofkings.com/51599/how-to-free-yourself-from-the-need-for-women

Another great article. Reminds us that one gets into trouble when you think you neeeed a woman. All you really need is air, water, and food.

 No.224

ROK are you shilling us with your articles?

Good title idea, let's add more ideas from what the article suggests though

 No.228

>>224

I'm not the board owner, nor the person who posted the Return of Kings article (or the one on the other thread where you ask someone if they are a shill), but I really don't have a problem with people "shilling" as you call it. People make money by spreading ideas, so what. They didn't have to spread them if they didn't want to, but they did, and I don't mind people getting something for it. I think everyone knows that there's no stopping the owner of a site from posting what amounts to an ad, but there's plenty of space here to evaluate what they are promoting as well.

 No.231

File: 1420252331412.jpg (24.89 KB, 499x496, 499:496, 1413329630022.jpg)

Why on earth would Return of Kings be shilling here?

Anyway, I think we should do a "best of" of ROK articles. There are so many. Got any favorites? Post them here.



File: 1413955368034.jpg (12.15 KB, 348x180, 29:15, Blog-348x180.jpg)

 No.47[Reply]

http://www.dangerandplay.com/

Recently discovered this blog, going to post articles I like.
2 posts and 2 image replies omitted. Click reply to view.

 No.66

File: 1415143957489.jpg (61.3 KB, 1280x720, 16:9, maxresdefault.jpg)

I particularly want to highlight this one where he shows what to do with your posture when life slaps you down:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aImZxrkWnI

 No.71

>>66
there's something fishy and/or jewish about this faggot...
i'm not sure if it's the lisp, the fact that he has the same sock-puppets agreeing with him on everything, that he used "Is the Law of Attraction Real?" as a vidya title where he basically promotes becoming a narcissist & created a purported "troll" vidya discrediting TRT... still, his advice about posture, breathing & developing a no-fucks-given attitude is quite helpful.
nice dubs btw bb

 No.80

File: 1415643905846.jpg (4.12 KB, 232x199, 232:199, xchest-doorway_stretch_awa….jpg)

Holy shit the posture exercises work. I'm standing taller and feeling better and it's only been about a week.

Here is another exercise I saw on Return of Kings, the door frame stretch:

>inside of a doorframe with your palms holding the sides of the frame, and then leaning forward and holding that position for at least 30 seconds.

 No.83

Mike is one of THE guys to go to for self improvement. When you hear his voice and look at the guy you think it's some kind of set up, but he's as real as they come. The dude even got swept up in the GamerGate craziness (based lawyer as he was called) where he got doxxed. I'm not on board with a lot of his spiritual stuff, but the man knows self control. He has my recommendation.

 No.226

boldanddetermined.com



File: 1415852016643.jpg (48.77 KB, 500x500, 1:1, artworks-000067535957-3m53….jpg)

 No.82[Reply]

If y'all aren't looking into Christian McQueen, you're doing yourselves a disservice. This man knows what's up and like any good mentor he isn't anonymous. I've been reading his stuff for a while, and I'm a poster in their forum. Go check him out and discuss what you find here! Get laid, get paid.
2 posts omitted. Click reply to view.

 No.86

>>85

I will check it out, though.

 No.92

>>82
Thanks for the recommendation; I'll check out some of his posts and post any I like here for discussion/sharing.

 No.102

but god doesnt exist B)

 No.225

link? and is this just shilling for the site?

 No.312

>>102

“God’s existence can be known with certainty by the natural light of reason” -Pope St. Pius X




File: 1418961582748.jpg (383.63 KB, 1312x1074, 656:537, IPod_5G,_nano_2G,_shuffle_….jpg)

 No.171[Reply]

Which /alpha/ podcasts do you listen to?

 No.223

OP here.

I started listening to the 5by5 podcast called "Grit", which covers things like starting your own business or moving ahead in your career, particularly in the technology sphere. It used to be called "Quit" as in "quit your job and work for yourself".

http://5by5.tv/quit

>inb4 Brianna Wu was a guest on one of the shows


Yes, I know this. And I was surprised to hear Brianna espousing a policy of not apologizing for having the advantage of decent parental financial support. A lot of what was said didn't really jibe with the SJW mentality concerning privilege, to be honest. I was surprised. It didn't sound like the same person that would do things like label 8chan a "hate site" or antagonize people on Twitter for "mansplaining", which was odd. I wonder how people can be fairly rational when dealing with work and then go act differently in another context.



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