#i've started the habit of just writing out the month instead of using the number

[waitineedaname]

the USA gets a lot of shit for not using the metric system and celsius like most of the rest of the world, but I think whatever Canada is doing is worse. distance and speed is measured in kilometers, but people's height is measured in feet and inches. food is measured in grams, but a person's weight is measured in pounds. the temperature outside is Celsius, but the temperature in your oven is Fahrenheit. and don't even get me started on how calendar dates are written.

[negrek]

Twenty Years of Pokéfic

As of today, October 4th, I've been publishing fanfiction online for twenty years! I specify "publishing" and "online" since I technically started writing it many years earlier, before I technically knew what it was, primarily for school assignments. And even then I'm not being totally accurate, since I published some fic on the website of the Neopets Pokemon Guild even earlier than I got started on FFN, but all that's long, long vanished from the internet, and I have no idea of the date on it, other than it was probably in the summer.

So: October 4th, 2004, the day I started publishing The Ninetales' Curse on FFN. I banged out 55k words over the course of about a month and a half, writing a thousand or two words every night after dinner. It's a habit and a mindset I could no doubt benefit from getting back to, tbh.

Although I already had plans for a series of epic interconnected Pokémon fanfics at the time I started posting that first one, I definitely had no idea where that first step would take me. (Not into publishing my series of epic interconnected Pokémon fanfics, as it happens.) I've had an incredible amount of fun, learned a ton, and met lifelong friends as a result of making up stories about magic monster fights and sharing them on the internet. It's wild to think that a small number of you were actually there for the beginning in 2004. Thanks to everyone who's been part of my writing journey so far, whether I've known your for one month or 240. I owe a great deal of my growth not just as a writer, but as a human being, to the Pokémon fanfic community. It's been a fantastic ride, and I'm looking forward to another twenty years!

I did have something I've been working on to release to celebrate today, but in the end it's not quiiiiite as baked as I liked. I considered publishing anyway and then releasing a cleaner version later, but since this is a deadline that literally no one is even aware of but me... I decided I'd give it a bit more time in the oven instead. ;) Next Friday, then!

Here's to another twenty years of Pokéfic! I shudder to think of what nonsense Gamefreak will have given us to work with by then. But that's part of the fun, of course!

[nychthemeron-rants]

TW: Talks of weight loss and (injection) weight loss drugs, gastrointestinal distress of all flavors (see tags) No Images, Just Text

My experience on weight loss drugs so far: 2 weeks in

Firstly, I'm writing this as a journal for myself and partly to give my honest experience on it in case anyone else was considering it. I know that this is not the right call for everyone for a large number of reasons, and I'm a strong supporter of body positivity. I'm doing this because weight loss felt right for me, and after talking to my doctor, we agreed this would be a good way for me to do that. My only hope in sharing this is that someone who was already considering or curious about these medications can see what starting out looks like.

So I just did my 3rd injection of semiglutides (the active ingredient in Ozempic and wegovy for weight loss), and it's been a trip. It's too early to actually see any results, but I've definitely noticed the differences.

I can only eat one actual meal a day, one small meal, and a snack, which is fine, if a bit annoying. I've had to start packing tiny lunches for work because if I make too big of a sandwhich, I won't want dinner then have like a pb&j at 10 pm. And I hate having my most substantial meal of the day being the one I eat at work.

Another annoying thing I've noticed is that because I'm not hungry very often, I've not had the energy to make myself a real meal. I've been living on peanut butter, chips, and easy heat meals because I dont have the willpower to make good food if I'm not hungry for it. (Probably an adhd problem being made worse). But I'm actively working on balancing out my diet again, so I am getting veggies and fruit, at least.

That being said, I dont crave sweets nearly as much. Dont get me wrong, I still want them (and eat them), but its easier for me to go without if I'm too full instead of pushing myself beyond what's comfortable. (It also helps that I learned the hard way what happens if I DO push myself beyond my appetite. Dessert stomach no longer exists.)

I've still been eating whatever I want, but paying extra attention to protein and water as that's what my doctors told me to do. However, my tastes have changed slightly. Some foods simply dont sound as good anymore, and others are always good (for me, its that eggs are no longer that appealing, and peanut butter is an always safe food).

I will say, I got nausea meds with my prescription, and I am VERY glad I got them. I typically get nauseous on new meds, but in two weeks, I've had to use 3 or 4 nausea pills because I felt like I was going to be sick. Also, until you get used to it (about a week), your stomach will be unsettled, and the bathroom may become your friend for a while (going down, not up). Over eating beyond being full will result in diarrhea, as gross as that is, but I've only experienced that once.

Overall, its been a big change but its definitely making a difference in my eating habits and I am excited to see the difference in 5 months!

[serenityseventeen]

Love & Letter: To The Thirteen Boys I've Loved Before

The Second Letter

----------------

To: Yoon Jeonghan

From: Y/N

Dear Jeonghan,

I hope everything's going well with you, wherever you are. I'm writing you a letter without knowing where you are so even if I did ever decide to send this letter, I wouldn't know where to mail it.

Are you doing well? Why don't you call me? Contact me somehow? Why don't you say something to me? Don't you have anything you want to say to me? Oh right, you don't have my number. I don't know any of your social media accounts and you don't know any of mine. I can search on Facebook for you, through a thousand different “Yoon Jeonghan” profiles, but what would be the point?

Actually, I'm angry with you. I'm really angry and I'm a bit heartbroken too because you just took my heart and left.

Why didn't you tell me beforehand?

I waited for you to return. I spent the rest of my freshman year waiting and I even waited through my summer break, hoping that maybe you'd come back or send a letter. School starts in a month and you still aren't here. I don't know what I feel toward you anymore because you're gone. Do I love you since I'm angry at you like this?

From the first day we met, I could tell we didn't match. I don't even know why you pursued me. You joined the basketball team and whenever you had games, you wanted me to come to watch. I didn't know why so I refused the first few games.

We had many classes together, you know that. Did you use the advantage of being in the same classes as me to try to get to know me? What were your intentions when you asked me if I had lunch? Why did you always ask my friends if I was eating well?

I have so many questions I'm dying to ask now that you're gone. One day you were laughing, joking with me while I watched you practice basketball and the next day you suddenly disappeared. One day of absence turned into months, then half a year. I didn't want to ask but I was dying to know.

Then, the answer finally came.

You moved?

Why didn't you tell me anything?

I thought we were developing something special, was that only me? I thought that you liked me, that's why you did so many things to me, making my heart race and pound. Am I wrong?

If I am wrong, why did you do it?

Maybe I'm completely getting the wrong idea and the sudden move wasn't your fault. I bet that it wasn't your fault. I'm just angry that you didn't inform me. Not everyone moves houses in one day, it takes a lot of planning, doesn't it?

Now I'm just left here, confused.

Now I'm just left here, reminiscing about my second love that disappeared. I'm still remembering the first day we met when you bumped into me at the stairs and held me to keep me from falling backward.

Jeonghan, just, where did you go?

I know this message will never reach you anyway, anyhow, so I'll tell you this much.

Because of you, I changed. Hanging out around a mischievous guy like you made me pick up your habits. Before I knew it, I was playing small pranks on my dad and enjoying it, just like when you and I teamed up to prank the gym teacher into thinking that he had sat on a freshly painted bench. I can still remember how long I laughed because of it.

I still have the pen that you forgot when you were here to study with me. My father constantly asks me where you are and I always reply that I don't know because I don't know.

You came by twice every week for three months because you wanted me to tutor you. I don't know if I became a sheep to you but even though I knew you were gifted intelligent, I tutored you anyway. Jeonghan, you were one of those people who didn't need to study to ace a test. Even your methods of trickery are intelligent.

So as I reminisce, I also wonder why you would do something like that if you didn't like me. You were the one who told me that all men act like this, wanting to be around someone, making up excuses to stay close, and doing things they won't normally do if they like someone. Was that all a trick, Jeonghan?

Not only did you study with me but you studied the times that my dad was gone and came by when he wasn't here. You were respectful toward my dad and kind too, so I wondered how you could have such a naughty nature but at the same time be so caring.

It was one of those days when my dad went to work that you came over. Look, I was so confused that's why I kept stuttering. I knew that you weren't supposed to be at my house at that time of night so we stayed on the porch, gazing at the fallen sky. What were you thinking about? You stared for a long time and didn't say a word. It was the middle of winter too and you came by with your hands tucked in your puffy black jacket with your nose cutely red. You remember this night, don't you? If you don't, I'd go even more nuts than I did.

Why did you kiss me that night?

I mean, we weren't even talking, just gazing at the sky where stars were barely visible. Then all of a sudden, you said, “Look at me.”

I turned to you and then all of a sudden, you kissed me. I honestly didn't expect to get a kiss this early in my life and for it to be from you, the second love who disappeared, I can't be any more disappointed.

Jeonghan, the thief.

Your lips were cold at first but then they grew warm. I'm also sorry if I didn't know how to kiss. I just went with the flow and followed the way your thin lips moved against mine. Your hand also touched my neck as you kissed me, I could still feel the warmth of it lingering on my skin.

After you left that night after kissing me quietly, making my heart burn in the cold night, you stroked my hair. I ran inside my room and rolled on my bed, wanting to scream on my bedsheets because my lips have finally been pressed against another man. A boy that I liked at that.

How about you?

Do you think about that night at all?

It was about two days before you moved away.

Strangely, the next days, you continued to talk to me as if you didn't kiss me the days before. I was confused but since I was naive, I just believed that's how it went for everybody.

Also, because of that kiss, I began to notice your gaze. Maybe I could have noticed something in those two days before your departure. I just remember seeing you gazing at me with different eyes. I want to believe that you had fallen for me, but because of you, I'm being delusional like this.

The only way to know is when you finally decide to speak it true somewhere and it reaches me.

In this letter to you, I just can't help expressing the emotions I'm feeling. I have nowhere else to rant and I need you to know about my feelings though you'll never receive this letter.

Gosh, writing this letter makes me remember the weekend that you took me biking on a couple bicycle. Why did you ask me to go with you when you were leaving the next day? It's not like you at all. Knowing you for those short six months, you would have just told me with a pitiful face, “I'm going to move.”

Instead, you kissed me and decided to take me biking. I can still remember that grin on your face when you came to my house and said, “Hop on, Y/N.”

The wind that hit my face that day was amazing and my heart was racing just to have my hands around your waist.

Because of you, I became rebellious for the first time. I never disobeyed my father. He told me to go buy groceries that day and I went on a bike ride with you, enjoying the chilly winter breeze and ditching groceries. When we arrived at the basketball court, I watched and played a bit of basketball with you. Do you know what that means, Jeonghan?

Were you aware this whole time of my feelings? I know you can read other people's expressions well.

I can't understand you, Jeonghan. I don't think I ever will unless you come back and tell me.

I won't believe what any of your friends say even if it's the only source I have. ‘You moved away because a different high school was giving you bigger opportunities’, how am I supposed to believe that? In the middle of the school year?

Now, all I can do is sigh.

I won't wait for you anymore. That's why I'm just going to leave it. I loved you. Now, you're just one of the boys I've loved. I'm not going to spend the rest of my summer waiting to find a needle in a haystack.

I'll remember how I loved you. I'll remember how you changed me. I'll remember how loving you changed me.

I'll wonder sometimes about what we could have been if you didn't leave. If you didn't leave, I think I would have still been in love with you. Now, I'm pretty sure I would still be in love with you, at least for a little longer.

Please, send me a letter.

I know the chances are low.

I'm still angry at you for not telling me. If you did like me and think you did it for our own good, you're wrong. At least I wouldn't have had to wait and worry for the weeks that you disappeared that your life's clock stopped ticking. If you did tell me beforehand, I would have known that you'd be fine and that you were just moving away.

Did you have no faith in us?

Or did you really find a better opportunity in a better high school somewhere far away?

I'm still angry.

Is this what you call ‘the one that got away’?

Anyway, I don't love you now, but if you come back, I might again. I can't make up my mind.

I miss you, Jeonghan.

Sincerely,

Y/N

-------------------

© serenityseventeen

6/18/21 - 9:51 pm

a/n: SEVENTEEN back on Instagram?? Seungcheol, Minghao, Vernon, Joshua, and Seungkwan posted today/yesterday. I didn't even notice WOOZI changed his profile picture. Also, I find Seungkwan and Seungcheol so funny...

SC: you are my escape

SK: you are my s.coups

But yay? Seventeen is back on Instagram!

[islamicrays]

ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ‎ I'm sorry to ask something while it's Eid celebrations. I've been in a relationship and have become vulnerable. I have broken up but sometimes we still talk. I am scared. I don't know how to stop. I have even spoken haram with some people online. I am very guilty and scared. I feel like my istigfar is fake. I want to erase the past but I know I can't. People think good of me, but I've been bad online. How should I stop?I have betrayed my future spouse! How to purify? Sorry

Walaikum Assalaam,

Cut off your contact with him. If you can't get married then stay away from each other. Distract yourself and work on your relationship with Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala. Do productive things that will help you in the hereafter as well. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has already written our spouse name. It’s just matter of time. So don’t compromise your values and lead a life pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Abstain from haram relationships. If something is meant for you then you will eventually get in halal way in shaa Allah. We are not perfect and we may make mistakes so rectify it and try your best to abstain from haram.

First we need to attach ourselves to Allah then we can easily detach from others. We need to balance the love of Creator and the Creation. Keep the love of the creation in your hand and the love of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala in your heart that’s difficult to do but with time you will learn. For this we need to make dua and love for the sake of Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala

“Call on your Lord when your heart is brittle, that is a time when it’s in pieces and the Light of Allah can fill the gaps. That is why Allāh is with the broken hearted.”

-Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

“The fastest way to heal a broken heart is to find someone better to love, and love more. Know that sometimes heartbreak happens just to push you to Allah.”

-Yasmin Mogahed

Fix your prayers and ask Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala for the help. Always remember that Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala plans are better than our wishes. Make lots of dua and while asking Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala always say “if it’s good for me” because we don’t know what’s good for us only Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala knows.

“But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.” (Quran 2:216)

Advice from Hadia Alia on moving from a ex boyfriend

“Moving on from an ex-boyfriend can sometimes be very complex. Every situation is uniqe and will require different actions. Here are a few tips to get over him:

Cry. It is ok to cry if you want as it feels better when you let all the emotions out instead of keeping them bottled up inside you forever.Talk to someone you trust. Sometimes you just need someone to listen rather than offer advice. Even you cannot understand why it happened, talking about it can help you accept that the relationship is over.Get the help you need. A breakup can have serious negative effects on your mental and physical well-being, especially if you find that you are still dwelling on it months later. Breakups have been associated with weakened immune systems and an increased risk of illness. People who have not gotten over a breakup within 16 weeks can even experience physical changes in their brains that reduce their motivation, concentration, and emotions. A therapist can help by listening to you, encouraging you to confront your feelings, and teaching you new ways to do with your pain.Remind yourself to let go. There are variety of behavioral techniques you can try to stop thinking about your ex. All of these techniques rely on your ability to recognize when a thought about your ex enters your mind and to take a specific action to stop that thought from coming back. Remember that these techniques are to be used for obsessive thoughts only! If you have not yet dealt with your feelings and taken the time to grieve, you should not try to suppress your thoughts.

– You can try wearing a rubber band around your wrist and snapping it each time you think about your ex.

– You can write down the thoughts you are having about your ex on a piece of paper and then throw it away.

– You can try a visualization exercise, which requires you to visualize a specific scene whenever a thought of your ex occurs to you. For example, you could think of a stop sign in order to remind yourself that you need to stop what you are doing. If you do this consistently, the association should become automatic.

Focus on taking care of yourself. In order to boost your mood, it’s important to practice healthy habits. Make sure you exercise regularly and get plenty of sleep. Committing yourself to a healthy lifestyle will not only make you feel good, but it may just offer you the escape you need from thoughts about your ex

– Start praying five times. It will help you to regain your positivity and let go of the stress associated with your breakup.

Remember, you are strong and can get over him if you really want to.”

Always remember this:

“No amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of worrying can change the future. Go easy on yourself for the outcome of all affairs is determined by the decree of Allah. If something is meant to go elsewhere, it will never come on your way, but if it is yours by destiny, from you it cannot flee.”

-Umar ibn al Khattab (Radi Allahu Ta’ala Anhu)

On healing broken hearts:

If you are trying to get over a person you can’t be with, treat it like an addiction:

1. Cut yourself off from the drug completely: Cut off all communication and reminders–even if that means blocking numbers, emails, a Facebook profile, and stop checking their Facebook! This is your detox.

2. Replace it with something better: Increase in your thikr (remembrance of Allah) and get closer to Allah. If you aren’t praying your daily prayers, fix that. Pray all and pray on time. Pray qiyam in the last third of the night (just before fajr). Make duaa, tawbah (repentance), cry, plead to Allah. This is your treatment.

(Yasmin Mogahed)

Unlawlful love before marriage…

Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah (rahimahullah) mentions in regards to unlawful love before marriage (i.e. haram sexual relations, or love for someone who you are unable to marry).

“And the cure for this deadly illness (i.e. unlawful love before marriage) is for the person that is afflicted to realise that this love is only due to his/her own delusions and ignorance.

So upon such a person is to first and foremost strengthen their Tawheed and reliance upon Allah, and secondly to increase in worship and busy themselves with it, so much so that they do not have any spare time letting their minds wander and think about their beloved.

And they should call upon Allah to protect them and save them from this evil, just as Prophet Yusuf called upon Allah and he was saved. And they should do as he did, be as he was, in terms of ikhlaas (sincerity) and remembering Allah in abundance.

This is because if the heart is filled with ikhlaas for the sake of Allah, there will be no space left for any unlawful love to be present, rather this only happens to a heart that is empty and has no ikhlaas whatsoever.

And let such people remind themselves that whatever Allah has decreed for them is only in their own best interests, and when Allah commands something it is never to cause harm or misery to His slaves.

And let them also remind themselves that their unlawful love does not benefit them, neither in this world or the hereafter! As for this world then they will be so preoccupied with their love that it will cripple them and will cause them to live in a fantasy world. And as for the hereafter then it will cause them to be preoccupied with the love of the creation instead of love for the Creator!

These people need to be reminded, that the one who is submerged in something will never see it’s ill effects, neither will the person who has never experienced such things. The only people who will be able to relate to them are those who have experienced the same thing but have been saved. Such people can look back and realise how evil it is.”

I hope it will be helpful. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide us all to the straight path. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant you a righteous spouse who will be the coolness of your eyes.

Allahumma Ameen

[rahabs]

How are you staying active during quarantine? I just tipped into 180lbs, highest I've ever been, and I'm getting really depressed about it 😔 I've only gained about 7-8 pounds due to the quarantine, but back in January I was at 163, and I'm really struggling with the fact that I'm back up again after how hard I've been working. It feel like I can't get the weight to stay off, now esp. (Sorry for the mini rant, but I actually followed you Bc of your fitness posts, I appreciate them a lot

Many hugs to you, Anon, and there is no need to apologise 🖤  You are definitely not alone.  I have also been struggling a lot with my weight recently (I have deliberately been putting on muscle, about 25lbs of it, but it is still a struggle to do so and to feel sometimes like my work getting down from 210lbs is being reversed--I am up to 145-150lbs myself, even though I still fit most all of my clothes from when I was 122lbs), but please do not be too hard on yourself!  Some of that weight gain might be muscle, but I understand how frustrating and demoralising it can be nonetheless, I really do.  Like... I really, really cannot emphasise enough how much I understand and how much I get what you’re going through right now, and I wish with all my heart that you weren’t going through it, because it hurts and it makes you just feel awful and so I am really and truly wishing you all the best right now, but also I have the utmost faith in you and despite the setback it is nothing that you cannot fix going forward 🖤

To answer your question, I’ve been doing a mix of things, but the two biggest things for me are that I built myself a routine, and I try to just walk everywhere that I can.  Also, I track in an app called MyFitnessPal, because I need to hold myself accountable.  The gyms in my city have recently opened back up and I have usually been going five times a week (reduced capacity and you can only go for an hour, but I use every second of that hour because cardio is how I best manage OCD/PTSD/anxiety, and I love love love seeing some beloved familiar strangers at the gym--we all wave happily to each other, since we tend to book the same time slots 🖤), but before they opened up my biggest friend was just walking.  I have a lot of joint issues due to my improperly healed torn hip flexor and my former obesity, so I can’t run, but you don’t need to run.  Walking is your best friend.  Or even household chores.  I used to work for a landscaping company, so when I can I will help with the yardwork (even though I dislike it--I try to find ways to make it more fun, and I genuinely enjoy being out in the sun, so there’s that at least).  I make sure things stay tidy, I’ve been writing a lot and trying to see friends when I can, or get out to hike in the mountains.  If I go grocery shopping and I’m waiting in a line, sometimes I’ll lazily bicep-curl my grocery bags.  I’ll walk to the mailbox, I’ll walk through the neighbourhood, I’ll walk to the grocery store or to the nearest gas station.  My dogs are old so I cannot walk them anymore, especially since we are under a heat wave, but I’ll get up and play with them.  Bottom line: if I could find somewhere to walk and an excuse to walk there, I would.  When I couldn’t, I would sit down and exercise by following my favourite home workout YouTube channel.  (Seriously, she is amazing; I’ve followed her for years, since her channel was just starting out.  I just got a half-sleeve tattoo and cannot use a lot of gym equipment at the moment so I have gone back to her videos, as she provides a lot of modifications and alternatives and just so many good at-home exercises that you don’t need any fancy equipment for.)

The routine is the most important part, though.  I need structure, and if I have structure I find that I am less likely to binge, because my brain won’t freak out as much (whether out of boredom or something else).

You might know this already but I’m a (recovering) binge-eater and I also eat when bored or stressed, so I’ve just been trying to occupy myself with things other than food.  I had a really bad spot for awhile where I was doing really, really poorly in that department an binged every day, but I finally put my foot down last week and this is the longest that I’ve been binge-free in months.  I also have BDD, which I am working on (hard going when my attempts to ask the people around me for help often fall on deaf ears).

I think it’s important to realise that fitness and weight loss isn’t always linear.  There will be times where you falter and stumble and when that happens it’s important not to punish yourself--instead just accept and acknowledge that it’s happened and adapt for the future.  Like a little AAA battery!  Bodies are also weird, and sometimes they react to things strangely.  I’m not a professional in any way, but since working to put on some muscle I have noticed that women’s bodies at least like... they are strange things sometimes.   And I know it sounds weird, but try not to put too much emphasis on a number on the scale.  I’m not saying “get rid of the scale!” or “smash the scale!” or anything silly like that because I think to some people having the scale is really important, so long as it doesn’t become something obsessive you fixate on (I have severe OCD, professionally diagnosed, so easier said than done, but it’s doable by adding it to the routine and picking one day a week where I check in), but make sure it doesn’t become a focal point of your weight loss.

Instead, just notice how your clothes are fitting.  If you have body tape, you can use that too.  Pick a favourite pair of jeans and just see how they fit over time, or a favourite bra, or something that doesn’t stretch as easily as yoga pants.  Again, some of your recent weight gain might actually be muscle mass, especially if you aren’t noticing a lot of change in how your clothes from January fit.  When I first hit 145lbs when I was first losing the weight, I didn’t look like I do at my current 145-150lbs, after having got down to 120 and then making the decision to put some muscle back on.  Save for some jean shorts that I bought at my lowest weight, because I build thick muscles in my thighs, I still fit all the clothes I bought and wore at 120lbs--including my fitted dresses, my Stampede jeans, most of my bras, and the pair of “check Lulus” I bought because those things are without mercy.  I also have a couple really good friends I check in with who know me and who I can trust to tell me the truth when I cannot perceive it myself.  And, when I’m being honest with it (which I am trying really hard to be again), I have MyFitnessPal, which has been with me through thick and thin.

If you can, I would recommend a good fitness tracker, too.  Fitbit is really good and user-friendly.  I have a Garmin now, because Fitbit doesn’t make adult watches or watch bands small enough for my ridiculous baby bird wrists, but I had my Fitbit for years before that and it saw me through the vast majority of my weight loss/fitness quest.  It can be very helpful to just help you gauge where you are; most people grossly overestimate how active they actually are, and if you’re up for it, a tracker can be helpful in giving you empirical data from which you can base some better decisions around.

And just do you best to stay active.   I do not know if you have any gyms where you live or if they’re open, but I would really recommend getting a membership, though I totally understand that gyms are not for everyone.  If not, I really do recommend checking out that youtube channel I linked (Koboko Fitness), and just doing your best to walk wherever there’s the option to walk (and it won’t cause undue hardship/pain/etc).  Lift some boxes around the house.  Turn doing the dishes into a stretching exercise.  If you’re familiar with yoga, do yoga (I do not because I am not familiar with it and it can be dangerous to people like me with joint issues to start if you don’t have anyone around who can tell you if you’re doing it right, but my younger sister is working on a cert and she does yoga daily, even with the baby bump).  Many gyms are offering online classes right now too, including the gyms I go to (GoodLife Fitness in Canada), so they can be worth checking out too!

But also just know you’re not in that boat alone.  Many people are struggling right now, including myself, so if you ever need to chat my inbox and my DMs are always open (and I can toss my Discord handle out too if that helps), because a support system can really make all the difference.  I never had one for the longest time, and so when I fell back on old, bad habits it took me awhile to pull myself out of it (again).  I really can talk about this forever but I will stop myself now because I am a chatty cathy but!  Please feel free to send messages whenever you want, Anon, and please be kind to yourself!  I know it’s scary and I know it’s disappointing because I have been there many a time but you can do this, I believe in you!  You’ve had a setback but it isn’t anything that can’t be fixed/corrected and I have faith that you will be able to get back on the proverbial horse and mow down Alexander’s armies in a way that would make the Achaemenids proud 🖤 I hope this helped in some way and that I was able to answer your question!

[chickenisamazing]

The more I do this, the uglier it gets, but it's okay because I think I've mostly figured out how I want to journal and how to use the space in this notebook since I switched from my dot grid to these lined notebooks that I have lying around that I got for free and accumulated over the years. Because of the number of pages, I'm gonna have to use two notebooks this year, and this one is already smaller than last year's notebook, but the second notebook for this year is gonna be even smaller, so it's a process figuring out the right layout. I realize no one cares about this and it's long so the rest is under the cut [[MORE]]

Basically how I have my journal set up currently is:

I skipped the first few pages in case I decide I want an index (I probably won't)

I have my pre-planning spread which is a spacing guide on the left and a journal format brainstorm on the right

I have a future log/year at a glance that takes up four pages/two spreads where I drew out the little calendars for the year and a blank column under each month and whenever I have an event I put it in, so the events won't be in order but I don't care tbh

I have my monthly spread which I changed from last month: last month I had just the calendar on one spread and the next spread was monthly notes on one side and trackers on the right. However, because of the size of the notebook, that space wasn't being efficiently used. This is what it looked like

So I just decided to combine the two so now my monthly spread includes the trackers in the calendar and the notes next to the calendar, since I don't use the monthly notes much anyway. Idk if I like the habit tracker layout bc it's not as good visually but it's a lot easier to actually fill out since I just have to circle the letter instead of trying to figure out how to draw rectangles the right size and space on half a line in a ruled notebook so maybe I'll actually use it this month. Tbh the trackers are only important for prayers and I didn't use them last month but I used them pretty religiously ;) last year, and with the other stuff I generally write about them in my weekly logs if I did them but I thought I'd try including them in my trackers just to see if I could use them.

My weekly spreads are the same as last year's, I write my events with circular bullets and I jot down any brief notes about the day or things I did with dashed bullets. Only difference really is that last year I attempted to be colorful and decorative with my spreads (which didn't work bc I'm not a creative person lmao) so this year all my spreads are looking basically the exact same and I'm liking it this way. I like the simplicity of doing everything with just a black felt tip pen (and a white gel pen for when I mess up and have to scribble things out like in the first pic lol).

Just like last year, after each weekly log I have my weekly notes which, also like last year, are completely undecorated and just say "WEEKLY NOTES" at the top. I use this for to do lists mostly but also anything else I feel like writing; it's the "everything notebook" part of this journal.

I don't really plan to have any other kinds of spreads but that can change of course if I feel like it. Last year I would start them and not really use them (except for a couple of important ones but I'll just refer back to the old notebook for those) so I prefer just writing everything in the weekly notes section.

I feel like I do actual journaling here bc I just make personal posts about my thoughts and feelings all the time and all my productivity in my notebook and I just think it's funny bc I feel like most people prefer to do productivity stuff digitally and journaling analog but I'm the opposite, mostly bc I feel like my hands when I'm writing can't catch up to my brain and so writing becomes a chore. That's why I'm glad I started writing bullet points about my day in my weekly log, it's much more manageable and if there's anything I really want to remember I can just write it without worrying about capturing the moment and stressing about language. I know like my preference for analog productivity and digital journaling isn't unique obviously but I still do think it's kind of funny bc I'd have thought it'd be the opposite.

On an slightly unrelated note, I haven't been using google calendar much lately and I've been relying on my notebook but that's not good, I need to have things in both places to feel like I know what's going on. I think it's mostly because of the Bangladesh trip tbh but also since I graduated I feel like I've been falling off of using google calendar, but it's still what I use when I make appointments esp when I'm out and about, so I need to use it more regularly so I don't miss out on stuff.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

I'VE BEEN PONDERING USES

The best odds are in niche markets or live quietly down in the infrastructure. Prestige is like a disk crash, except that your data is handed to someone else instead of being a novelist is not enough; you have to charm them. If you work too long on tedious stuff, it will at least encourage a habit of frugality. I came up with was: someone who doesn't expend any effort on marketing himself. At Viaweb, software included fairly big applications that users talked to directly, programs that pretended to be users to measure performance or expose bugs, programs for diagnosing network troubles, programs for diagnosing network troubles, programs for doing backups, interfaces to outside services, software that drove an impressive collection of dials displaying real-time server statistics a hit with visitors, but indispensable for us too, modifications including bug fixes to open-source software, and talk to them about what they needed. In fact there's a simpler explanation. But one thing that might deter you from writing Web-based software gets used round the clock, so everything you do is immediately put through the wringer. You can convince yourself, I don't care what he says, I'm going to start a new company using Lisp.

In Patrick O'Brian's novels, his captains always try to get upwind of their opponents. If you don't put users first, you leave a gap for competitors who do. Startups often want to show that all the programmers have to be working for an existing company for a couple of nerds with no business experience. If you want ideas for startups, because you're paying for the hardware, just as it had to be delivered. Venture capitalists know better. There are two ways to do it well, then the total addressable market, or TAM, of your company for y dollars, you're implicitly claiming a certain value for the whole thing as an experiment that we might call off at any moment. When I was trying to solve. What companies should do is go out and discover startups when they're young. If you can make your software very efficient you can undersell competitors and still make a profit.

Fortunately, Web-based software gives you unprecedented information about their behavior. Increasingly it will mean the people who had them to continue thinking about. It just made me spend several minutes telling you how great they are. And it was not just our price to earnings ratios by saying that technology was going to take two weeks to write few projects took longer, I knew I could see them thinking that we didn't count for much. Amazingly, no one who cares about computers uses Microsoft's anyway. It can take years to learn how companies work. I think undergraduates are undervalued. Hacking is something you want to reduce economic inequality, you get something surprising. Because it needs no installation, you don't have to be big yet, nor do you necessarily have to be a contender again, this is true. I encourage every technology company to adopt it.

The professors all seem forbiddingly intellectual and publish papers unintelligible to outsiders. There's nothing like living abroad to teach you that. So I added a message at that point, telling users that they were effectively QA and to some extent marketing as well. Indeed, that's practically the same thing: that they wasted so much time in institutions. If someone breaks your software, you can do; and don't underestimate your abilities. Letting just 10,000 startup founders into the country each year could have a visible effect on the number of people who are mature and experienced, with a business background, may be satisfied with a demo and a verbal description of what you plan to do. At $300 a month, and make more than you spend, but as a guide to strategy, and even Lisp. When they think it's time to raise money is not when you need it, or when you reach some artificial deadline like a Demo Day.

And there is no possibility of piracy. Inexperienced founders make the same mistake when trying to convince investors of something very uncertain—that their startup will be huge—and convincing anyone of something like that happen here? Kids are curious, but the idea is very much alive; there is a safe option, that's the one a bureaucrat will choose. This change happened while no one was looking, and its effects have been largely masked so far. We've taken a nice, neat but wrong slogan, and churned it up like a mud puddle. If a startup fails, it will automatically push you away from things you think you're supposed to. That must also mystify outsiders.

Thanks to Marc Andreessen, Chris Anderson, Trevor Blackwell, Jessica Livingston, Dan Giffin, Steve Huffman, and Robert Morris for inviting me to speak.

[yes-dal456]

I've Completed Hundreds Of 30-Day Challenges. Here's What I've Learned

I've done maybe upwards of a hundred Challenges over the years. It started with health and fitness, way back in the day. My friend and I would meal prep in our little cottages, and we'd challenge ourselves to eat clean all week, until cheat day. I did a Whole30 that snowballed into a Whole 90. One time, my trainer issued--and I accepted--the challenge of doing 10,000 kettlebell swings in a month. Trust me when I say that my derrière has never been the same. I guess before I go too far into why I find Challenges to be so shift-sparking and growth provoking, and the growth I've seen in my life in the course of taking on Challenges, we need to agree on some things. Or one thing. Namely, what I mean by "challenges". I'm not talking generically about things that are a little hard to do, or a lot hard, though I like them, too. When I use the word challenges with a capital 'C' I'm talking about something very particular: A program of doing a certain activity (or, I suppose, not doing a certain activity):

That I don't currently do

At a certain frequency

For a certain number of days.

I think of Challenges as self-directed projects to change my behavior or spark some personal growth or development I'm clear that I'd like to have. Sometimes I want a mindset shift or want to make (or break) a habit, or I just have a sort of big project I want to sprint to finish, and Challenges are a container I've found that often works for me to get there. And it works every single time, here's why. 1. They hold space for new things in your otherwise-crowded world/life/calendar/day/mind. Challenges hold space in your mind and your calendar for the things you want to do. It also forces you to prioritize, and decide what you won't be doing for that time frame. Challenges also usually involve some level of tracking and accountability, and are often also (naturally or formally) social: all these things stack the decks of change in your favor. 2. They build momentum and habits by focusing your energy on actions you can control, vs. outcomes that are outsized or out of your control. If you want to write a book, setting a Challenge that says you'll write for 2 hours a day will automatically trigger some progress and mental momentum, because you know that if you just do that over and over again, for six months, chances are very good you'll have at least a rough draft in place when you're done. 3. They chunk big transformations down into doable daily practices. A Challenge to cut out sugar and alcohol for 30 days is vastly more likely to create lasting change than a nebulous "Lose 50 pounds" goal. Instead of "write a book," Challenge yourself to write something--anything--every day for 30 days, and watch what happens. 4. They create a standard and provide structure. Without the rules of a Challenge, your goals can be structureless and just hard to put a mental frame around. Having some standard to get to, whether it's a word count you'll write or just a number of days for which you'll do a thing, sparks that tiniest bit of competitiveness and energy. 5. But that standard is personal. You are the boss of yourself in a Challenge. Whether you create it yourself or you take on a Challenge someone else is running, you decided to take it on. And you have infinite authority to tweak the terms of a Challenge in order to make it work for you. You can start it a week later than everyone else. You can do it for 10 days instead of 30. You can do 3 days/week instead of 7. A Challenge is a competition, but it's only between you and you. 6. They are hard, fast and fun. Having an upfront start and stop date just makes it easier to wrap your head around doing something hard for that time frame, versus telling yourself you have to start a new thing and do it For All The Days Of Your Life. 7. Challenges leave successful transformation in their wake, regardless of whether you have a technically "perfect score." The first time I did a writing Challenge, I wrote for a handful of the 30 days. And honestly, I was happy I did that much, and saw it as X number of days more than I'd written the month before. During those days, I also made a ton of progress in getting clear on a book project I wanted to work on, and some big business decisions I needed to make. Tara-Nicholle Nelson helps conscious leaders live into their untapped potential, reaching new levels of energy and impact. She is the current CEO of Transformational Consumer Insights and the former VP, Marketing for MyFitnessPal and Under Armour Connected Fitness

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from http://ift.tt/2jWfy9R from Blogger http://ift.tt/2jn60DQ

[imreviewblog]

I've Completed Hundreds Of 30-Day Challenges. Here's What I've Learned

I've done maybe upwards of a hundred Challenges over the years. It started with health and fitness, way back in the day. My friend and I would meal prep in our little cottages, and we'd challenge ourselves to eat clean all week, until cheat day. I did a Whole30 that snowballed into a Whole 90. One time, my trainer issued--and I accepted--the challenge of doing 10,000 kettlebell swings in a month. Trust me when I say that my derrière has never been the same. I guess before I go too far into why I find Challenges to be so shift-sparking and growth provoking, and the growth I've seen in my life in the course of taking on Challenges, we need to agree on some things. Or one thing. Namely, what I mean by "challenges". I'm not talking generically about things that are a little hard to do, or a lot hard, though I like them, too. When I use the word challenges with a capital 'C' I'm talking about something very particular: A program of doing a certain activity (or, I suppose, not doing a certain activity):

That I don't currently do

At a certain frequency

For a certain number of days.

I think of Challenges as self-directed projects to change my behavior or spark some personal growth or development I'm clear that I'd like to have. Sometimes I want a mindset shift or want to make (or break) a habit, or I just have a sort of big project I want to sprint to finish, and Challenges are a container I've found that often works for me to get there. And it works every single time, here's why. 1. They hold space for new things in your otherwise-crowded world/life/calendar/day/mind. Challenges hold space in your mind and your calendar for the things you want to do. It also forces you to prioritize, and decide what you won't be doing for that time frame. Challenges also usually involve some level of tracking and accountability, and are often also (naturally or formally) social: all these things stack the decks of change in your favor. 2. They build momentum and habits by focusing your energy on actions you can control, vs. outcomes that are outsized or out of your control. If you want to write a book, setting a Challenge that says you'll write for 2 hours a day will automatically trigger some progress and mental momentum, because you know that if you just do that over and over again, for six months, chances are very good you'll have at least a rough draft in place when you're done. 3. They chunk big transformations down into doable daily practices. A Challenge to cut out sugar and alcohol for 30 days is vastly more likely to create lasting change than a nebulous "Lose 50 pounds" goal. Instead of "write a book," Challenge yourself to write something--anything--every day for 30 days, and watch what happens. 4. They create a standard and provide structure. Without the rules of a Challenge, your goals can be structureless and just hard to put a mental frame around. Having some standard to get to, whether it's a word count you'll write or just a number of days for which you'll do a thing, sparks that tiniest bit of competitiveness and energy. 5. But that standard is personal. You are the boss of yourself in a Challenge. Whether you create it yourself or you take on a Challenge someone else is running, you decided to take it on. And you have infinite authority to tweak the terms of a Challenge in order to make it work for you. You can start it a week later than everyone else. You can do it for 10 days instead of 30. You can do 3 days/week instead of 7. A Challenge is a competition, but it's only between you and you. 6. They are hard, fast and fun. Having an upfront start and stop date just makes it easier to wrap your head around doing something hard for that time frame, versus telling yourself you have to start a new thing and do it For All The Days Of Your Life. 7. Challenges leave successful transformation in their wake, regardless of whether you have a technically "perfect score." The first time I did a writing Challenge, I wrote for a handful of the 30 days. And honestly, I was happy I did that much, and saw it as X number of days more than I'd written the month before. During those days, I also made a ton of progress in getting clear on a book project I wanted to work on, and some big business decisions I needed to make. Tara-Nicholle Nelson helps conscious leaders live into their untapped potential, reaching new levels of energy and impact. She is the current CEO of Transformational Consumer Insights and the former VP, Marketing for MyFitnessPal and Under Armour Connected Fitness

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://huff.to/2kpJhES