#sometimes i don't “finish” things due to lack of time or energy or motivation but i still post 2 archive it

[sapsolace]

if you ever put nice things in the tags when u reblog my art i'm giving you a lil kiss :]

[mindfulstudyquest]

❥﹒♡﹒☕﹒ 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

𝟭. being consistent in journaling ( 🪻 )

i have recently started journaling more consistently and would like to maintain this line. i tried several times to start, failing miserably, because i couldn't find a method that would keep me motivated for a long time. then i purchased the famous five minutes gratitude journal, which is much easier to keep, and which i manage to update almost every day because by simply having to answer the pre-set questions my brain doesn't experience it as a commitment, unlike writing a diary page. alongside the fmj i have another diary with blank pages that i use as a proper diary, writing my reflections, talking about my day, complaining about negative things and stuff like that. i must say that it's therapeutic. i hope this is the right time i can maintain consistency in writing.

𝟮. having a more balanced diet ( 🍋‍🟩 )

i admit i've been eating like shit lately, a lot of sweets and processed foods alternated with periods of fasting due to guilt with the excuse of not having enough time to cook among the thousand things to do. i want to seriously commit to investing some of my time each week into preparing healthy, homemade meals (i could share some recipes here if you want, lmk) that keep me energized and don't ruin my hard work at the gym by adding empty calories to my diet.

𝟯. being consistent in the gym ( 🍄 )

and then obviously going to the gym at least 3 times a week, not really due to a matter of weight/aesthetics, but to cultivate discipline and focus. i believe that physically venting stress is the best and healthiest way to handle the crushing weight of life lately. sometimes i simply need to unload my energy without throwing a fit and risking venting it on someone who has nothing to do with it.

𝟰. reading at least 10 pages per day ( 📚 )

i love reading. i love reading madly, but i also know that i often find a thousand excuses not to do it. my brain fried by social media and zombie scrolling doesn't like the idea of concentrating on printed pages at all and i always put off reading all those books placed on my shelf gathering dust. i haven't read a book in months, so the time has come to break this bad habit and take back my greatest passion. i won't even mention all the benefits of reading, because only one book can give you so much in such a short time.

𝟱. sleep at least 8 hours ( ☕ )

i think my lack of sleep has a psychological component, but i'm no expert so what i say may not actually make any sense. i sleep little, much less than i need, when i was in high school i finished studying very late at night (past 3am) every day because i was so dependent on academic validation that the idea of getting a slightly lower grade than my usual could make me throw up. the thing is, i always delay going to sleep, even though my body is begging me to do so, and i think it's due to an inherent fear that the next day i'll have to go through it all over again. consequently in the morning i'm a wreck and i have to drag myself out of bed, being 30% as productive as i actually could be. i think it's time to work on my sleep schedule much more seriously, i think it could boost my health a lot.

𝟲. spend 15min in the sun every day ( ☀️ )

as a woman i know how important it is to be in the sun to produce vitamin D, unfortunately for me i'm some kind of goblin vampire who can't stay in the sun for more than five minutes without getting sunburned – on top of that my eyes start to water when the light too strong. i'll arm myself with sunscreen and give my body what it needs, hoping i won't get arthritis in my forties.

let me know in the comments what are YOU planning to improve in the near future <3

[sunny6677]

HERES OPPOSITE TOM!

( OPPOSITE AU IS CREATED BY @jacenotjason )

Tom, in this AU, has very little energy and usually has no time for fooling around. She lacks motivation, and is usually bored half the time. However, she tends to daydream a lot and often daydreams of becoming a female knight for some reason because she has the unhealthy mindset of 'I don't need anyone because I'm strong and if I need anyone to help me or protect me at all then I'm weak', and liked to imagine herself as a knight because that's what she thinks she should be like. Her dynamic with Kevin is kind of reversed here too lol. He thinks they're friends at first, while Tom is just someone who always comes in to finish her work in his store since it's usually quiet enough to do that—she isn't a full on asshole to him but does find him annoying, and just calls him 'Fish Man' for a while instead of his actual name. Her job here is also something to do with art, though she's very vague about it and usually avoids mentioning her job around people. She is I incredibly poor, her favorite food is garlic bread, and she likes to solve puzzles rather than making them. She's also very intelligent in this AU, kind of witty, and is also a bit sassy. But despite acting like she takes no nonsense, she is a real softie deep down. And she's also still a babysitter here, but is usually very fed up with the more energetic kids and struggles to keep up with them. She hides most genuine things about herself as well because she finds it embarrassing or feels like no one would care anyway.

Buque (her caregiver) wasn't neglectful of her and didn't verbally mistreat her, and did mean well—but would sometimes do things she shouldn't have or snap at Tom just because she couldn't control her stress. And no matter how much Buque tries to act like this was just a mistake, this is still effecting Tom and it always will. And also the reason why Tom is so intent on being strong is because Opposite Jeremy was the very same way, so she subconsciously thinks she must be that way in order to be worth something.

Her flaws with Kevin and hers relationship here is that she usually is very intent on not depending on anyone for anything, so she pretty much avoids help from him at all costs and pretty much anyone—she always tries to help him out even if whatever happened probably isn't her responsibility to fix. Tom also doesn't repress her emotions here and IS honest about how she feels, but she feels very embarrassed anytime someone dares ask about it or tries to comfort her. She also tends to avoid Kevin in general at first just because she finds him slightly annoying, but also doesn't wanna be a bother or come off as clingy due to a certain incident in the past making her afraid to actually be clingy with other people.

I'm unsure of what Kevin's flaws would be since I didn't create this version of him (his canon versions flaws or at least his flaws toward Tom in her actual canon au are being a bit of a jerk to her at first because of his stress, kinds dismissing her emotions at first due to being too wrapped up in his own problems to notice her own and also just being so used to her being dramatic that he usually thinks her being upset is just her being a drama queen again, etc etc). But I'm sure he'd have his own too since no relationship is perfect. /lh

Will defintely make sketches of her and Opposite Kevin at some point—just not tonight cuz I'm tired lol./lh

(Also rather than being possesed, she just owns a Haunted object—aka, the rather ancient/suspicious looking journal she got from a garage sale one time)

[staringdownabarrel]

So I saw Obi-Wan Kenobi yesterday in its entirety. Full disclosure: I'm usually not a huge Star War person; it's been about ten years since I last saw the first six movies and I've only seen the other movies once each. I haven't seen any of the other shows yet, except for the first season of The Mandalorian.

I think Obi-Wan Kenobi was a lot better than I was expecting it to be. I was kind of worried that it'd just be nostalgia bait and nothing else like Solo was, or this dull movie with unlikable characters that ultimately adds nothing worthwhile to the universe like Rogue One.

Maybe the Inquisitors is something that comes up in one of the other shows; I don't know. I think this was a good concept that explains how the Sith were still able to hunt down the remaining Jedi while dealing with an ongoing insurgency.

The flipside to this is that I kinda feel like it's cheating to have both the Rule of Two and a subordinate organisation. Third Sister is a good example of why that is. On one hand, she seems to be absolutely dedicated to the idea of hunting down the remaining Jedi, but on the other, if she has a chance to kill Vader, she'd absolutely do it. If having the Rule of Two is meant to limit the amount of infighting within the Sith Order, then Third Sister is Exhibit A of why it has to be an absolute rule without any backdoor caveats allowing for subordinate organisations.

Still, Third Sister is absolutely the best thing to come out of this show. She's pretty much everything I've ever wanted out of a Star Wars villain--she's menacing, she isn't whiny, her motivations make sense, and she never goes so far that she can't be redeemed. They could make a show specifically about her and I'd probably watch it.

The other thing I really liked about this show was how the Force gets used. In the original trilogy, the Force didn't get used a whole lot due to the lack of Jedi, Luke's relative inexperience with it, and the special effects limitations of the time. In the sequel trilogy, they used a lot of big flashy force techniques (e.g., like in the duel against Dooku at the end of Attack of the Clones, or the Yoda vs. Palpatine duel in Revenge of the Jedi) because of how far special effects had come and to make it seem more cinematic.

In Obi-Wan Kenobi, it feels like the use of the Force is much more restrained. Like, when the Third Sister duels Vader, Vader's using the Force to block her blows and push her around a bit, but she isn't being treated like a rag doll like she might have if this had been in one of the movies.

To me, this kind of use of the Force during combat makes a lot of intuitive sense. A more powerful Force user wouldn't need to rely on big flashy force techniques against a weaker opponent, and equally matched opponents would probably seek to conserve their energy. The other Force user, especially if they were fairly experienced, would be able to resist larger Force pushes like we sometimes see in the main series.

The other thing here that makes a lot of intuitive sense is how the bigger shows of Force abilities clearly wind the people who do them. When Obi-Wan holds the glass from being broken and then releases it, allowing some Stormtroopers to be flooded, it clearly winds him and he has to rest up for a while. Even in cases where it doesn't wind the user, like when Darth Vader buries Obi-Wan in boulders during their final duel, it was clearly meant to be a finishing move, not something he'd be able to do constantly. He also only got the one chance to do it.

I feel like this is how the Force always should have been treated. It's not really as cinematic as having them destroy these huge sets or throwing people around big rooms like it's nothing, but it makes a lot more intuitive sense. I think it also helps emphasise how lightsaber combat is a form of martial arts in the Star Wars universe, because the lightsaber is one part of it and the use of the Force is the other.

For the Jedi specifically, I think there's probably an argument to be made that it ties into their general philosophy much better, too. Like, their whole thing is that it's good for a person to show restraint. If they generally were restrained in how they used the Force, preferring to use their words to convince people rather than just, well, force, it'd make sense.

But yeah, overall I think this was good and probably the best addition Star Wars has had in a long, long time.

[realtalk-princeton]

I procrastinate a lot sometimes due to fear of failure and perfectionism. Like I'm so terrified that I'll do bad on something I avoid it until I literally can't anymore. I don't feel like I have a poor work ethic - when I'm not worried about something I can work basically all day on it without even taking breaks. But when I'm really nervous I shut down and not even Opal's motivational speech makes it better. Do any of you guys feel this? :/

Response from Opal:

I feel this every goddamn day, and I am so sorry that you do too. On top of all the other challenges that you have to face, it can be so demoralizing to be judged as lazy when your procrastination is actually a manifestation of anxiety, so please be compassionate with yourself and remember that you are just as talented, hardworking, and deserving as everyone else around you! But I also understand that simple motivation is not always enough to pull you out of a rut - after all, it’s not the lack of willpower, but rather the overabundance of fear and perceived pressure to do everything perfectly on your first try, that is so paralyzing. If I knew the exact steps that you would need to take in order to make all of it go away, I would be the first to tell you. Instead, I know some things that work for me some of the time, and I can only hope that they help you as well. 

When something is wrong with me, it gets noticeably worse if I am also too sequestered inside my own head, so I make an effort to take things outside of my head instead. By this, I mean externalizing whatever is going on, because keeping it internalized may feel more comfortable but inevitably causes me to spiral. So I take a Post-It note and write down the assignment or responsibility that is troubling me, and I stick it in a place where it is easily visible to not just me, but also to anyone else who comes near my desk. Even if no one actually sees it, the mental trick of having a physical representation of my task that anyone else could also look at - and subsequently judge me for procrastinating on it - can be enough to jolt me into action. If I need even more of a push, I tell a trusted friend about my situation and the thing that I need to accomplish, and they will periodically check in to ask if I have finished until I have finished, often even ahead of time thanks to the Power of Being Held Accountable By Someone Who Is Not Myself or the Spirit of My Professor as Represented By the Class Syllabus. Maybe it could be an effective strategy for you, too, if you have someone in your life with the time and energy to help you out like this. Finally, I sometimes weaponize my own perfectionism by reminding myself of all the times that I turned in subpar assignments because I had waited too long to start working on it. I fiercely promise myself that I will do whatever it takes to submit something that I am proud of this time, and that includes giving myself enough of a timeline to revise or fix it. “But if I was truly competent enough, I would be able to ace it on the first try and not need to revise or fix --” but that is literally untrue, and you need to shut down that voice if you hear it inside your head because it tries to sabotage you in so many different ways. You said that you have a good work ethic when you are not nervous; tell yourself that your ability to stay on the grind is what enables you to produce high-quality work in the first place, and that the sooner you can get on it, the more you can take ownership over the assignment instead of letting it take ownership over you, and the better your final product will be.

This is all vague and general advice, and none of it even touches on separating your self-worth from your academic work and evaluations - right now, I think the most critical thing is to figure out how to press the “Override” button in your brain during a crisis and get yourself to do the work that you know you can do. Feel free to resubmit if I have not been helpful enough, or if you have questions, or anything at all. I am wishing you the very best.