I'm really not sure what I want to talk about today, but I am getting sick, so we'll start with that.

ahem *clears throat*

BEING SICK SUCKS

Done! All better. So, I'm thinking maybe I'll do a "today's braindump" section, as in, introduce it to the regular layout of the blog. Here goes!

braindump.exe

I have to get on the bus by 10:22. I'm reading Nona the Ninth (listening to, actually) and I want to make a huge collage thing that explains all of the worldbuilding because it's really confusing. Questionable Content is still down, oddly enough. I'm tired. Oh, I had a story idea but I can't remember it. I also had a crazy dream (no you don't get to know). Bananas. The sky is gray. I need to pack my bag for the day. I also need to write my research paper. Is there anything else I need to do? Learn how to draw, for one. Hmm. Now I'm thinking about work. That's no fun. I have a pimple on the bridge of my nose and a milium (I think that's what it's called?) below my eye, so I need to use more face soap. (Although I did have cheese, so that's probably the reason.) I was learning about Julie D'Aub... something. I don't remember all of her last name, but she was fairly cool! Swordswoman in 1700's France. At first I was like, nah, bro, this is just Wikipedia acting out again, but I did more research and apparently it's less of an urban legend than it sounds. Look it up if you want to know more, this is not a place for me to explain interesting things to you.

Jeez. Not a very helpful braindump. Anyway... what can we talk about?

Oh! I know! Self-discipline! Haha, my brain supplied "self defense" and I went WOAH no need to get political yet, m'boy, you've only just started this thing. Self-discipline, however, is pretty much a non-partisan thing I think, so let's cover some methods for that.

The most self-discplined I've ever been is when I got up at 4:30 to go to the gym every morning. It was brutal and not fun (aside from the bragging rights

AUGH MY SORE THROAT JUST TWINGED

but anyway, 4:30 wake-up time. The way I did that was by pretending it wasn't a choice. I got so deeply ingrained in that thought pattern that I literally argued with people about it. They'd say, "But that is a choice!" and I'd be all "Nuh-uh! I have no choice!" It was the same way with food (for a while, I eventually caved on that front). I wouldn't eat anything that wasn't in the plan. And oh boy, did I have a plan. Workouts, meals, sleep schedule... it was all worked out.

However, I feel that for a lot of people, this advice is unhelpful. Sure, you can take choice out of the matter, but that takes a lot of willpower. So here's something I've heard a lot that makes sense: build a system. Build a set of habits and constraints that will propel you forward. This looks like:

Laying out the gym clothes the night before
Filling your fridge with pre-prepped meals so that you can't put anything else in there
Setting a reminder to journal when there's still enough time in the day

Two other things that can help immensely: forgiving yourself and... oh gosh I forgot the second one. Well, forg- AHA! PROGRESS REPORTS! That was the other thing. Well, I'm running out of time, so here's the gist: forgiving yourself is actually better for willpower than raking yourself over the coals. Progress reports (photos, data entries, weight log, whatever) are incredibly important because your brain adapts. It gets used to stuff. If you're trying to get ripped, it happens so slowly that your brain is able to think "I look the exact same as when I started" because it's adapted. However, looking at a photo of yourself a year ago will give you a clear idea of exactly hoow much you've changed. Anyway, I gotta go!

EVERYBODY'S FANTASTIC AND I LOVE YOU ALL! THAT WAS ADDRESSED TO THE WHOLE WORLD!

much love and peaceful wishes!