What is Something You Recommend (and why)?
Some things I recommend to most people I meet:
- Google Chromecast. While the chromecast does not add any new functions, its ease of use is so high that you will get a lot of utility from it. Due to how easy it becomes to stream music/tv shows/movies etc from your phone/tablet/computer to your TV, you will end up streaming all the time. For example, now whenever I am near my living room, I'll put on music through my TV or an episode of Seinfeld or something.
- E-reader. They are quite cheap. I find the reading experience to be far superior to reading a physical book (especially if the book is heavy). You now have access to almost any book whenever you want it (and potentially for free/low prices). Anecdotally, I have heard that once people buy an E-reader, they find that they end up reading significantly more.
- Squash (or any other quick-cardio based sport instead of a cardio workout). Each game is short but still an incredible work out. You feel great afterwords and most importantly, each game is a ton of fun to play (a lot more fun than running on a treadmill). It's easy to learn/start out and not very expensive (atleast in the places I've lived)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_Search_for_Meaning
https://archive.org/details/MansSearchForMeaning_201507
http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/0...
Try to be 1% better and whatever you're focusing on improving. It's manageable. It's realistic. It adds up.
Even if you're in a job you don't like, you'll still feel okay about life (serious depression issues aside).
Everything seems 10x worse when you're not sleeping well.
How do you sleep well? Get rid of your TV. Seriously, throw it out. You don't need it. Read a book that doesn't pertain to your career 30 minutes before you intend to go to sleep.
It seems to have worked.
I generally enjoy the run and find it helps me lose weight in the long term, but I also find it saps my productivity because I feel so terrible & drained afterwards.
[Since my post is so negative, let me add a recommendation for an iPod Shuffle or Bose QC25s while running. I find the music helps me run 10 - 20% faster if I choose the right music, typically music by Pendulum.]
Also, running barefoot style takes a lot of getting used to in regards to form. Keep your runs short at first so you can develop muscles that help you keep good form. Running in bad form exacerbates the blister issue and potentially can lead to other injuries. I've had some issues with my knee where the ilio-tibial band connects on the outside, but some stretches for that muscle have alleviated that issue, and my main limitation has been the blisters. As far as the blisters go, as long as I stick with a consistent running routine, don't overdo it and keep good form, they tend to be less of an issue. Also after having quite a few my skin has now started to toughen up. Combination of tough skin from healing a bunch of them, good form, and better shape and I think I will be able to run indefinitely without them being a problem.
The reason I switched to these shoes was because when I started running I would go through a $100+ pair of running shoes in less than a year. I would have problems with the cushioning in them becoming imbalanced, and a lot of pronation. This actually caused some legit injured feet for me and lots of foot pain that kept me out of running completely. Although there was the knee pain and the blisters with the five fingers, overall my feet feel great and the pain is nothing near what I had when I ran in regular shoes.
Monogatari (Anime Series) - It is a jumbled mess that is a jumpy as it is deep. If you don't want to see any fan service at all in your anime I would skip over this. If you don't mind that (or enjoy it) this is a great anime. It doesn't knock my favorite anime (Cowboy Bebop) off of my Number one slot, but this one is a great that I would wager will stand for the future. (Bakemonogatari is the first season).
Don't Panic - There's a reason it is written in big bold red letters on the universe's best selling book.
Tweetdeck - I'll bet a lot of people on HN already use it, but to any Twitter users still using twitter.com instead of Tweetdeck, I highly recommend giving it a shot. The abundance of information on screen will be overwhelming at first, but give it a day or two, and your brain figures out how to make sense of it and love it.
Pushbullet - Receive and write text messages from your PC via Chrome extension. Receive push notifications for just about anything. I combine it with IFTTT to receive alerts for RSS feeds of blogs and comics I like (my recipes if anyone's curious: https://ifttt.com/p/oxguy3/shared ).
It was actually a key moment of enlightenment.
First, I realized how powerful, yet fragile habits can be. By forming habits, you can do things effortlessly for years on end without even thinking about it. At the same time, small interruptions can derail the behavior permanently.
And second, I realized that what we eat can influence our behavior in ways which are imperceptible. When I took NAC, I didn't feel any different - I just didn't bite my nails. It got me thinking that I should be more careful about what I put in my body, because even little things can make a big difference. Since then I've learned to cook, and now eat a far healthier diet than I used to.
- Find a purpose in life. This does not have to be some big, grand thing but just something that you are passionate about. For example, I like to create products and businesses.
- Help others because that gives greatest joy. I have deeply thought about what makes me very happy and I realized I feel really good when I have helped someone even in a small way.
Truman Capote's book - In Cold Blood. Also, The Great Gatsby. There are countless phrases littered throughout both where I just think 'fuck, that is really something'.
Keto. It's easy to stick to and I've consistently lost weight. I no longer have brain fog, bloating, and I can't even remember the last time I felt hungry or craved sugar.
Buddhism / meditation. It helps being thankful and to understand that there is something more to life than what is on the surface.
The Doors because, well, Jim Morrison.
Water. Seriously, drink more of it.
It helps with balance, dexterity, openess to change, learning, letting go, relaxing and much more, both mentally and physical.
I got rid of 20 years of back pain and livea more healthy and balancee life now.