I recently came to the realization that the person I'm often the cruelest to is myself. Honestly, I will often treat myself like shit. I'll eat crappy food, drink too much and waste precious time doing things that don't bring me fulfillment.
Why is it that we treat ourselves so poorly sometimes? Also, sometimes I treat the people I care about the most in life with the most disregard and abandon while being perfectly cordial, friendly and accommodating to near strangers. Does anyone else ever do this?
I enjoy group activities, I thrive in environments of competitiveness and I enjoy someone holding me accountable for certain things. I'm wondering if any of you would be interested in participating in an experiment with me? Here it is:
Today is Thursday. From today until Monday, we will be our ideal versions of ourselves.
For some this may mean being your best version of a roommate, husband, girlfriend, employee, father, mother etc.
Prior to every decision and action from the point of you sharing this post until Monday night, you will think "what would the best version of me do?"
Who is in? I start now.
lil -perhaps we can recap on your IRC hangout?
Let's hope that at the top of that hill there is a bathroom. Easy on the water everyone... there are repercussions. Hubski: We're thoughtfully dehydrated.It's got to be uphill from here.
I love this challenge. I firmly believe that our greatest enemy is ourselves. Unfortunately when we're bad off those close to us suffer too. We rationalize our behavior towards them because we know they love us unconditionally whereas a stranger has no time for our crap. Wearing your heart on your sleeve is not always seen as a virtue. This is a serious commitment. For me the timing couldn't be better. Count me in.
Pretty damn true, this is an extract from a note I wrote to myself a couple of nights ago: That's the first 20% of it, sorry if it's a bit dark but damn people can be mean to themselves(Though the insults I came up with were pretty funny).
You can count me in too, I'll be much nicer to myself mentally and physicaly from now on.I firmly believe the greatest enemy is ourselves.
See that's how much everyone hates you, Hitler, a guy who killed 20 million people was more liked than you. you're literially worse than hitler, an iconic "worst person" figure. he even got a lot done, you're so fucking lazy and retarded you couldn't even raise an army of garden gnomes.
Shit. I thought I beat myself up pretty bad, but you have me beat there. No matter what, you are not worse than Hitler. I don't even know you and I know that.
Yeah, when I feel like that logic doesn't really apply, look at this bit!Nice grammat by the way cunt, oh look you done it again fagface. go suck a red hot pole until your mouth is scarred 9001 times like you deserve dickface sheepshagger. and you're even being selfish writing this, you're a joke
(I edited out some spelling mistakes)
Oh my gosh, your reply scared the crap out of me because I forgot what we were talking about, haha! I was like "What did I do?!" I can only imagine how you feel :( I hope you can learn to love yourself a little bit better.
Wait, does the best version of me not drink alcohol? -In all seriousness, I am not in on this challenge. As I'm in Virginia M-F right now I find that I can't/don't drink/"waste time hanging out with friends"/go to bars/get laid/smoke anywhere near as much/etc. In fact I'm consciously trying to use my time in Virginia to read more, write more, produce more, and indulge less in my bad habits. On the flip side that means that I go pretty hard on weekends when I am home. On the other-other hand, July has been my "self-improvement" month. I was going to consciously commit to several of my personal goals and try really hard to stay in line with them over the course of the month. Tentatively, I would say that I have succeeded (except for drinking more water).
It's seriously difficult. Obvious first step: no soda. I did that a few years ago. My solution to the rest was to stop eating dessert, basically. You'll get nickel and dimed on a meal by meal basis -- that's just a practically inevitable part of living/shopping/cooking in the States. So I stopped bothering with cake and candy and such to make sure I didn't shoot over the limit. Exceptions: dessert I make myself, which is rare as hell; the odd fruit juice with vitamin A and C.
Yep, I generally don't drink soda and I haven't for a decade or more. Some sugar is ok, especially just after working out as it helps absorb proteins. And of course in fruit, that's pretty unavoidable. Anyway, while I agree that there's an obesity epidemic in the States, there is also a diabetes epidemic and I think that really needs some more attention. Fortified foods are a big culprit, as is fast food. What can you expect the poor to eat though, when vegetables are criminally expensive?
Seriously, everyone gets diabetes and we all know why. And it's not like the megacorporations are going to own their actions, so change has to come at a personal level. My granddad is essentially living in hell on earth right now because of diabetes, and he wasn't terribly unhealthy (bit of an alcoholic) -- he just lived in the US for 75 years. It's that easy. Post workout smoothie has 15-20 grams of sugar in it, I just checked. Mostly from milk. Bit high but acceptable.
This is going to be a pretty shameful confession and some of you are going to look at me askance and ask how it is that my internal organs aren't pickled, but any day I drink any amount of water is a good day. I'm a caffeine junkie, which is funny because I can drink a Monster and go to sleep - so there doesn't seem to be much of an actual effect for me - but if you say "Hey, _ref_! Here is this thing that is supposed to perk you up, make you more awake and more focused!" I'm gonna be like "OH YES PLEASE." So I start my day with a Monster - I grab a diet Coke at lunch - and then in the evenings, if I go out I'm drinking alcohol (not 100% of the time, but whatever) - and then if I don't go out, I will probably end up drinking water then. Water is just absolutely not part of my daily habit. I do like a glass of water by my bedside in case I wake up thirsty, and I drink water if I've been drinking and likely to get dehydrated, but I do not currently independently select for water in my drinking habits. 8 glasses a day would be like a miracle for me.
Have you tried getting into the habit of drinking a glass of water immediately on waking up? Staying well hydrated helps my energy for sure and it also reduces how hungry I feel. For me it works better than coffee and helps me move stuff through my system. Though I've always been a fan of drinking lots of water, I once got a bladder and kidney infection at the same time and since then I have been even more on top of staying hydrated to move toxins out of my body. As a bonus, I have noticed that my sweat doesn't smell as strongly as it did when I was drinking lots of stuff that wasn't water. Also, I don't get as hungover when I'm making sure I'm hydrated throughout the day leading up to going out. I met one lady who was trying to increase her water intake, who had a water bottle with lines drawn on it to show her how much she should have had by a certain time, which seemed to work really well for her, so maybe that's one way you could try too.
I have found that if I carry a water bottle, I drink water. I think keeping it around as opposed to making it an option ("Oh, do I want a soda or a water?") is going to be a good method for me. As for drinking a glass of water immediately upon waking up - I have heard that that helps some people feel more alert in the morning! I haven't tried it, though. As for the bladder and kidney infection...ouch.
Drink more water or I will find a way for you to inexplicably die of dehydration at some point in Hubskina. Seriously though I found out that I was only half of a person until I started drinking water regularly. I found this out the hard way after drinking water regularly for a long while and then one day not having any water. I had completely shut down. It was actually scary how much less productive I was without water.
Yep, no fun. Had to take some kind of medicine that had me pissing blue for a while. I don't know how true it is that the next big wars will be fought over drinking water, but if apocalyptic scenarios motivate you (they rarely motivate anyone, of course) that might be something to think about too. Changing habits is tough and setting lots of small achievable goals tends to be more manageable for people (me included) so I hope you're able to stick with it.
Wow, this is like looking into a mirror. My routine is very similar. The morning Monster just to snap awake. It's poison but I'm addicted. Like you, if I go out on worknights I pay for it in spades the next day so I overcompensate on my time off, to the detriment of my liver. Sometimes I confuse my water with vodka. Just another bad habit I constantly struggle with.
Sounds very Buddhist. That is a very good thing. I'll take this challenge because it's pretty consistent with what I've been trying for years.Prior to every decision and action from the point of you sharing this post until Monday night, you will think "what would the best version of me do?"
I can't tell you how many times I've already failed at this TODAY since making this post, but I'll continue to attempt it. I've had several things that I would have done be thwarted and I went for a run with my dog and had a drink with an old friend. -So far, I'm doing better, but I'm nowhere near ideal...... yet :)
Noooooooooooooope. Moving back in to college this weekend, and it's one of my friends birthdays so he's hosting a concert and I plan on drinking way too much to celebrate that and being back in the place I love. This is a great idea though, but the timing doesn't work out so great for me. Hope all of you hold fast with it.Today is Thursday. From today until Monday, we will be our ideal versions of ourselves.
I don't think that being the ideal version of yourself would have to necessarily preclude having fun…? Best of luck with the move, enjoy yourself!
Totally agree. But I can't guarantee that I would make any. Uhm. Less-than-ideal decisions from drinking too much in my first weekend back :P Okay fine I'll try for it. Count me in.
I'm in. Lucky for me, that means going to sleep and getting a decent amount of it. This is going to be a stressful weekend. I'm waiting for my boyfriend to drive from Florida to Wisconsin and we haven't seen each other in 5 months. The distance really turns me into a bitch because he is a poor communicator. So, I need to make it up to him... And also to myself. Treating him like crap doesn't make me feel any better. So, let's do this. Will we report back on Monday?
Good luck! Enjoy your time together, long distance relationships are tough to manage. I always found my expectations were too high when we finally saw one another.
The length of time apart was definitely not planned. Thank, Air Force! We also just found out that he is deploying in a month or so. Yippee. So, thanks for the luck. We might need it.
My ideal self wouldn't be procrastinating on hubski while at work. He also would enjoy music. I miss enjoying music. Anyone have any suggestions for some inspiring pump up music? I'm also going to be out of town with a friend all weekend, so I doubt my participation could amount to much anyway.
I've been listening to Western African music lately. I don't even know how I stumbled across these groups, but I'm in love. I just need to brush up on my French. Or maybe you prefer something in English... If you like that song at all, I recommend the entire Avett Bros. discography. This song is pretty bitchin' also:
I would be in, but I'm on vacation and vacation is for punishing yourself and calling it reward. Sorry, TNG. This is an awesome idea, though. Can I take a rain check?
Sure, but even while on vacation you can conceivably be even better at vacationing, right?
Oh, it's on. Although that means no more internet until Monday. Will report back at the end of the challenge.
I would love to do this, but I don't think I can. The main purpose of my participation would be to lessen my caffeine intake since I think that is my biggest problem that can be solved conventionally and with some immediacy. My addictions are getting better already somewhat by necessity - much less soda since I can't really afford it and more water with caffeinated flavor packets - but ideally I would not need the packets at all. It's a slow battle. Going cold turkey has always failed me in the past and will continue to if I try again. Cutting something like that out entirely is doable of course but for me it only exacerbates the feelings I use my addiction to cope with. I'm not going to immediately learn alternatives for my methods, and until I do (as my most ideal self would) half and half is good enough for me right now. It's a lot better than 100-0, which is how it used to be. I appreciate the intent and support the movement. I think there are a lot more variables aside from self-induced complacency that stop us from being better, and some of them are more difficult than others to throw aside for a weekend. That is not an excuse! I decided today at work that I would try to schedule myself some simple self-workouts also, so I guess I'm kinda doing this challenge in my own half-baked way!