My Self-Improvement plan

[Mark1234]

My ultimate goal after 2 years is to be a licensed massage therapist with a steady stream of clients and a good reputation, making a decent living. I'm attending one of the top schools for massage therapy and really enjoying it thus far but have not put 100 percent into it, which I need to change.

Like everyone I have some good things going on and some things I would like to improve upon so I thought I'd write up an improvement plan to give myself some motivation and maybe some feedback.

Current Job situation

--Work at a restaurant

Pros
Like most of the people there, get along with them pretty well
Flexible hours
A lot of girls work there, making me more comfortable around girls/people in general
Could possibly get future clients from this job

Cons
Being introverted by nature this job can be very stressful on me at times
My job is boring and a tad bit soul draining (I'm at a low position)
Pretty fast paced and I'm a lot more detail oriented and slower working, which means probably no promotion at this work.

My Improvement Plan
I'm leaning more towards gutting it out for the paycheck while focusing on school and trying my hardest to improve my performance. Also trying to form closer relationships here.


My Workout Goals
---Big positive in my life, I'm very consistent at working out and staying in pretty good shape.

I plan to continue doing Rippetoe's Weight Program (3x per week), Yoga 4-5x a week, and riding my bicycle as much as possible.

Other Goals
--- I have got to quit porn, it's such a depressant for me.
---I plan on going on a 30 day masturbation moratorium to help "re-wire" my brain and focus my life on improvement.
---I'm going to cut out video games and useless internet time to zilch. I just cannot play in moderation. This is a huge problem for me and will give me loads of free time.
---Going to use this free time to read more, draw more, try to socialize more, and workout/exercise more.
---Keep my apartment, truck, ect spick and span.
---I have got to pursue some sort of spirtuality/higher power, right now I have little faith in anything and it's very depressing to me.
---Not really pursue a relationship with a girl but continue to try and flirt and have fun with them.

So overall I'd probably rank myself at around a 5 right now and hopefully in 2-3 years can build myself into a 7 or so. (Due to my height [only 5'6 and looks [decent looks] I think becoming a 7 is a good goal.

Wish me luck!

 

[Mark1234]

After about 45 days played on Modern Warfare 2, 12 days played on Modern Warfare 3, 10 days played on COD4 and WAW together, 10 days played on Black Ops, and probably around 5 days on NBA 2k11 I'm going to cancel my XBOX Live membership.

If I could make a living playing COD I would in a heartbeat because I love it (actually did make a little bit of money playing). Once I get my career going and established I might renew my LIVE membership but until than I'm going to keep it canceled.

It's going to be tough for a while but I've got to look long term.

 

[disgustipated]

Good luck man. I'll be following ya. Most of your goals are small enough to be manageable, that's always been the trick for me really.

I don't know about the religion thing, it was a waste of time for me but to each their own. Are you trying to date at all? If you don't have much experience would you consider dating down a bit to get some experience in? If you do, then why not date a bit but nothing serious?

 

[Mark1234]

thanks man. casual dating would be great and that's something I want to shoot for as well, probably will need to lower my standards a bit as well for a little while at least.

 

[imarockstar]

haha, 45 days played! damn dude. yeah Im pretty sure you should cancel xbox. I had like 12 days on the new COD and I went for like 2 weeks straight playing 8+ hours a day (mostly because I was depressed/stressed and trying to avoid reality). Every one of those days was a complete waste of time, and I knew it. Its crazy, because now I have so much going on in my life that I wonder how I possibly got anything done during that time. I havent signed on Xbox in about a month, and I dont miss it at all. Id rather do HOMEWORK than play COD. Wow, I have changed a lot. Between school, work, the gym, running errands, and jiu jitsu, I have very little time to spare. Since I quit and focused my energy on productive endeavors, everyday is a gift. When I lay my head down at night I realize that it was a good day, and that it was time well spent.

My advice could be summed up in a few words: FIND A HOBBY.

(Video games are a hobby but they produce nothing of importance, no results or real life rewards. One of the most unproductive hobbies in existence.)

 

[Mark1234]

Thanks, I'm going to pick my sketchbook and start drawing some more.

yeah it's a little embarrassing to admit how much time I spent playing COD.

I've had some awesome times playing (with friends and without) but I'm still at the same level in real life after playing. I'm just glad I haven't let myself go physically during this time and have been able to maintain some sort of employment throughout my playing.

Now that I've started school, I have decided to make some small changes to turn my life around and quitting xbox for a while will help.

 

[Mark1234]

I think I'm going to take about 4-6 weeks off from this site as well, sometimes I read too much stuff on here and get way into my head. Has anyone else found some success from taking some time off from reading/posting here?

 

[disgustipated]

Yeah. Just like with everything else, balance is key.

I take issue nothin positive can come from video games. When I was 13ish I beat the orginal Super Mario Brothers for the orignal NES with my TOES!!!! Well, I only got to the world like 2 stages from the last stage so not really, but you never let the truth get in the way of a good story!

It's a real panty dropper I tell ya

 

[Mark1234]

It's a real panty dropper I tell ya

HAHA. Yeah when I tell a chick how many nukes and MOAB's I've gotten it makes her go wild

 

[Mark1234]

I have canceled my XBOX Live membership. It was tough to do but I did it.

The past 3 years of my life have been pretty much dedicated to Call of Duty and getting good at COD. Which I realize is something useless to be good at but I was so into being competitive that I spent way too much time playing.

My Saturday nights were usually filled with gaming but last night I called up a buddy, played some pool and had a couple of drinks. Looking forward to doing this way more often.

No women encounters but had a good time nonetheless.

Haven't masturbated in 9 days and I'm starting to notice a difference in my interactions with women and people in general. I feel more calm, flirty, and a lot more in the moment. I'm still a little shy and anxious around unfamiliar faces though.

With all my free time available from gaming I'm going to start doing yoga a lot more (5-6x a week now) and reading/drawing more.

I'm a pretty tiny guy, only about 5'6 150 lbs, but hopefully the weights will add some size to me. I understand this is going to be an uphill battle but I'm looking forward to posting some exciting/fun field reports down the road!

 

[Mark1234]

Made it to day 10 of no masturbation, really powerful. It might be a placebo effect but I don't care I'm sold. I did relapse though, looked at some girls in underwear on the internet and caved in.

Before I relapsed I was chatting up strangers, chatted up a life-guard whom I asked out but was rejected (boyfriend), performed extremely well during my clinical massage assessment, and was super calm and relaxed throughout the day.

After I caved it was like I was totally different guy, non-social, isolated, switched off basically from life.

On day 3 now, plan on going longer this time.

Had to find a different job because of financial issues, working at a golf course for the season (free golf all summer) which will be less interaction with females due to the all male crew but more money and less stress.

This will mean I'm going to have to be a lot more assertive in my social life, which I'm a little bit nervous about but excited as well.

Any tips on developing a social life, pretty much from scratch?

 

[Rubirosa]

Any tips on developing a social life, pretty much from scratch?

Jeez dude, some people can't see past the end of their nose..........
I think in terms of sports hobbies, apart from Tennis, Golf
has some of the hottest chicks around. Get tour a$$ away from the TV and work on your golf game. Hang out at the driving range and when there's some hot thing working on her drive.....
"Excuse me, but do you know that you're not positioning your elbow correctly...?"