Success is improving my life. Achievements Big and Small. Positive Goals.

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Have you completed a goal and want to share your success? Maybe you have decided to make a positive change you are working toward and want to share. Nothing is to big, maybe you finally closed on that new house. Nothing is to small, maybe you tried out that restaurant down the street.

Hopefully there isn't already a self improvement thread. I searched and didn't come up with anything and asked i the "is there a thread" thread. Since we have a thread for the things breaking up down I thought it would also be nice to have one about the things building us up.

So I bought a doll, a expensive doll, and after awhile I thought to myself I need a case for doll. Then a light came into my room and enlightenment was found.

I should redo my entire apartment. I mean I have a hold in my couch. My bed is over 20 years old. I have no tables. So my achievement is pinpointing a source a stress I was kind of ignoring. I have made moves to approve my situation by buying a bunch of furniture that will be coming next week. The only thing I need now is a bed and couch or a sleeper sofa.

Such a small thing but i feel like I leveled up .

Hot days and no AC. Just tried something that is working for me. I put frozen water bottles in front of a fan. I have a pan under them to catch the ice melt.

Also tried wrapping a plastic freeze in a pillow case and holding it to my chest. That also worked well. When it was time to put the plastic freeze into the freezer I draped the empty pillow case over my shoulders which was still damp and cold.

I also found that cover your windows in black out curtains works well. I had them in my bedroom for years. Now I will be getting some for the living room.

I have a hard time operating in high heat so anything to cool myself off is a win in my book.

Baron, try one of these. They work surprisingly well. If you get a couple, you can rotate them as they warm up. They aren't cold, precisely, but the water in your pipes is likely cooler than the air, they cool via evaporation, and they apply that cool to the neck, where major blood vessels are close to the surface. We've used them for the last few years. Looks silly, works well.

A box fan in the window of your room is a very good idea if you have no AC. Does not work as well in very humid and hot conditions, but much better than nothing.

Alternatively, there's this. My parents used these in VT with great success, even in 90F+ weather. You need to get a board with a hole in it and some flanging around the edges to vent the warm air through a window, however. They have the added advantage of pulling water out of the air, making your sweating and Kool Ties more efficient.

If temps are bearable at night, get as much cooler air moved in as possible to cool the walls and floors and furniture. That will add some time to the time it takes the hotter air in the day to fully warm your place. And yeah, blocking out the sun will help too, as will high ceilings if you have them.

Interesting, I'll give those cool ties a try. Thanks for the info.

I bought four different cool type products. A towel, a tie, hoodie, and a thingy that can be many things. I'm wearing the last one now and it feels so good.

I really like the thread idea, Baron. I've always been a big proponent of counting one's blessings and I've found it to be the only thing that saves me when things are at their worst. I hope more people find some personal victories to share here. I think I can say that I've fought off a potentially crippling bout of depression recently, though not without taking some damage. So, I'm going to call that a win!

You feel it is a win it is a win. I had something similar happen to me where I would have normally been taken out for months, yes months but was only taken out for a few days. Was debating posting about in the depression thread or here as a success. Then forgot about it until you posted. Much more of a success I think.

As much as we mythologize the sudden and clear success, most of life's advances are incremental. Learn to treasure the small things and you will slowly move towards a more optimistic and grateful understanding of your life, no matter what the obstacles.

"Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water." The small stuff always needs doing, and when you focus yourself on that, you are preparing for the big stuff when the chance arrives. Experience every moment.

Good thread idea.

This week I learned how to do a few random handyman-ish things around the bathroom. I felt inordinately happy about this, but since I never grew up learning any of that stuff, I'll take it.

Yeah, great thread.

I've been struggling with sleep deprivation lately due to inefficient time management. I want to go to bed early and wake up early. My goal is to keep a stable 10pm to 6am sleep schedule on weekdays. Sadly, this does mean cutting into gaming time.

beanman101283 wrote:

Good thread idea.

This week I learned how to do a few random handyman-ish things around the bathroom. I felt inordinately happy about this, but since I never grew up learning any of that stuff, I'll take it.

That is really good. A common problem people will have is with a fake flush hissing sound. This is usually caused by the flapper going bad. Anybody can fix this for about a dollar or maybe 6 dollars if you don't know what size flapper to buy and need to buy a couple to cover all your bases. Calling a plumber to fix it will set you back a hundred or more. The more simple fixes you know the more money you save.

Went to bed 10:30 or so last night and woke up today just a bit past 6:00. Not a bad start! Conventional wisdom says that it takes 21 days to form a habit, so my goal is to keep this up for the next three weeks. 20 more to go.

This is not going to be easy. I've been a night person since pretty much high school. Late night video games have always been a source of comfort. About time to turn that around, though.

Just built my first PC, that felt pretty nice.

That is huge. I won't be building another computer for awhile. Just got a laptop that I'm still trying to control. I'll probably build my next pc for VR whenever a big dog takes the crown or the market is more flooded.

On a different note I bought a few posters. One was the wrong size 24x36 instead of 50x40. I got a refund but instead of buying a new one I think I came up with a better idea. I'm going to take a image and cut it up into paper size portion using gimp. Then I am going to print those out and stick them to cardboard. I have a lot of cardboard at the moment from the ikea furniture. Then using putty or 3M removable stripes I'll stick the pictures on the wall like a puzzle. The picture I will do is the game of thrones world map.

Got up at 5 today. That's actually not as good as it seems, because it might be saying that my sleep clock is being disrupted. The rest of the day will probably suck. On the other hand, a win is a win. Day 2 down.

Sonicator wrote:

Just built my first PC, that felt pretty nice.

That's awesome. Congratulations!!!

There's nothing like turning it on for the first time and having it actually work.

Mowed the front yard, trimmed some limbs and weeded the flower bed!! We've had the wettest summer I can remember, and I've not gotten a window of opportunity to mow in a few weeks. Lots of sweat, but now the front yard and flower beds are looking really nice. I got a bit overheated and decided to hold off on the jungle in the backyard until tomorrow. Forecast shows rain from Tuesday to infinity.

Spoiler:

and beyond!

Now I'ma play some more Witcher 3.

Day 3 down. Relatively painful morning because of a wakeful moment at 3 (!) am.

Day 4. This time before the alarm went off.

Finally joining in this thread. This is a great idea, Baron, and a way to celebrate the smallest successes. I appreciate you fostering positivity here!

Calling it success that I allowed myself to sit down and actually post here! I think about things A LOT - so putting some of that thought into action is very helpful.

Yesterday, I managed to squeeze in vacuuming while toddlers were running around. The house feels better, I feel better. Let's see if I can finish bathroom cleaning today and check a few of the small things off the to-do list before close of business.

Another big thing, I actually went to bed at a decent time, had a real nice conversation with my wife while there. And, then, ended up unable to fall asleep. Instead of lying there letting my mind wander, I got up, cleaned the kitchen and then played a game I find enjoyable. I fell asleep eventually, and when I did, I was truly tired and slept deeply. Calling that a win, too!

I managed to execute an omaplata on an uncooperative opponent.

Paleocon wrote:

I managed to execute an omaplata on an uncooperative opponent.

Looked that up. Impressive!!

Zoso1701 wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

I managed to execute an omaplata on an uncooperative opponent.

Looked that up. Impressive!!

Thanks. I was pretty surprised myself. I was going for a high guard armbar, but he slipped the leg, so I just overrotated and found myself in a position to take the arm.

As a white belt, I spend most of my time trying to deny my opponent the opportunity to advance his position (pass guard). This was the first non-sweep "win" I ever achieved from guard.

I learned how to spin a plate on a stick.

I love adding new skills to my juggling toolkit.

Day 5 done. This one was particularly rough. I woke up at 4:10 and couldn't fall back to sleep until 5:30. Had to be woken up by the alarm this time at 6:30. So the goal of waking up naturally didn't happen today.

Nevertheless, today was a success more than any other day. After some struggle I managed to get out of bed. It matters that I can keep to the schedule even when it's tough. I would not have done it before starting this experiment.

After 6 months of home reno taking over my space in the garage, tonight I was finally able to park in there again. Tomorrow morning will be so nice getting into a car that's not all stuffy air inside at 7am!

I signed with a talent agency. I am hoping to start small and do voice over, theatre and commercials.
For the last 6 years I have done community theatre and voice character work for radio plays.
I would love to make a career of voice over though

Love this thread idea! In the past I've kept a 'yay me' list and I've also written daily affirmations to keep me upbeat and motivated.

I just got back from a week's vacation last Sunday that hasn't (quite) worn off yet. I really need to remind myself that work stress really isn't something to... well stress over.

Here's some inspiration!

Stray dog follows racer 77 miles to forever home

Who would have imagined a little dog like that could accomplish so much, but it seemed she knew what she wanted and kept going despite all the obstacles.

fangblackbone wrote:

I signed with a talent agency. I am hoping to start small and do voice over, theatre and commercials.
For the last 6 years I have done community theatre and voice character work for radio plays.
I would love to make a career of voice over though :)

Good luck! I've tossed around in my head for years that I should take people's advice and try to get into this... I just don't know. Maybe I'll start a YouTube channel on which I do something that doesn't make any money for fun! ...maybe.

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