What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

[Strika]

- Discovering the self-help world: sure, I read a lot of useless books that just give you a short-lived burst of motivation, but a few of them have made a definite impact on me (mindset, flow...). I'm taking action on things, that I considered 'just not my thing' before.

- Barbell training : I used to F*ck around for years on machines, with no real program, no tracking of progress... and no success. Doing the starting strength program helped me build muscle mass, and fixed my knee pain.

- Learning about the red pill: I was the biggest loser with women. I was always the nice guy, putting them in a pedestal, always putting their needs first. The red pill opened my eyes, and allowed me to see that they are not angels, just human beings. It was hard to let go of my illusions, and it made me bitter at first, but now I just accept them just the way they are, I just don't see them as these innocent and angelic creatures.

- Salsa dancing : It's so much fun. And a good way to meet people. I wish I had started earlier so I wouldn't have spent the saturdays of my 20s in front of my computer screen.

 

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[John TenBrink]

What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

Saw this question on Reddit and thought it was a pretty thought-provoking question that may lead to some interesting answers.

It can be whatever in any aspect of your life, both big and small things.

Living out a stronger understanding of LOVE and GRACE and reciprocating more LOVE/GRACE to others.

Admittedly, In my early days, I lived fast and selfishly based on insecurities.

Since LOVING more and extending GRACE, my joy skyrocketed, I walk more humbly, and I found immense freedom from self!

 

[Ceesjan]

1. Daily meditation. I've been doing this consistently for the past year and it helped me tremendously.
2. Going out there and connecting with people who are on a similar journey. Where 10 years ago I didn't have many entrepreneurial friends, nowadays most of them are. Included changing my lifestlye completely, and in my case, living overseas for most of my 20s.
3. Finding mentors. In my opinion, one of the fastest "shortcuts" out there (not a big believer in shortcuts but if there are any shortcuts, having a mentor comes close).

 

[SDE]

Any recommendations for how to start going vegan? (E.g. cookbooks, sites, etc.) I'm not familiar with much beyond Forks over Knives.

I think MJ shared the below cookbooks somewhere in the forum but I couldn't find that exact post. Anyways, I made a note of them.

1. The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out: Liddon, Angela: 8601418237235: Amazon.com: Books

2. Love on a Plate: The Gourmet UnCookbook eBook : Brotman, Cara, Rothkranz, Markus: Amazon.co.uk: Books

3. The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of Europe: 150 Plant-Based Makeovers of Classics from France, Italy, Spain . . . and Beyond eBook : Reinfeld, Mark: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

 

[Speculatooor]

In exact order:
#1 Hair transplant
#2 Reading books consistently
#3 Making enough money to achieve a certain freedom
#4 Bodybuilding (and clean diet)
#5 Sensible bedtimes, leaving phone in another room

I think a supportive environment is the most important of all. Friends, family, girlfriend, etc.

 

[MoneyDoc]

Stopped giving a shit about what others would think of me if I do/don’t do something.

Made my purpose in life to provide the best possible life for my parents and my siblings.

 

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[Vas87]

Reducing weight training from 6 days a week to 4 days a week with cardio/ conditioning days. So much more fun than just picking things up and putting them down each day.
Eating less processed foods, and quitting coffee got rid of 99% of my headaches too.

 

[Guest-5ty5s4]

Chiropractor and physical therapist. Amazing results. Definitely recommend.

 

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[SebastianSkinner]

What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

Saw this question on Reddit and thought it was a pretty thought-provoking question that may lead to some interesting answers.

It can be whatever in any aspect of your life, both big and small things.

The best one by far was stopping partying and drinking so much. I stopped drinking for 15 months and now occasionally have a glass of wine with dinner maybe once a month.

Easier to focus on the things that count when you don't feel jaded from a heavy night. Second is focusing on fitness. I gym on average 5 times a week now and it is a game changer.

 

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[Benjamin Pavliha]

What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

Saw this question on Reddit and thought it was a pretty thought-provoking question that may lead to some interesting answers.

It can be whatever in any aspect of your life, both big and small things.

I wish I would have stopped drinking alcohol sooner. This drastically improved my life once I quit 2 years ago.

 

[Boogie]

I would have found some way to marry my wife sooner and built our lives together better and stronger sooner.

Removing myself from a relationship in my family is good, but has been messy and expensive. I should have ditched any relationship with part of my family sooner and avoided the massive damage it has caused financially and in relationships.

I would have stopped questioning some things sooner and put baggage, fears, and insecurity behind me sooner. As KAK would say, leadership skills solve a lot of problems.

Taking full responsibility for everything is almost freeing. It makes everything easier. I wish I had done that sooner.

On the other hand, these situations taught me a lot about myself, life, and the kinds of BS I will not tolerate anymore from others or myself. It has also taught me that even family might screw you in a second. Watch who you rely on. Make sure people can rely on you. Make sure you can rely on yourself.

 

[Tiago]

Fermenting my owns foods. Sauerkraut, water Kefir, Kombucha.

My digestion has never been better

 

[cinquino]

What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

Saw this question on Reddit and thought it was a pretty thought-provoking question that may lead to some interesting answers.

It can be whatever in any aspect of your life, both big and small things.

I stopped consuming alcohol six years ago and this was one of the most transformative decisions I've ever made. I went from 5'10" 212 pounds to 157 pounds in a matter of months. I feel younger, I look younger. Being alcohol free inspired me to start a Transcendental Mediation practice where I meditate (at least) 20 minutes a day every day. I bought a nice Rolex Sea dweller with all the money I used to spend on alcohol. I'm happier, have full access to my emotions and thoughts. I never have to worry about being hung over. I exercise less and am in better shape in my 40's than I was in my 30s or even 20's in some respects. I just love it. I only wish that I never had that first drink at 15 years old or stopped sooner. Attached is a photo of when I was fat, drunk and bloated in my early 30's vs being sober and a lot healthier (and happier) in my early 40s.

 

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[Caminsky]

1. Active listening and not thinking about the next point you want to make has been helpful in life and business.

2. For parents, being truly engaged and involved. I try to take on leadership positions or otherwise get involved in my kids activities (scouting, sports, etc.). Sometimes it can be a PITA, but my kids love it and I want to set the example of not being afraid to step up and take responsibility so they can start doing the same as they get older.

3. Most importantly, taking responsibility for my own life. I wouldn't say I ever had a "victim mindset," but I've been guilty of the occasional "that's just the way it is." Understanding that my choices directly shape my path has helped me make better long-term decisions and stop merely reacting to life as it comes.

 

[Hayden Layne]

I spent a large portion of my 20's pursuing Acting, which when I was younger was all I ever wanted to do.

Fast forward to being at Drama School for 3 years, I knew that I no longer wanted to do this and that the career path was making me miserable.

I eventually stopped acting and moved into Professional Wrestling for a while which made me considerably happier.

Looking back I wish I had left the acting industry long before I did at age 27. I could have used those years to be doing something more valuable.

I try not to look at it like that though and hopefully I can somehow use all of those experiences to get further in life.

When I finally stepped away from doing things that no longer served me, my whole life changed and it opened doors to doing things that were far more suited to me.

So my advice would be to anyone who is on a path that deep down they know isn't right for them. Just get out of it and don't waste anymore time pursuing it. New and better things will be presented to you.

 

[Ceesjan]

Meditation

 

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[EngineerThis]

Stopped drinking like a fish. No lie, biggest positive change I can think of that's been paying out ever sense

Me too, these past 6months have been absolutely incredible!

 

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[CYRUS PR]

Muay Thai
MMA
Bodybuilding
Dieting / Fasting (sometimes don't eat for 1-2 days)
Spending time with friends
Quitting pxrn and video games

 

[CYRUS PR]

- Greatly reducing weed smoking and alcohol drinking
- Same with video games
- Eating fruits and drinking enough water
- Exercice
- Participating on the forum

I'm considering selling my gaming PC and just using my MacBook so I can't game anymore..

 

[andyhaus44]

Getting my phone screen time under control in a major way, which has recently happened. Went from 6.5-6 hours a day on my phone to 1 hour. Here is what I've done to greatly reduce time on my phone:

Started practicing Cal Newport's Phone Foyer Method (highly recommend!) - my "foyer" is in my garage
Started using my old iPhone for audio programs (instead of my actual iPhone)
Started using the one sec app (highly recommend!)
Started using ClearSpace for Chrome (in case I need to look something up, it gives you 1,2,5,10 minute options)
Put email and texts on the face of my Apple watch so I don't get e-mail/text message fear of missing out (highly recommend!)
Got rid of all iPhone notifications
Grayscaled my phone
Started using my Apple watch for habit tracking (Strides)

 

[NervesOfSteel]

What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

Saw this question on Reddit and thought it was a pretty thought-provoking question that may lead to some interesting answers.

It can be whatever in any aspect of your life, both big and small things.

1. I stopped being an emotional fool and learned to say "NO!"
2. Door-to-door insurance selling. Sales skills ++++, and some other additional skills.

(The fire you get when you're a family man, is absolutely insane.. I thought I was at my toughest when I was a drifter.. HELL NO. It's hard to explain but with my new family, Christ, and some discipline I feel incredible)

I second that!

 

[EngineerThis]

Thanks for sharing! All of these sound absolutely amazing. I'm happy for you!

A big tip in staying sober which I discovered by myself is to never compare happiness with being high or whatever. In the past, I found myself thinking "Damn, I feel so good, you could say that I'm high". THAT IS A VERY BIG MINDSET MISTAKE. The reason why you feel good when you are sober is because YOU ARE SOBER. Never forget that.

Hope this helps!

Agreed! I found my emotions were WILD for months after stopping. Proved how much I had suppressed them. And you're correct, the lie that causes people to fall back into drinking is "It makes me feel good, or gives me confidence" When in fact it does the literal opposite. I know the truth and actually haven't been tempted at all, stopping was easier than you think ... And I was at 1/2 a Fifth a day...

 

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[snowday]

I quit smoking. It thus far has been the hardest thing I've done in my life.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Figuring out how to payoff my debt much sooner than to a life of avoidance. I should have figured all of this stuff when I was 26 and yet I wasted a lot of time. I wasn't taking it seriously until a lawsuit back in 2022 was filed.

Also understanding my spending behavior. I'm keeping every statement to understand how I spend.

I have enough now to payoff a loan that I took out 5 years ago.

I'm grateful for these past few months, I don't get as many phone calls as I once did with every lender asking for their money. It's been nice to see most of mu old debts paid.

Been living off of strictly cash, earning it though will at Scale could potentially be a challenge.

 

[random_username]

Number one has to be writing. If I don't write my thoughts every single day I slowly go mad. Recently, every time I had a few bad days stringed together, it was always the same conclusion - "oh you didn't really write for a few days".
Second thing is learning to let go of things, both physical and otherwise. I grew up kinda poor so I don't like throwing away stuff I might need. Until a year a go I literally had a backpack from the start of my high school. I was 29 at the time. Since I never liked buying physical things, it never accumulated, but I feel so much lighter every few months when I throw away useless shit. But more importantly, and the one I'm still learning is to quit on useless open loops. I call it the gospel of Josh Waitzkin, because life is too short to read books as shit as "Art of Learning". I feel much better right now by quitting stuff that is kinda fun, kinda important or kinda fulfilling.

I'll look into this, at the moment I use Personal Capital.

Empower Personal Wealth

What will Personal Capital becoming Empower mean for you? Personal Capital is bringing our award-winning tools and people to Empower, one of the world’s largest retirement planning companies.

www.empower.com

Its a great way to see all transactions bot only from a day to day perspective. But for past years as well.

I'll check out pocketsmith. Maybe it could replace my Excel sheet I use to keep track of my Fixed bills.

Maybe try YNAB as well. Ideas from that app and Dave Ramsey videos really helped me learn how to control my spending few years ago. I especially like how they talk about dealing with emotional side of finances instead of cold hard numbers.

 

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[Tammyanne]

My morning meditation,

Never knew back then that there could be a way to raise awareness to such an extent,

Now, 20min of meditation in the morning and get so much productive for the day.

Really wish i knew this sooner !

Yes, I joined a class during the pandemic and what a breath of fresh air. My Somatic Meditation class every Sunday and 3 times a week if I like etc. zoom was helpful. Naturally in person is so much better!

 

[Issi007]

Any specific kind of meditation? Do you do the same one every morning or depending on circumstances

Breathing meditation,

I simply try to focus on my breathing, takes few minutes usually to catch the focus and deeply dive into the breathing for about 15mn.
Same thing over and over again and build it as a habit (long term, that's where the real effect is felt in my opinion).

 

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[khadush]

Have you felt overwhelmed and stressed out due to lots of things to do?

You don't know where to start and what you should do.

It occurs due to only one thing "wrong planning and setting wrong goals" for your personal & professional things.

We live in a world where we have to achieve lots of things in less amount, which causes us to burn out, demotivation, stress and depression, especially when we don't have the right plan for everything.

Thus, I decided to take a course on goal setting and planning. I am happy that I invested in the course, and my life feels less stressful.

Thank you for asking a great question.

 

[MTF]

Stopped going to reddit for the past 2 months and have been much happier and productive.

I liked some subreddits but they would always degenerate is someway to referencing "the current thing". Some people on reddit just can't help themselves and virtue signal at every turn they can.

Yeah I don't participate in any subreddits other than r/davidgoggins but Reddit shows me some current popular sitewide posts whenever I visit and sometimes there's something interesting. I don't really pay any attention to crybabies, politics, and stuff like that.

 

[wade1mil]

Weightlifting