How have you improved yourself this week/month/year? Lifting isn't life, a well-balanced human being is productive, has hobbies, pushes him/herself to succeed, is charismatic, and strives to live the best life they can. Share your successes, failures, methods, and everything in between.
Videos:
http://youtu.be/b-a1jXgAsQI [Embed] [Embed]
http://youtu.be/3Ao7rZ8-HWo [Embed] [Embed]
Reading material:
> http://pastebin.com/x7BbYimv
More reading material needs to be added
> arcitea.com/
The Way of The Seal
The Code of the Warrior - Rick Fields
The Story of Civilization - Will Durant
The Story of Philosophy - WIll Durant
Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein 1959 (actually has a lot of really powerful character building stuff in there)
Bravo Two Zero - Andy McNab
Immediate Action - ^
Seven Troop - ^
>Mentally Tough - James E. Loehr & Peter J. McLaughlin
>Antifragile - Nassim Taleb
>The Brain That Changes Itself - Norman Doidge
>The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
That Art of Manliness blog was originally included in this OP, but the only people that read it are /pol/ neckbeards that fetishize about things that happened 100 years ago so I took it out. The pastebin for this post is http://pastebin.com/3n1RuYBL
>>37735621
Been improving a little by little.
Started lifting, started to date different girls and find out which "kind" of girl I like. Just seeing red flags and shit. I think my parents are thinking that I am crazy since I am dating girls trough Tinder, but It works for me to get some experience.
The bad thing is that I don't have an intership for next school year, which means that I don't have anything to do from September to February.
Going to do some short courses during that time.
Progress is slow, but I will achieve my goal.
>>37735979
>Progress is slow, but I will achieve my goal.
???
>>37735621
Starship Troopers is God-Tier. Best Book i own.
I Would also Reccomend
-The Way of Men by Jack Donovan and Basically anything else by him
-Got Fight by Forrest Grifffin, more of a humoristic book, but good advice and entertaining as fuck
Last years reading list...would recommend each and every one on the list.
Can you be a social Chad in the modern age without any social media? I'm worried because I'm a friendless social autist trying to become a Chad/trying to get a gf but it seems impossible now as I think most girls are going to want to get with someone who's socially relevant and people now. I'm trying my best /fit/ but I'm just not sure anymore. And I'm even more worried that somebody'll see my dead account (if I do make one) because I don't even know what people put on there anymore.
>t. 18 year old who just started uni this year
I've become a shut-in NEET during the last 12 months.
I went to study abroad, but didn't adapt well and almost didn't go to uni at all.
Now I'm back at my country, but didn't take any courses this term and have just stayed with my parents.
I've started lifting and am looking forward to putting my life back in track.
Wish me luck /sig/.
>>37736001
Well.. I am a kind of person that wants to see results very fast. I noticed by lifting that I should keep in mind that result don't come as fast as I would want to have.
I lost 8 kg of weight in the last 6 months, but I got angry at myself the first month, because I had almost no results. I forgot to add that in my story.
Anyway, I now apply my new thought that achieving a goal takes time.
>>37736190
Damn dude I read like 8 of those books for highschool curriculum and I can vouch for things fall apart, the Odyssey, crime and punishment (dry as fuck but motherland bro), 1984, a brave new world, Siddhartha , and Devil in the white city is a good one I'd add if you're interested in a serial killer and what it took to build the world fair ....
Been trying to get into meditation for a while.
Any recommend books or other resources? Preferably with a more practical focus that doesn't veer too far into the spiritual aspect.
I just want to get this anxiety under control ;_;
You want a tip for self-improvement?
Stop reading self-improvement tips
Seriously, just go outside and do shit
>>37736507
It is true that improving yourself the best way is to actually do stuff outside, but some people want to have some kind of guideline.
>>37736426
Good luck man!
Are you going to reach for a job?
>>37736507
>go outside
And do what
Sit on a bench in a park?
You kinda need some guidance family
>>37736583
Do what the fuck you want
Do you not have instincts or something?
Imagine if you weren't scared of anything, what would you go outside and do?
>>37736495
I read the Odyssey and Things Fall Apart in high school as well, but mostly my school was interested in drilling in Shakespeare and writing skills more than anything. It's a shame because I missed out on so many quality books most everyone else read
>>37736590
Sit on a bench in the park maybe
>>37736507
>You want a tip for self-improvement?
>Stop reading self-improvement tips
This
>>37736583
That's why you have your real family famalamb
>>37736605
Then maybe you're an evolutionary dead end? Accept your fate anon. Or don't. It's up to you, but know that "self improvement" tips will not get you there.
>>37736627
I'm not really active in these threads and I already have a girlfriend
I was just reacting to "go outside" without any plan
I always have some sort of cause when I leave the door, and I'm almost never home
>>37736642
>gf is an achievement
Wow
>>37736291
Dude don't worry about social media. The only thing worth having is Snapchat honestly.
You can absolutely network, make friends, and get FBs / GFs without it...you just actually have to go out there and meet people. And if I have to explain how you go about meeting people you don't have what it takes to be a chad...
Just to calm your nerves, If ever someone asks: "anon why don't you any social media?"
>It distracts me too much and I would rather focus on school and my hobbies
It's thats simple
>>37736291
Bump. answer me.
>>37735621
>lifting isn't life
>posts on a FITNESS board
Lifting is life
>>37736505
Do some basic yoga positions then sit down in a comfortable and quiet place and focus on NOTHING but your breathing
>>37736654
>And if I have to explain how you go about meeting people you don't have what it takes to be a chad...
How do you meet people outside of uni? I'm not trying to meme (I was a full blown no friends autist before but I'm getting there anon) but the only hobbies I have are lifting. I fucked up my first semester so I probably won't join any time consuming clubs.
>Just to calm your nerves
I was just asking if you could. I think the most trouble I'll face for not having it is not being able to network properly as people'll probably forget me without regular contact i.e social media
This shit belongs on /adv/
sage and I hope nobody reports this ;3x
>>37736735
/adv/ is too slow and full of retards. Excuse me if I want advice today and not next week.
>>37735621
>a well-balanced human being is productive, has hobbies, pushes him/herself to succeed, is charismatic, and strives to live the best life they can
no shit, but this board is about FITNESS. off-topic shit belongs elsewhere no matter how important (you think) it is.
>>37736858
This is a self improvement board.
>>37736627
You can say to a person that he has to go to the gym to improve himself.
But how does he know what to do in the gym ?
Nobody is going to tell him to start with SS and how to get proper forms for the exercises.
>>37736721
How to meet new people:
>job
>bars
>intermural sports
>Take fun electives (PE, Art, Music) they are more laid back
>join your major's professionals organization
These are your best resources if you are only 18...
>Go workout with intermural bros
>Bang chicks from bars
>Get invites to parties from people at work, class, intermurals, and professionals meetings.
>Go to parties and meet more people
>See if people want to grab lunch on campus
>Always go to a sorority event, function, or formal if you are invited by a female in one... ALWAYS
>Make actual female friends
Protip about those intramurals:
V O L L Y B A L L
Most schools have co-ed teams. Go with a bro/wingman.
Any good 'casual non-fiction'? I like to read before bed and learn without trying too hard. Just finished The Undercover Economist
>>37736974
All right thanks anon. I'll look into it.
>>37737014
Don't just look into it bro, go fucking do it.
>>37737028
I want to lad. It just seems like everyone always has plans and shit to do on the weekends/weekdays (and they probably do) that I feel kinda cut. I want to know a lot of people but I also want a good group to regularly hangout with. But nobody wants to be a guys first friend for that. It's just human nature to say no the more people say yes if you catch my drift.
>>37736164
I second Starship Troopers
Last year was completely NEET mode
Now, great job, one more year of uni, go out everynow and then with friends, gains going up
Found out my girl is pregnant. How do I transition from wanting to be an alpha sex god to being content with a good girl and a family? How do I continue to improve my life and support my girlfriend and child?
So far
>Focus on work and building businesses
>Continue to work out and improve my physical body
>Continue to read and improve my mental capacity
I can't go out to bars, can't go meet sloots, I know a lot of people but I can't be arsed to hang out with them as friends anymore. What the fuck do I do?
Hit a wall and started seeing a therapist, on some meds right now, feeling better. Currently in summer school, goal is to get an A in both of my courses before fall semester. Trying to prove to my parents that I can do it and that I'm willing, and that im not an apathetic pile of crap anymore. Going back to the gym. I have some lifting buddies so I'm feeling good about it.
Trying to eat enough each day so I can get bigger, but there's no dining hall in the summer so I cant just hop in there whenever I want. I'll figure something out tho. It seems like more people are talking to me/its easier to talk to others.
/end blogpost
>>37737114
It's bit something you can so right now but moreso after your kid is born.
>>37737114
How old are you if I may ask?
>>37737114
Dont sign anything until you swab the babys mouth. Friend is currently paying 35,000 a month in child support for a kid thats not his. I know I know you love her and shes the love of your life....thats exactly what he said...
Time to be a provider for your family and hopefully shes tolerable to be around
>>37736190
Curious, do you make yourself read?
or does it come naturally?
I treat reading like a task and don't read for the fun
>>37736190
Man I just finished the first Lord of the Rings and I felt very conflicted. It just has moments where my mind is screaming HURRY UP but at the same time I get that it's more about the journey than the destination. Still looking forward to reading Two Towers
>>37737249
Not that guy, but I had the same problem during school.
Only read 1 book that I actually enjoyed, which was The Shadow of the Wind
>>37736291
You probably cant become a CHAD without it, but you will be terrible at it if you haven't had it for years. Lots on nuanced social expectations have developed around it and you'll probably clumsily embarrass yourself through it.
You can do great without it, but a true CHAD probably utilizes social media
>>37737249
I really enjoy it. Could be that you're conditioned from school to see it as a task, or you're just not reading books that actually interest you.
Try to look up something that just seems entertaining. It doesn't have to be really deep or important like a lot the stuff people like post about online.
>>37736569
Thanks! I'm going back to my home uni. I'm still enrolled, just took a break this term.
>>37737249
Bring your book everywhere, I do 80% of my reading in between classes and at work. However, if I do read at home I end up reading for hours and hours. I never really knew I enjoyed reading until 2 years ago and I don't view it as a chore at all.
>>37737282
Tolkien has a very slow writing style and you are right that it is about the journey. One of my uni teachers told me that because of the films it's almost impossible to truly appreciate Tolkien now. The books should be read as if to emerse yourself in a magical and fantastical world, not to just read dialogue and wait for battle scenes.
>>37737249
/lit/ browser here
find books you enjoy, then as you read more often and gain knowledge of more books, it will become a cornerstone of your life.
Try not to get into the habit of reading in order to impress others, but to try to read good works.
Have a chart.
>>37736590
come home, set a goal and get to work without pointless roaming around
>>37737495
>>37737355
>>37737528
cheers guys
>>37736190
Good list senpai.
I highly recommend everyone on this board read Moby Dick. Also Under The Volcano. Also Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man. All top tier literature that deals with themes pertinent to this thread.
>Eckhart Tolle
lolno, just read the German mystics instead starting with Meister Eckhart. But I also really suggest everyone check out and read the Norwegian philosopher Peter Wessel Zapffe, he is and will always be a very important cornerstone to my concepts of life and existence.
>>37737175
What?
>>37737178
I'm 24 years old.
>>37737213
The baby is 100% mine, we spend about 95% of our time together and I cum inside of her every time we have sex. She stopped taking her birth control and I didn't care because cumming inside a girl is insanely satisfying.
>>37735621
just read The Questionnaire and Mein Kampf both pretty good senpai
>>37737528
Mishima is basically the proto /fit/izen
>>37737528
>>37737842
>Yukio Mishima And Bodybuilding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaqVv5j0m48
>The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima - 1985 - BBC - Arena
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctufj50w9a0
>>37737825
Well enjoy paying for it bro and congratulations on the little crumb snatcher :)
>>37737481
Nice, try getting social with people, make some friends.
>>37738101
I used to not be autistic, but going to a different country with new people really threw me off. I'm kinda lazy to socialize now. I guess I'll just have to get in the habit again.
>>37736721
The key to meeting new people is by regularly being in the same spot as them. Like if you go to the gym and always see the same guy there, you'll probably ask for a spot, chat a little bit, and then eventually start shooting the shit more and more until you hangout outside the gym. Apply this case to anywhere. There's a coffee shop I regularly go to and now I chat with the baristas every time. I could actually go on a date with 1 or 2 of them if I didn't have a gf. And it's all because I regularly go there and interact with them and keep it positive
>>37738650
What do you even talk about with them?
>>37739341
Anything. A lot of times they'll spark the conversation, like if I have a gym bag with me or a grocery bag or if its raining outside. Then we'll have a short flirty back and forth. We joke about my order because I get the same thing and their selection is huge.
Wasn't always like this, it build up because we regularly saw each other. At first it was just hello's and how's your day, simple small talk
>>37736653
For some, it is. Acknowledge that not everyone has the same baseline situation as you
>>37739804
Everyone starts somewhere. Its about getting better everyday!
I am currently self improving my creativity by making a pipe to smoke weed out of. I had a block of wood, a drill, a handsaw, a knife, sandpaper and some patience, and my little pipe is coming along very nicely. I have to work on it in secret because I don't want my parents to ask questions, since I am currently staying at their place for summer vacation. So at night, instead of browsing /fit/ and other websites, I put on some music and work on my pipe. I want it to look similar to gandalfs pipe. I plan to use the top of an acorn as the bowl, and might add another acorn top that will be hinged and used as a lid on the bowl. Its gonne be dope.
Word of advice. Before you go crazy and start a long ass list of shit your gonna do. Pick 3 things and stick with them for 7 days
>>37740579
its all about making ur own glass pieces anon, look into it if u actually wanna build something worthwhile to smoke out of
>>37735621
I went on a date and she wants to have another one
How do I stop being anxious about food and lifting, and just enjoy it? I like lifting and eating, but I always feel angst all the time about it.
'Is my routine good' 'does this food have enough protein' 'how do I look, have I made gains' 'why are my friends progressing faster than me'
I'm naturally a very anxious person, diagnosed with clincal depression and GAD. Anyone got advice on how to get a relaxed approach towards lifting and eating? I want to just have it as a hobby, without being super anxious.
>>37741610
are you going to tell them what GAD is or be a massive tool. If you think you have depression now wait till the tribulations really begin
I love self teaching/improvement.
My self fulfillment goals:
>Lift 5 days a week
>Learn Japanese
>Learn programming
>Read 50 pages/day
>Watch 3 movies/week
That's it. Takes a lot of time, tho. Just started grad school and it fucking sucks, brehs.
>>37742309
what are you studying in grad school that you have time to learn proper programming and another language?
>>37742409
I'd hardly call my goals "proper programming". My main priority is learning data analysis using Pandas for right now, and toying around a bit with SQL. I don't care to programming anything absurdly complex, my needs are very focused in the domain of research applications. Things is that I'm competing against nurses and psychology people who have no fucking experience with tech at all, so even a rudimentary ability to work with languages puts me way ahead of the pack.
I just study Japanese a little every day, usually around 30 minutes. I used spaced repetition software so it's easy. I'm still early on, just got through Genki 1 and know about 700 words, so I've got a ways to go before I have to put more time into conversations and writing. My goal rn is to put 1000 hours into Japanese total. That's roughly how long I estimate it will take me to get to some decent level of fluency. I'm at 160 hours right now, and working 30 minutes a day I figure it will take me abut 5 years to hit that goal. I'm young (24) so I've got plenty of time. I'd rather go slow and methodically than rush through and do a shitty job.
I'm studying to be a psychiatric nurse practitioner. My program is blended so half my classes are online. Helps a lot with my other priorities. Not too paper focused either so there's not a ton of take home work.
>>37742204
oh sorry, it's general anxiety disorder.
>wait till the tribulations really begin
what's that supposed to mean
>>37742608
Jesus looked chinese champ. Nice try though but your drugs are in the trash. I've never been more happy to be jewish than I am right now.
>>37742559
Awesome man. Plenty of crazy bastards out there so why not make money on their pain. The money will be nothing compared to the pain you inflict on others though so I hope its worth it
Blessings to you both and best of luck in the future battles we will have
>>37741549
I already have a glass bong. I just really like the idea of having the top of an acorn as the smoking bowl for a pipe.
I am trying to draw some inspiration from this guy:
http://www.dmpipes.com/archive.html
>>37742891
These look dope as fuck man
How much does a pipe cost? I'd imagine around $150?
>>37735621
Am now home gym master race. Job improved cardio and legs. Now I have a bar and 300lbs of steel.
I'm working my way up slowly adjusting for the little gains I have seen over the course of the last week and a half. I'm starting to fill out nicely. Back and shoulders are getting bigger, legs are more defined, arms are almost double their size and my chest is getting much more solid.
Still babby light lifts. But I'm trying to not injure myself. I think in another 3 days I can increase the weight by 25 again and get more noob growth.
Thanks fit. I'm on my way.
