12. Learn new skills. I learned how to knit, scrapbook, and rediscovered my joy of reading when I was losing weight. Those things were more productive and healthier for me than scarfing down ice cream at 2:30 in the afternoon.

Don’t think of weight loss as work. Think of it as a special event in your life. If you do it right, you never have to do it again.

If you're ever wondering why your relationship with your partner isn't where it should be:  remember that when people feel good about themselves, they'll likely reciprocate it.  Don't run to the gym and get in shape (okay . . . do that, but don't do just that).  Don't buy flowers.  Make your partner feel beautiful, valuable, virile, strong, sexy, attractive, wanted, important, intelligent, etc.  (actions always speak louder than words)  Make that person feel like they did when you first fell in love.  

The strongest way to endear yourself to someone is to express a need for their help and to make them feel needed.  The greatest way to build a friendship is to accept what a person can give and demand that they give it (within reason). This is complicated because this little bit of heuristics seems like it should be well known and well understood.  But we get it wrong so often.

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What is the best way to keep my personal energy levels high each day?

Edit

What are some mental, physical, and social secrets from people that seem to have limitless energy each day and seem to do so much?

Physically:
Eat well (actual food your grandmother would recognize, mostly vegetables and nuts)
Sleep well (enough)
Drink tons of water
Exercise. Walk a little further, bike if you can, enjoy your surroundings

Mentally:
Understand exactly how what you are doing at every moment in time is getting you closer towards your ultimate goals in life that really mean something. It helps a lot if this cause is greater than yourself. 

Be willing to put yourself in uncomfortable situations with some degree of regularity. It will build confidence and adaptability when faced with adverse situations.

Logistically:
Schedule ahead of time with google calendar, set up text reminders. 
'if you don't decide beforehand what it is that you're going to be doing each day, chances are someone else will'. 

Use a song that you know lasts for a specific amount of time to help you through regular habits you want to keep. 

Socially:
Share everything you know (or think you know.) You may be surprised at how much you may learn, as well as how the social human animal produces more meaning when synergizing with others. The most damaging thing you can do to your greatest ideas is to keep them to yourself. 

Take initiative. If you don't do it, someone else will. Your influence grows only weaker for every moment spent idle. Be ready to reach out to others and don't be afraid of asking for or expressing what you want. 

Also on the mental level, be positive! Positive people tend to have a lot more energy. Make a list of five things you're grateful for every day. Tell your friends and colleagues what you like about them. Tell yourself too. Laugh it off when bad things happen, and double-down to fix them.

Wherever possible, do things that you really love. Don't just collapse at the end of the day. Instead, fix yourself a tasty and healthy meal and spend time with loved ones or working on something you love. This is even better if you can actually do something you love and are passionate about for your career.

Clean and de-clutter your house...you'll be surprised how much the mess was affecting your energy levels.

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stuff I should do

http://ayearofproductivity.com/5-habits-lead-happiness/

drinking 16 oz of water before morning and before bed is Hard to remember to do!  ugh.  I'm working on this.

More Good Stuff for personal development

Pick up an athletic hobby that you can do through the years, or your sedentary academic lifestyle will do horrible things to your posture, back, and gut.
Always have a private place where you can talk out loud to God every day. Even if you're not religious or don't believe in God. Talk out loud to the universe. Sort out your thoughts, verbalize them, and then write down what comes to mind. Something wiser than you is listening and responding, even if it's just another side of you.
Find music that inspires you and makes you feel alive.Listen to it every morning and if it's something embarrassing just don't tell your friends about it.

IWPSO Adventures, Part I

I was recording a video during a phone sex call and while this guy was locked away in his bathroom, pink mat, wearing his lingerie and playing with this toys... and every min or so.... BEEEP.... BEEEP.... BEEEP... yes folks, as it happens, the smoke detector's battery was low.

Instead of changing the battery first, the person apparently decided to continue paying 2.09 per minute to "play", with that extremely grating BEEP BEEP BEEP in the background.  This went on for... let's say... a while.

Priorities, people, priorities.

30 Day Habit: Drinking Water

I didn't eat ice cream for lent this year.  First time I ever did the lent thing but I thought it sounded like a good idea.  Because as it turns out, I am a complete and total whore for ice cream.  Abstaining from it was hard at first but became easier over time.

Of course now that it's not forbidden fruit I am back to being a total whore for it.

I think what I need to do is make ice cream a once per week max treat.  Like, I can have ice cream, but just once per week.   And actually track that on my calendar.  Yeah I know that sounds stupid but it works for me.

So the lent thing worked well enough that I am thinking I should try to either add or subtract something every month and see how that goes.  Like a 21-30 day trial each month.  Unfortunately at the conclusion of lent I didn't particularly have anything in mind so I didn't jump right into another trial.  But I came across an interesting list of ideas today and here are some of the things I took note of:

• I turned my sitting workstation into a Treadmill Desk.
• Eating protein with every meal
• Eating veggies with every meal
• Keep food behind closed doors (you're likely to eat food that is left out in plain sight)
• Eat slowly and mindfully (count # chews, absorb the flavours, eat with chopsticks or off small plates, etc...etc...)
• Strength Train a few times a week
• Get your heart rate elevated a few times a week
• Move regularly through full ranges of motion (daily active stretching routine or better termed: mobility routine).
• Meditation or Mindfulness Practice
• Make time for friends and family weekly
• Make a Concerted Effort to Connect with My Spouse Daily
• Meet at least one new person a week
• Write daily
• Daily Mobility Break
• Read Every Day or Do Some Kind of Professional Development
• Get In the Habit of Discovery - Find What Works For You
• At the end of every day, I try to think about 3 things I'm grateful for.
• Brushing my teeth in the shower
• Best habit I developed was to read a book 30min every day before bed.
• Push-ups and sit-ups every morning (no excuses)
• Drinking a lot of water
• Going to the gym at least 3 times a week
• Walking everywhere as much as possible, instead of public transport/car
• Working on a passion project every day
• My two minute rule: Anything disrupts the harmony of my existence, got two minutes to process the information and get back to being happy. Been at it so long, it generally occurs autonomically. The change, An unoffendable character that doesn't stress, worry, or loose it's composure.
• I meditate for about 10-15 minutes in the morning and then spend 5 minutes writing my goals- short term and long term, realistic and ridiculous- in a journal. This simple habit helps to calm my mind and increase my focus and concentration.
• Cold Shower Therapy
  
  
   So I want to pick something easy, and I want to start it like right now and do it for the rest of May.   I think I am going to try this:  Drink a glass of water (16 oz) upon waking and before bed every single day.  I am chronically dehydrated so I think this will be a good thing and it's pretty easy.

New cat is exhausting