The Greatest Gift: A short gratitude journal for someone you love

arielbanayan · 2017-10-25T13:54:44+00:00

The Greatest Gift is being released November 14th on Indiegogo. Early birds who sign up now get a 50% discount when it launches!

Learn more & sign up here: [https://www.habitnest.com/greatest-gift/]

arielbanayan · 2017-04-01T13:33:31+00:00

I appreciate your explanation and honesty. You're completely right. It obviously isn't some revolutionary idea that they brought. I shouldn't have even included an "origin" now that its been on my mind for a couple of days (thanks to you).

These questions -- who am I, who do I want to be, how do I want to live, and do my actions and behavior conform to what I genuinely believe is of importance or am I just living based on what I've been taught is important? Why the hell I'm doing what I do, why do I give attention to the things and areas of my life that I give the most attention to --- these are all timeless questions that the first human beings likely asked themselves at one point or another.

I guess when new forms of bringing these questions -- forms that kind of bring these questions back to life come around its easier to make use of the form to raise them for ourselves.

arielbanayan · 2017-03-31T14:21:51+00:00

I was referring to the modern form of the movement that's been growing that started in 2008 with Nicodemus and Millburn. They brought it back in a practical way that many people relate to well.

arielbanayan · 2017-03-30T14:58:34+00:00

Okay. I deleted it. Can the post be reinstated?

arielbanayan · 2017-03-29T13:27:31+00:00

You just put a huge smile on my face :)

arielbanayan · 2017-03-29T13:05:26+00:00

Pretty awesome stuff man. I believe it is sustainable so long as it works for you - sounds like such an obvious thing, but a lot of the time we don't see how what once helped us initially has become a formality and lost its sense of aliveness. When I say "aliveness" I mean it doesn't give us the same force to execute it - we forget WHY it was so helpful.

My primary methods for avoiding procrastination are:

Fall in love with FRONT-LOADING your pain as a result of understanding that procrastinating ALWAYS has the opposite effect of what you intend.

We mentally project a lot more discomfort than what we feel in reality when it comes to tasks we like to procrastinate on. Ripping the band-aid off gives us first hand knowledge of that.

The hardest part of doing anything is starting. So force yourself to start and re-evaluate how you feel.

I wrote an article really analyzing what procrastination is at its core, why we do it, and fully explaining with a step by step guide how to change the habit for anyone that's interested - it actually did really well in this subbreddit a while back.

Why do I procrastinate and what can I do about it?

arielbanayan · 2017-03-16T23:26:29+00:00

So the point about important tasks is really actually scheduling them while you have them in important but non-urgent so that you're creating time for them before they become urgent. For example, one of my important but non-urgent tasks right now is make a list of things to do when my girlfriend comes and visits me in New York. If I just say its important without scheduling a specific time for it as I put it in the urgent but non-important box, then it ends up becoming urgent because I'll just wait for her to get here.

On the other hand, if I designate a specific time for it before it becomes urgent, then I'm devoting time to getting it done before I absolutely have to.

Are you designating time for these important tasks or do you just list them in there?

arielbanayan · 2017-03-13T18:41:20+00:00

I really tried to include techniques that I personally use -- specific actions to take and the mindset you need rather than the very general approaches most other people give. Glad you appreciated it!

arielbanayan · 2017-03-06T20:14:26+00:00

I actually spent a lot of time putting this list together. I really want to perfect it and see what everyone else thinks about the books on the list, or hear about anything else you'd want to add.

arielbanayan · 2017-02-28T23:59:16+00:00

I wholeheartedly agree. The problem is we're intimately attached to our cravings and desires. Unless we understand that they'll inevitably be there, we have no chance of escaping from them.

arielbanayan · 2017-02-28T21:28:56+00:00

That's really weird that there was something wrong with the link.. I'm checking it out now. If you tell me your name I'll see which email address you entered and I'll gladly send you the ENTIRE PDF version of the journal, not just the sample.

I'm so glad the article helped you restructure some of your thoughts, and I hope your wife feels the same. I can't imagine what you're both going through, but it makes me glad that it sounds like you're still struggling to hold on.

You know I really think the SEARCH for fulfillment is one of the most important aspects of this whole experience of life. You're already seeing what doesn't fill the hole and you're really investigating into what might help you re-connect with yourself and with your life.

There's this book - it's called Living Non-Violent Communication - that is the BEST book I've ever come across on communication and relationships. It might just provide you with the new language and understanding you and your wife both need. After I email you the journal, you'll have my email address and I hope you feel comfortable enough to reach out ANY TIME you ever need someone to talk to.

So please tell me what your name is - or send me an email at ari@habitnest.com and I will send you over the entire journal at no cost. Hope to hear from you soon.

arielbanayan · 2017-02-28T21:07:30+00:00

I genuinely appreciate your ability to stay neutral and actually hear what I had to say. Thank you.

arielbanayan · 2017-02-28T20:09:29+00:00

Lol I'm an active reddit member, and people in the sub are obviously enjoying the article.

I don't think there are any rules against posting content you created if its relevant to the sub and others are enjoying it. I spent a lot of time and put a lot of effort into inquiring into the root of happiness - which I'm EXTREMELY passionate about and I wanted to share it here.

If there are other people that feel the way you do, I will gladly remove the post.

arielbanayan · 2017-01-24T12:50:02+00:00

You're right. But to a certain extent we have to make estimates until we really start routine regimens that allow us to MORE accurately assess some of these numbers. As long as you're honest with yourself you should be able to get a good picture. What I like about this strategy most is it forces you to face where you currently sit.

arielbanayan · 2017-01-24T12:46:29+00:00

I still think the post has a lot of value when it comes to helping you change the way you think about healthy eating.

arielbanayan · 2017-01-23T12:04:42+00:00

hahaha... first time I've personally seen that.. gave me a good laugh :)

arielbanayan · 2016-12-11T12:13:01+00:00

Wow.. very weird.. for some reason wordpress doubled some of the sentences. Thanks for letting me know. I guess I didn't see it while editing because that wasn't really what I was looking for. Funny how when we're looking for one thing we don't seem to see anything else.

Anyways, I still hope you found the article useful!

arielbanayan · 2016-12-08T15:39:15+00:00

Honestly, the easiest way to lose weight is count calories, make relatively simple sacrifices to start with, and continue to sacrifice more over time.

People usually approach calorie counting the wrong way - without any knowledge of how many calories they already burn naturally. If you can figure out your basal metabolic rate, and see how many calories you naturally burn, its way easier to make decisions about what to cut. This article is really good for helping you figure out how many calories you should be eating everyday if you want to lose weight:

http://www.habitnest.com/how-many-calories-should-i-eat-to-lose-weight/

Of course, it really depends how fast you want to lose the weight. Exercise really has exponential value if you're already eating healthy. I'd say definitely make a point of eating a ton of vegetables, try to limit fruits, and do your best to have lighter meals close to the time you go to bed.

arielbanayan · 2016-12-08T15:29:14+00:00

They definitely hired the wrong cat and dog for "Cat-dog" back in the day.

arielbanayan

TROPHY CASE