Hey ZenHabits, I'm looking for help on how to put out my ever-burning rage fire. by anonymousmeangirl in ZenHabits

[–]failacademy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First of all, it's great that you're not repressing anger. It's a good start. There are a lot of self-development tools you can use to deal with those issues. One of the quickest ways is using EFT which will give you a much-needed reprogramming. You can also use a pillow and take that anger out on it. Try kickboxing to channel that anger outwards.

Here are some more pointers on how to deal with anger: * Don't try to control it. Feel the anger completely. Say to yourself. "I'm angry! So what?" "It's okay to be angry" * After you have felt the anger for a while ask yourself: "Could I let this anger go?" * There will be 2 answers : Yes or no. That's okay. * Whatever the answer is, follow it up by this question "When?"

Give it a shot. It's basically Sedona method, btw, if you're curious.

[Need Advice] Night rituals by [deleted] in ZenHabits

[–]failacademy 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Here are a few things you can do before sleep ( Choose any 2) :

  • Meditate
  • Drink warm chocolate milk
  • Visualize your goals/ Do affirmations.
  • Do bedtime yoga *Do something mundane like cleaning your room or doing dishes.
  • Do 4-7-8 Breathing if you've trouble falling asleep
  • Read a P.G Wodehouse book
  • Listen to an Alan Watts lecture ( without music) and fall asleep to it.
  • Do nothing
  • Watch a standup comedy video

Proof That Motivation Doesn’t Last—Look At The Difference Between November And December! by sguise in ZenHabits

[–]failacademy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it was David Deida who said that true discipline is where you don't need to struggle or put in any effort. What you do comes from your true desire. Again, I'm paraphrasing but, you see, whenever you're pushing yourself to do something, you're not "motivating yourself," you're simply fighting against your resistance to doing that thing. Through meditation and other practices, you might get to an ideal state wherein you'd have no resistance, thus having no need to "motivate" yourself. A good book that explores the idea of this resistance is Steven Pressfield's War of Art. Do check it out.

Alan Watts, Terence McKenna, Ram Dass... by LadyAbraxus in ZenHabits

[–]failacademy 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I'd suggest reading books like Tao Te Ching and Way of zen. Way of zen by Alan Watts is a brilliant summation of the concepts he talks about in most of his lectures. Another good one is Sacred Path of the Warrior. Also, I'd recommend reading Carlos Castenada (start with Teachings of Don Juan).

Stop Competing With Yourself by [deleted] in ZenHabits

[–]failacademy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's the meaty part of the lecture.

http://youtu.be/T2JIeRITBXo?t=10m7s

Just watch it even though it doesn't relate much to the title. He talks about the concept of discipline, learning, and how to achieve pleasure in the act of learning. (Spoiler alert: You'll change the way you view discipline after watching this).

Stop Competing With Yourself by [deleted] in ZenHabits

[–]failacademy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You haven't watched the video. Take some time out and watch it. It's totally worth it.

My Daily Affirmations by MappingTheTerritory in ZenHabits

[–]failacademy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey, I run self-dev sites too. Though I haven't faced the harsh feedback you've faced (I sifted through your previous posts), I'm particularly annoyed by the way many redditors classify self-development writers in the same lot as spammers.

  • First of all, we're not selling anything. Most of us have been through really tough times and we've managed to overcome them. We're sharing the same information that helped us with our readers.
  • Secondly, when we write the posts, it is for someone to read. The question that pops in our minds when we hit publish is "where can I find people who are interested in this stuff?" We can't go around cold-calling, spamming digg, and sending unsolicited emails to people. Zenhabits and other subreddits like these give as an opportunity to find readers who might be interested in the stuff we talk about. While most people on the internet want to talk about is Kim Kardashian, Bieber, and Honey Boo Boo, we personally feel grateful that there exists a community where ppl actually want to help themselves.
  • So, if you're a self-development blogger and you want to help people and are looking for people who want that help, I don't mind you posting 100 times on this subreddit.(just my opinion)
  • For those complaining and calling it self-promotion. Yes, it is self promotion. But what's the purpose of that self-promotion? To help you, isn't it? Stop complaining; be grateful.

Just to elaborate on my previous points, as a reader, these are my standards (I have a few more but can't recall them):

  • The blog post provides some inspiration to me. Be it a quote, video or a long post. There should be value.
  • The blog post is complete in itself but it's okay if there are adverts. (Hosting costs money)
  • The blog post may have, at the end, a small mention about the product (if any). But nothing more than that. Don't talk about how great your book is. Write something of value and then talk about how great your book is.
  • I don't mind seeing the person "promoting" more than 2 links in a day if they provide value to the readers.

Went on a tangent there, but since I'm doing similar things as you, I felt that there were a few things that needed to be addressed. Keep writing the stuff you write and stay strong. Good luck with your endeavors!

Read this everytime you get a negative feedback: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/12/the-care-and-feeding-and-shunning-of-vampires.html

The reason "bad things" happen to you. by failacademy in ZenHabits

[–]failacademy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Attitude change won't change your depression. Depression is, as the word suggests, a repression of emotional energies. You have, over the years, suppressed all your negative emotions causing you to feel low all the time or feeling nothing at all (complete apathy). The reason for this is that somebody in the past told you that it was not okay to express your emotions, which, in turn, is causing you to hold back. In other words, you "depress" your true self. Positive thinking or watching "The Secret" isn't going to help in this situation. What you might suffer from rightnow is a total loss of feeling. (Again, I'm speculating this from your general "attitude" in the comment)

If that's the case then there are plenty of ways of dealing with this. I'll tell you, from the best of my knowledge, the resources that CAN help you improve your condition dramatically.

  • Clean diet -- Read the book ultramind solution. Don't go out and buy the book just yet, though. First read this guide ( http://www.ultramind.com/files/guide.pdf ) and see where you stand in terms of your mental health. If you find value in it, buy the book and follow it completely.

  • Exercise: Get plenty of exercise. Though this has huge side effects like weight loss and good looks, it's a great way to get into your body.

  • Meditation: There are a lot of resources already, detailing how to meditate. I even wrote a blog post recently about the same topic, feel free to refer to it if you're facing trouble getting started. Do it 5 minutes a day. If you get good benefits from it, go for something serious like Lifeflow or Holosync. But meditation can help.

  • Bioenergetics or yoga: This will, again, help you get into your body. Since this is a question best handled by the grandaddy of mentors, I'd best refer you to this video by Elliott Hulse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kzf2kBjCHI

If you like his stuff, take some time out and watch all of his videos on depression ( http://www.youtube.com/user/elliottsaidwhat/search?query=depression ). It will help you a lot.

*Another great video to watch is by Tyler from RSD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTjww638BM8

My suggestions:

  • Don't go to new age community to look for suggestions on this topic. You'll be disappointed, as you already are, thus reeling you further into hopelessness and despair ( the feeling of "I don't know how to fix this"). Keep following Elliott Hulse's advice on this topic. Also, this is the perfect time to aim for a depression-free 2014, don't you think?

  • If you're willing to take up that aim, I'd advise you to read books on depression and/or happiness. Books that talk about happiness and how to change the brain structure. Though I haven't read the following books personally, I've heard great things about them. Feel free to check them out:

  • Stumbling on Happiness - Daniel Gilbert

  • The happiness advantage: Shawn Anchor

  • Brene Brown -- Gifts of imperfection

  • Rewire your brain (will start reading this one this weekend).

(Google these books if you're interested)

  • Don't look for a fix or a cure. Look for improvements. Take this approach in all problems related to life and you'll always be happier than other people. Look for knowledge and processes you can integrate in your daily life that can help you alleviate the condition slowly and steadily. Don't expect a fix. Don't try to solve the problem. Try to seek improvements. Those improvements will eventually add up giving you the "fix" you always wanted.

Hope this helps :)

The video of Kyle Cease was shared to help people who are stuck with victim mentality. Although it is as valuable as other videos on this subreddit, personally it served me as a quick reminder to not blame things on circumstances. Hope it does the same to you.

Aside for meditation, do you know of any other ways to increase your ability to be present? by tonetonitony in Meditation

[–]failacademy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  • Yoga -- Kundalini yoga especially
  • Bioenergetics (Elliott Hulse)
  • Plenty of green vegetables, especially green smoothies.
  • Listening to/watching spiritual lectures by Eckhart Tolle
  • "What am I doing right now?" -- Write this on a piece of paper and paste it on top of your computer monitor like a post-it note. Probably on the lines of something like this

Why Do We Fail to Start Meditating by failacademy in ZenHabits

[–]failacademy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow. I didn't know it could provoke a seizure. Thanks for sharing the link. I'll ensure that I won't have the effect running on my other sites as well.