EternalForest

@Leo Gura Exactly. So in that sense, would the teen years be a sort of "peak" of open mindedness for people within culture, where they're just old enough to know a lot about the world but not too old to have fully conformed? I think that's what I'm getting at here. I'd like to add though that I think that a superbly well-developed adult easily has more emotional development than the average teen. I'm just saying that the average to above-average teen probably has more natural expression and open mindedness than the average adult, simply because the average adult has had their muse silenced for so long.

@Bluebird Sure, but what I'm saying is that not only are they most emotionally volatile, I also think they're most in tune with their emotions, specifically because they haven't yet learned to repress them, and that allows them to more freely feel and express them. There's merit in being emotionally stoic and balanced, but it shouldn't come at the cost of losing the spark I'm referring to. In a sense, one way to put it is that teenagers strike the perfect balance between the childlike sensibilities and adult-like ones.

@Wyze Yeah I think it has a lot to do with identity. That's when our identity was the purest so the speak. I feel like as we get older and are forced to conform to society all of our identities become "ADULT *TM"... That's why I try my hardest to keep an open mind.

@nahtanoj I know what my life purpose is (becoming an impactful musician), but I'll try doing that, jumping out of my comfort zone. Thanks

In a way, the Hacker may be worse than the Dabbler At least the Dabbler is trying a lot of new things along the way and getting experience, learning lessons and may eventually find his one thing. The Obsessive has the work ethic and can eventually settle down and become a master. The Hacker, though, has arrogance from already knowing quite a bit and doesn't have the work ethic or desire to keep improving, yet he also doesn't have the flexibility of the Dabbler, so he remains stuck going nowhere in circles, deluding himself that he's doing alright yet decaying faster than any of the other groups. I've had the epiphany recently that I've become a Hacker in my profession. For the first 5 years I was constantly improving and became great in my eyes and the eyes of others, but for the past 5 years I've stopped trying to improve and although it didn't feel bad at first, over the years I've noticed that I've lost the attention to detail I once had and I've lost that rookie drive to challenge myself, since everyone still looks up to me and I'm better than 80% of people, so what's the point right? Big mistake. There is one person who no longer looks up to me. And that's myself, my highest self. What is the best thing for a Hacker to do to snap out of it and get back on the Mastery path. Is it too late for the Hacker?

I was born into it. I've tried to stop eating it a few times to no avail, it's just too ingrained into my diet. Further, I've seen evidence that a plant only diet is unbalanced for humans and am undecided on really taking the leap to cut it out completely

@Shakazulu Great, then focus on that for now and worry about relationships later

@Shakazulu I mean focusing on your life purpose. Do you know what your life purpose is? Your calling in life?

Try creative writing clubs, book clubs, music festivals and high quality niche dating sites.

Learn to enjoy being alone, enjoying your own company and loving yourself. Develop your passion and a sense of drive. Once you do this you won't feel dependent on a relationship, and it will actually make all your new and existing relationships stronger in the process. Good luck.

@solr You helped 100s of people, why let 2 people stop you? Completely ignore the trolls and move forward. Leo has a video about this too!

Go with her to the mall one day, walk around and talk to her about her life and what she wants to do in it. Don't judge, just ask curiously. She may have more things planned out than you realize and be better off than she appears. But at the end of the day, it is her life and she can choose what to do with it and you must accept that.

Instead of typical self help or "how to start a business" books, I'd focus on reading business books written by legendary businesspeople, or autobiographies of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Mark Zuckerburg, Walt Disney, Thomas Edison, etc.

A video about the long term positive effects of keeping a daily, productive schedule would be awesome! (how to make a schedule, how to keep a schedule, benefits, traps, etc.)

Ask them if they watch Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones, a few episodes of those is about the length of an Actualized.org episode. Or if they're an anime fan it's about 4 to 6 episodes. Or about the length of an Avengers movie. If you re-contextualize it that way it's not very much time at all.

Free or paid. Could be any category, self help, success, spirituality, educational, etc.

He did this a little bit in his How to Raise Rockstar Kids episode, but a dedicated video would be awesome

Couldn't access any pages on actualized.org from either my studio location or at home all week last week, could finally log in again this morning and it's working fine! Browser used: Google Chrome Number of locations: 2

@Salvijus Yeah, maybe some reading, mindful listening or contemplation beforehand would put me in a better mindset, good idea

I'm having a lot of trouble meditating every day without missing a single day. I'm really good when it comes to meditating in spurts or short bursts. Every couple weeks when I'm in the mood, I'll sit and meditate for an hour and its an amazing, peaceful, insightful experience. Sometimes I'll build momentum for a few days and meditate for 45 minutes the next few days too. But when I'm not in the mood, like the other 20+ days of the month, it's difficult for me to meditate for just 15 minutes sometimes, and even harder to do it daily. I'm just not feeling it, and I know that sounds childish, but its true. If I meditate when I'm not in the mood, I feel like I'm wasting time, what's the point if I'm not vibing with this, this is boring, etc. Is there any solution other than to brute force it (something I don't believe in when it comes to spirituality?) Leo recently said in his latest video that the reason for this may be that I don't fully recognize the significance of doing this. And it's not that I don't realize the significance, I think I do, (I enjoy meditation when I'm in the mood to do it), it's just that significance doesn't translate to motivation or a change in my behavior in my normal everyday.

@Leo Gura Self-discipline is a tricky thing My mind plays tricks on me and I tell myself "Yeah, I'm self-disciplined, look how much I just meditated, I can afford to be lazy now for a little while", and I make myself believe that lie over and over again. It also makes every re-attempt more difficult in terms of self-confidence. Not to say there's anything wrong with taking a break, but I do want to at least see the effects of a non-stop 90-day trial, which I haven't done yet. But thanks guys, I think a retreat would be a good solution. I guess I just haven't really "broken through" yet.

Please suggest any fictional stories which made you question reality for days after you finished watching. Anything that made you philosophize about the true nature of your world and your purpose here is welcome. I'd also love to hear why (no spoilers!) I'll start off with a few late 90s classics: The Matrix - Even more relevant today with the speculation about simulation theory. Fight Club - So many great quotes in this one. I especially like "The things you own end up owning you." The Truman Show - Incredibly relevant today with mass surveillance, and begs many questions about the world in which you believe you live in your direct experience.

You've got 20 minutes to change your life in 100 ways. Go. This is the premise of an exercise I tried once, when I was feeling stuck in life. I wasn't sure what was amiss, but the routine I had fallen into was not satisfying the inner voice in me that insisted there was something else out there for me. (See also: Change Your Life With Storytelling) After trying (forcefully) to understand what was going on, reading self-help books, filling out aptitude tests, and working with business and life coaches, I was given a suggestion that became a catalyst for some pretty big personal changes. Here is how you can change your life in 20 minutes, step by step: Clear all distractions. Turn off the phone, the TV, the computer. Lock your door, and go to a quiet place. Sit down comfortably at a desk or table, with a blank piece of paper and a pen in front of you. Set a timer for 20 minutes. Go. Write down 100 things you want to do. Or careers you want to have. Or people you would like to meet. The sky is the limit. Don't be realistic. Dream big. Write down the craziest things you can think of, as well as the things that you don't even think bear mentioning because they are so simple. Write it all down. Work quickly. 20 minutes isn't very long, and you have 100 items to get through, if you can. Don't think about whether or not to write down an idea — just write. Write everything that comes to mind, even if it doesn't make sense. Just keep on writing, and don't stop until that timer goes off. Something happens after about 10 or 15 minutes if you employ the exercise to its full potential. You stop caring about what specifically the ideas are, and you start to release an inner creativity that may have been locked away for a while. In an effort to get through 100 things in 20 minutes, you start to write outlandish things down that you aren't even really sure you want, but that are ideas that came to you nonetheless. Ding! The timer goes off. No matter where you are in the process, or how many items you have written down, stop. (OK, if you are really on a roll and have a few more to write down because the juices are flowing, keep going. I won't tell.) Leave the list alone for a day. Try not to look at it, and certainly don't revise it in any way. The following day, sit down and look at your list. How many of the items on it are feasible? Can you see your way to accomplishing any of it? Did anything come out of the list that you hadn't actually really thought of until you wrote it down in a hurried attempt to get to 100 items in the time limit? Any surprises in there? The point of this exercise is not to create a giant and outlandish "to-do" list that never gets ticked off. Instead, it is simply to open up your mind to the idea that anything is possible, and to give you ideas that will help you to become unstuck in life. Personally, after feeling stuck and making out my list, I identified a few ways to make positive changes in my life at the time; I joined Toastmasters because an item I wrote down was to become a public speaker. I also eventually started a blog to satisfy an inner wordsmith in me that has blossomed into a career. And ultimately, the list helped lead me to the decision to sell off everything I owned to live out my dreams of travel and adventure now. And it all started with 20 minutes and 100 ways to change my life.

Wanted to get your opinions. To me, it seems the best way is to just learn martial arts. Ignore verbal abuse, and if physical abuse begins, use self-defense techniques.

@Sahil Pandit Agreed. Thanks for responding to all my threads, even though I don't always respond back, wanted to say I appreciate it. @SpaceCowboy Hm, never thought of it that way. @Eric Tarpall lmao @Epiphany_Inspired @Salvijus Sending love back is definitely valuable. @Matt8800 I'm going to start learning it very soon. @Wyze Report them to HR.