Staying on the straight and narrow

[Aco]

I fall off the wagon, a lot. 

Not ideal when you are trying to make something of yourself. I'm hoping to get some inspiration for how you keep yourself consistent.

[Space]

@Aco If you want advice from people you need to be much more specific about what you're looking for.

[Yarco]

Very few people are able to stay on the wagon all the time.

The ones who are successful are those who can recognize when they've fallen off the wagon as soon as possible, and get themselves back on track with minimal time wasted and damage done.

You can binge video games for a day and then get back on track. Or you can completely devolve into sloth and let a month pass before you question what you're doing with your life. 

You can have one cheat meal or cheat day. Or you can get off track for months and next thing you know you're up 20 lbs. It can happen easily.

The further you let yourself slip, the more you have to climb back up afterward. So try to do what you can to maintain the progress that you already have.

Don't set unrealistic expectations for improving too much at once. For example you can't start flossing every day, eating healthy, meditating every day, exercising every day, quit porn, start taking cold showers, drinking at least a gallon of water per day, going to bed at a reasonable time, and a bunch of other stuff all at once. Pick one thing and do it for 30 or 90 days until you master it and make it a habit. Then move on to the next thing.

[Strangeloop]

I have this problem too, I commit to doing something, for example, exercising and then I fall back and waste money for not attending the gym. 

What I learned in the last 22 years I've been living is that habits really difficult to change. Some major shift has to happen for the habit to change. Either a health issue or something else. 

For example my video game habit. As soon as I've got a Pc I played non-stop. I skipped school, did not do any homework, made excuses to go out and just to play video games.

Then there was a time when I felt that video games don't give me the joy anymore. It seems like a waste of time. Putting in the hours to achieve something in the digital world that doesn't even bring me actual income to myself. I'm not saying I don't play at all. I turn on a game or two here and there but the time span of playing is much less than before. 10x actually. 

It just frustrates me because I waste my time so much on those games. Now the problem didn't solve itself. I found other ways to waste my time. Like tv shows and movies. I binge watch this stuff, also youtube. And all of this time I could put into research, business, practice, exercise, relationships. And that's what bothers me. 

How can I not waste time? What does it mean to really put into the time and make something happen with my life. Even if it means something material, earning money and having a home, holding myself up as a human being. 

In the big picture though. We are consistent everyday, but with the wrong things.