Eva

In one of his videos about perfectionism Leo suggested monitoring one's critical tendencies torwards everything by having a rubber band around a wrist and snapping it every time a critical thought appears. I stared this morning and I've already snapped my wrist raw by couple hundreds of snaps. I never knew it was this bad. Ouch. Do any of you suffer/have suffered from this kind of thing? Does it ever get better, and how does it feel when it does?

Thanks for your comment! And yes, I get that that's not quite the most important part of this exercise (and have since gotten a whole lot more gentle with the snap) :-D Mostly I'm shocked to find out how often I actually criticize things. It's really ingrained in my psyche over the years. But I'm trying very hard not to be a perfectionist about this issue too, and realize that it takes a lot of time to start to unravel this.

I would presume this one too. I know the feeling since I've been there as well. Maybe making the goals clearly smaller, so you're able to integrate those into your routine more effortlessly?

I have been struggling with emotional eating and binge eating for my entire life. Being a woman brings it's own hardship into this mess as well. Lately I have been getting to intuitive eating and body image work and it has been feeling better. I still have a long way to go, but it's a process, so I'll take it on day-by-day without perfectionism. Has anybody else been getting into this? What are your experiences with it?

In a way, I feel devastated and in a way in peace with this fact. I have taken Leo's LPC two times now, only to realize that currently, I have bigger issues in my life that demand my attention than finding my LP. Yet, LPC is wonderful to help you with developing craftsman mindset and perseverance, that's applicable to your other pursuits too. Also getting to know yourself so much better is useful. In my weak moments, I'm ready to take on "just something" to get away from developing myself in other ways. But I'm trying to stay strong on this path to building foundations (looking inward) before settling on my LP (going for outward things). I also wondered if I'm just avoiding my LP by telling myself that I'm not ready for it yet. But that appears really to be the case here. Has anyone else had this experience? How did your journey end out to in retrospect?

Thank you so much for your answer. That makes a lot of sense to me.

This is really something that I keep wondering. Is it just the fear of leaping or are the genuine reasons for not being ready and will they ever get better. Who do you know?

A lot of resources suggest this approach as well. Having a morning and evening routine and grouping your small habits into these lumps. You can google "tiny habits" and "habit stacking" to get more info on that. Nevertheless, every person has hundreds or even thousands of habits a day that they implement without a thought. So the number of good habits should not have an upper limit in real life since they start to overtake negative, unconscious habits. I remember reading Miracle Morning a few years ago and trying to implement it (SAVERS - silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading and 'scribing', as in writing). Though I loved the idea I felt extremely overwhelmed with it all. I'm all-or-nothing, black-and-white, I-want-it-all-now kinda person and steady calm perseverance with a craftsman mindset has never been my strength. So I switched to having just one new habit at a time (in my mind as well). Nowadays I have all of the SAVERS in place plus about a 4-5 other improving habits. So just the timing and my impatience were the problems, not the amount of the good habits. Good luck and a lot of perseverance in your quest! Building foundations for your life by changing your habits is one of the greatest things you can do to help yourself get ahead!

Let me start off by stating that I'm a minimalist person. Some even call me extremely minimalist. And that enables me to really truly love the physical items that I bring into my life and keep in my life. I have noticed that the favorite items that I have are also serving a purpose to my self-actualization. I'd like to share you the daily go-to items that support my self-actualization. And yes, I'm aware of the fact that Buddhist monks don't literally own a thing and they are the most self-actualized persons on earth, so in essence, self-actualization is not about your gear. But mine help me a lot and make me genuinely happy. I'd also like to get some tips from others regarding the same issue. So here goes: Yoga mat (trying to establish a new morning habit!) Clear tote for my smallish items Magnetic tag for my gym membership Kindle reader Water bottle Leuchtturm A6 journal + my favorite pen Earphones Computer My phone is missing from the picture since I took the picture with my phone. Here are my favorite apps (Android) and websites to support my journey: Headspace meditating app Podcast app Wunderlist YNAB for budgeting Actualized.org (forum, blog & LPC) Few selected YouTube channels (for example Impact Theory, Academy of Ideas, Teal Swan & Isabel Foxen Duke) I'd love to read or see your favorite toolkit for your self-actualization journey!

I have the same experince with GTD. There's no way that I would be able to remember all of the daily stuff I'm supposed to do without it. Also, the biggest benefit is that it frees up mental bandwidth from memorizing trivial to-dos to more worthwhile things.

I've never been too close to my childhood family. I'm seeing them once-twice a week, talking with them about pretty shallow stuff, since I've never in my life felt like I have become accepted by them. Recently things have gotten a whole lot worse since I'm developing spiritually. I have real trouble being around these people. All they do is criticize other people and talk sh*t about other people. Extremely rarely do they talk about themselves or developing on the inside. I'm not trying to be holier than thou, and I've tried really hard to be patient with them. Trying to direct the conversation to more optimistic things and trying to remind them that other people are people too. And I've tried to apply that to myself too. I'm just starting to be so tired of them. And the holidays are coming, I'm getting bummed out by having to spend time with their negativity. I've watched Leo's videos about "exploiting other people to grow myself" and toxic, victim mindset people, and it helps a bit. I'm just... I'm not trying to be a better person than them, but I'm starting to be really tired. They are not bad people, but I don't appreciate them criticizing me and others all the freaking time. What can I do to manage with them?

Thank you for your kind words.

Had a similar situation with my ex-boyfriend. Now he's an ex. No other person is worth sacrificing myself. And no sane and/or worthy person would not ask me to do so. EDIT: I have to add that the break-up felt awful and was horrible for the both of us. But totally worth it, unfortunately.

INTJ because of theoretic way of thinking combined with future-oriented outlook. Also structure gives good foundations to execution. Yet, downside is possible rigidity.

My chronic fatique was due to underlying anxiety disorder. Psychotherapy has helped with it, but also helped me to develop better habits to support my energy levels. I also had a long road to discovering that, because legit physical problems come to mind first. But nothing like that was found. Only psychological issues.

This might be an ignorant question, but doesn't that lead easily for you to "carry the problems of the world" and other people on your shoulders? Or does it give you peace of mind to accept things that happen to you and other people, and not trying to solve them?

Does anyone have experience with core values being wrong and/or changing because of mental health issues? I suffer from several issues and I'm currently working through those with a therapist, but I have a feeling that the core values that I have found at this moment are even slightly affected by my issues. For example, I value simplicity, but it appears to be linked to my sensory overload and anxiety issues. Also, I value independence very highly, but I don't know if I would value it if I didn't have experienced trauma related to trust issues. It's also unclear to me will these traits ever leave me, or are they now forever a part of me and my personality, and the only "cure" is to learn to live with them. Only time will tell for sure, but I would like to know if anyone has any experience with these?

Read the work of a woman called Brené Brown. She has a lot to say about authenticity.

I recommend checking out works of The Minimalists. Also Zen Habits, Becoming Minimalist and Courtney Carver have been helpful for myself.

I feel often the same way as you do. Try Leo's tips from the video called "How To Exploit People To Grow Yourself". It has made me feel calmer and helped me to turn inwards.

I block outside noise by listening to tracks with nature bird sounds in them. I use headphones. I don't like classical music and music with lyrics disturbs my concentration.

I find that the limit between my so-called higher and lower self is not that clear-cut as you present. The line is more blurred, which gives more wiggle-room to work with them, even when I'm not feeling at my 'highest' self. Also, don't be so harsh on yourself. We all struggle, and the fact that you're trying to become conscious of your states is a wonderful start. Good luck!

I feel like internalizing the information and applying it in my life on a practical level is more important than cramming through large amounts of facts.

Leo mentioned in one of his videos that he feels like that deep down people are not monogamous nor polygamous but polyamorous. I would like to know more about Leo's views on this topic. How do rigid and patriarchal societal structures limit our way of relating to others? And what might be the benefits for our personal growth and development if we choose a polyamoric way of living? Also, what kind of personal growth does it require to live in a polyamorous way, when society judges your choices and pressures you?

I think this is the real core point in here.