Michael569

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Posts posted by Michael569

  2. Posted · Edited by Michael569

    On 01/07/2023 at 8:59 PM, LSD-Rumi said:

    I hit the gym a couple of times for a month or so, it give me a mild relief of symptoms but nothing significant.

    It needs to be 4-6 times a week for to feel a significant difference. The neuroplastic effects of weight-bearing exercise are sooooo underappreciated man. People have cured their depressions, their anxities and panic disorders doing this. 

    I've had guys with depression, panic disorders, MS, PTSD, RA and all sorts of other chronic conditions and all of them started improving the moment they introduced serious physical activity. 

    Not everyone will but few times a month is not enough. If you are on meds that help you stabilise your mood then you need to use that and get your ass back to the gym and lift as if your life depended on it....I know that's some serious David Goggin bro trash talk but trust me on this. Give it 3 months of high intensity. 

    There is so much research on depression (including BD) in relation to exercise and how people are just exponentially improving from doing this a few times a week. And I'm not even talking about the anecdotal evidence from guys all around the world. 

    Ofcourse when you feel the lowest you can't but if the meds help keep you stable make the most of that stability to work on your neuroplasticity. 

    While you do that, keep working on your mindfulness, building positive habits, healthy diet, keep taking your meds , optimise your vitamin D and Omega 3 status, work on your gut health & microbiota diversity and all of that but you gotta be active as hell. There is just no way around it. The mind-body-skeletal muscle connection might even be more powerful than the whole overrated HPA axis when it comes to mental health. 

    The benefits stack up so you don't feel it early on but you will in a while. At this point its not about becoming big and bulky, that's like the least interesting thing. Its about the systemic effect of this. Think of each exercise session as if you just injected a gigantic dose of nootropic cocktail right into your spinal cord. Nothing out there can match the cognitive and psychological benefits of it - no amount of nootropics from China come even 5% close to what this stuff does to your brain. The deeper I dig in the literature the more my mind is being blown away. 

    Also, I saw you raise a post on alcohol - I know it was experimental but don't you dare walk down that path!!! 

    Basically with mental health, you can't afford to just do nothing. Even if you are on meds. The meds are there to lift same way the car mechanic uses the hydraulic machine to lift the car so that he can look underneath and fix the real issue. 

     

  3. Posted

    17 hours ago, MarkKol said:

    What problem does a video game or film solve? 

    These are projects that require teams of people, you can't make a film or a game as an individual however your LP could be to create virtual art, part of which could be to get hired by a game design studie, that's fur sure in which case you could reform the question to "What need is it filling in the person's soul?" 

    17 hours ago, MarkKol said:

    Not a fan of this problem solving mindset even if it works to a degree

    what do you mean? 

    17 hours ago, MarkKol said:

    One thing is true, It's not just about what problem am I solving but almost 90% of it is how well am I solving it?

    but of course - the identification is just the first step - you also need to be capable enough to deliver on your promise otherwise you'll lose client faith pretty quickly 

  4. Posted

    @Harman You are still so young. That is not a handicap in any way but it means that you have not had as much life experience as, say, someone in their mid-30s. With more life experience it becomes easier to zoom in on what you really feel passionate about. 

    It is good that you have a generic idea, now what you need is more exposure. I don't know what your situation is - financial and living-wise but think of ways to acquire more life experience in general. 

    Travelling may or may not be an option. If not international then travelling within your country even would help. 

    Books are an excellent source of exposure too, that's how it started for me. Borrow a bunch of books on different subjects in the library and see what resonates with you more. Listen to podcasts from people in different industries, and watch documentaries about a variety of topics. Gradually you will see an inclination to follow a certain path - it's like some things will naturally tease you more than other. 

    If you have the option to socialise more with people from other countries do that as well. 

    Basically your goal for the next 5 years besides finishing your education is to acquire massive life experience

  5. Posted · Edited by Michael569

    Seth Godin's marketing course isn't too bad but it requires a prior knowledge of what you want to do. 

    I would invest in a library membership and borrow bunch of books on starting a business before you burn 10K on expensive courses. Things like accounting, finances, the red tape stuff, data privacy etc you can lear from books and YouTube. 

    Marketing is harder and that is entirely dependant on what you ant to do 

    Basics of web design you can learn from YouTube. 

    But before you do any of that, become more clear on what it is you want to be doing. Can you answer these: 

    • What product am I offering? 
    • Who is it for? 
    • What problem is it solving? 
      • what is the deeper problem it is solving that the person can't verbalise? 
      • How will you communicate this to them? 
    • Who is it not for? 
    • How much does it cost? 
    • How does it make people's life better? 
    • What makes it unique? (what's my USP?) What differentiates you from the competition? 
    • Why should people even care? 
    • How are you going to convince a potential client to buy it? 
    • Where will you advertise it? 
    • Where do your clients hang out? How will you connect with them? 
    • What do you need to build it? 
    • Are you sufficiently qualified to sell / offer this thing? Could you run into problems with the law if not? 

  7. Posted · Edited by Michael569

    19 hours ago, Princess Arabia said:

    No sense in confronting people about their addictive behaviors because they will only resent you for doing so, unless someone seeks out the help they need on their own it's useless to try and convince them

    these are people seeking out help, paying for the advice and yet being unable to unwire the habit. Of course, the issue is much deeper, that's beyond the point. I was drawing a picture of the magnitude of this problem. Usually alcohol habit is either coming from an inability to cope with the burden of the day or it is used to temporarily cut off the tentacles of a past childhood trauma that the person isn't able to get rid of otherwise and which are slowly but surely starting to suffocate them. 

  8. Posted · Edited by Michael569

    Alcohol is such a life-wracking substance. Half the people I know above 30 have a degree of alcohol problems. Its destroying health in my family, people So many young guys I've worked with had alcohol problems they were not even aware off until we started reducing it and their mental health just crashes (severe withdrawl) . 

    We have completely normalised drinking half the bottle with Netflix movie to "chill". Young people now need to have glass of wine when they cook, when they read , and when they watch TV. The level of avoidance and denial when I try to confront people sometimes is absolutely blowing my mind. You only need to spend a few days in the company of someone with alcohol issues to start seeing the full magnitude of it.  Having been brought up by a parent with alcohol problem, I can sense it miles away - the hiding, the shame, the feeble attempts to try to sound normal and reasonable, the endless runs down the stairs to "get something" when people just keep disappearing for a few minutes all the time, coming back with those glassy eyes. 

    Not to mention a dumb idle socialisation some people do when they go outside 3 times a week, talk about trash for 5 hours , spend 50 euros on overpriced cocktails, get drunk and go home to spend the evening on their phones ...I mean ...what in the actual f... are we doing???

     

  9. Posted · Edited by Michael569

    I don't know what the price of products like pineapples, Mangoes and melons is in India, but it is probably cheaper than in Europe since you guys can grow a lot of tropical fruits we can't but cost per calory this diet can be high. It also  requires high level of micromanagement and advanced levels of nutritional and health awareness & knowledge to pull off and stay free from deficiencies.

    It is certainly possible but doing it right can cost you (in Europe) like -25-30 euros a day.  Excluding the cost of supplements. 

    Just out of curioisity - what does a box of mangoes cost on a local market? Is getting 2400 calories from fruit a day viable or could you run into budget issues if you account for the cost of living, rent etc ? I'd make the volume:cost  calculation using cronometer.com 

    It will be a fun experiment and the experience will be worth itself but perhaps you'll come to realise that it is not perfect for long-terms. I am yet to see a healthy and balanced example of a fruitarian who is neither malnourished nor dogmatic. 

  12. Posted

    Just now, Princess Arabia said:

    While we're on the subject, do you know of any reputable natural makeup brands online that I could check out. I pretty much only apply eye-shadow, mascara and eyeliner and would love to start using the non-chemical, non-toxic versions of these as everything else I use for my skin is relatively all natural like coconut oil, Shea butter, evoo and all other natural skin care that are easy to find. The make-up category is a bit more challenging and lots of fakers out there.

    I'm probably not the best person to advise on that. I don't seek out particular brands and it also depends on where you live. B-corp certified products are held to higher standard in order to pass through the certification so looking up for that B-sign is a good idea. But in general, I think keeping it as simple to as few products as possible might be a good idea - at least when it comes to men. I'm not too versed in what is the best approach for women. 

    Ideally get stuff that is not harmful to aquatic life and is based on relatively simple ingredients that you can mostly read and understand. 

    But in the grand scheme of things, I think there are bigger fish to fry when it comes to toxins & pollutants such as water & air pollution. 

  13. Posted · Edited by Michael569

    You need to be healing your acne from inside out 

    While there is a hormonal component to acne in growing males, you need to pay a lot of attention to your diet and your physical activity. I'd even go as far as to say that optimising the two will likely lead to 60-70% improvement within 3 months.

    High-fibre Mediterranean type of diet with less junk, processed food and high-fat animal based foods and an abundance of PUFA-rich foods, high-fibre foods, spices, herbs and all sorts of natural ingredients is going to help. Overwhelm your system with cocktails of polyphenols - many of which are fairly reliable blockers of excessive androgen receptor expression (one of the hallmarks of acne). I wouldn't mock up with superfoods and supplements as long as you don't optimise your diet. 

    The second part of this is exercise which has important regulatory functions for the endocrine system and systemic elimination. I think high-intensity exercise the type that leads to a lot of sweating is better than weights for this particular scenario / 

    You might consider switching to natural cosmetics too - for example I've only been using herbal soaps to wash hair & body for years now and it works well. You don't need shaving foams, aftershaves and all sorts of weird stuff - keep it simple. Also pay attention to the type of moisturisers & creams you are using - I'd be prone to go for more natural brands with fewer ingredients, the type you can actually read and understand. 

    There is much more that could be said and done but these should get you started. 

  15. Posted

    10 hours ago, Javfly33 said:

    I do not want to start looking for jobs with better career and paying opportunities because in the future I want to make a living of something very different from what I´m doing now.

    no, I was just curious. Because the situation you are in puts you in a very fortunate position. You are getting paid well and not being asked to provide work in exchange...that's perfect. Use that time and that income to start paving your future. If you; 're saying you want to do something different in the future, this is the best opportunity you'll ever have in your life to do that. It usually takes 2-5 years to change careers and up to 10 years to match your previous salary (depending on seniority in the previous career) so the earlier you start working on it, the faster you'll get there. 

    You're young, without kids (I'm assuming) and without major obligations. Make the most of it. Your situation may change, and before you know it you may get made redundant and lose the benefit of free money or get a bunch of projects loaded on your table. 

    I'm not sure what it means in your world but better start figuring it out. Fingers crossed !

  18. Posted · Edited by Michael569

    If I was to give top 5 at no particular order of priority 

    1. Figuring out how to eliminate distractions and being able to dedicate a few intense focus slots per day even if you feel bored and unmotivated - especially when you feel bored and unmotivated. 
    2. Daily reading - books, research, blogs, articles  - in your particular area of interest 
    3. Learning to be okay with never-ending uncertainty (my greatest struggle) 
    4. Being at your absolute peak fitness level - the fitter you are the more energy you have and the sharper your mind & memory is. 
    5. Not expecting anyone to gratify or glorify you for what you do especially when you feel needy for approval. LP is a lonely game

    I'm working through all of those myself but this would probably be my top 5. The tips and tricks you can learn from Leo and people like Cal Newport by watching & reading their material. 

     

  19. Posted · Edited by Michael569

    Yes there will be suffering. Uncertainty, fear, anger, guilt, regret and all sorts of other feelings will be coming up as you embark on this journey. 

    Don't look to your feelings to guide your decisions all the time. Emotional compass and your intuition can help you calibrate your choices when in doubt or when facing a difficult decision or a moral conflict. But sometimes you have to walk in the direction that seems the most terrifying to you. Usually, that's how you know you're onto something. 

    The suffering of not having a purpose is a signal form your intuition that you should be doing something about it. If you put your head into the sand for the next 10 years you will never forgive yourself once you grow older, have kids, wife, get married and do all the usual stuff. Because that absence of something deeper will haunt you in your sleep and it will weaken your core. To use a video game analogy, this will be like being on a permanently negative buffer that permanently reduces all your stats. 

    Because the opposite is a life of never tapping into something deeper than sheer survival and abandoning the deepest vission for your life which seems even scarier to me. 

    It's not enough to contemplate, you need to pursue this thing as if your life depended on it. Take time each day to reflect and journal on this each day. Real tangible actions - write until your hand hurts - then write some more. Get Leo's LP course if you can burn some extra cash. I commented on another post in a similar way with more detail - maybe this will help you ]

     

     

  20. Posted

    38 minutes ago, Schizophonia said:

    I have literally spent my entire life at best constantly brooding in solitude, at worst literally swimming in HUGE levels of stress.
    Fortunately everything has gradually improved and I currently feel relatively well apart from this problem of insomnia.
    Maybe a little too lonely and bored, but that will change.

    I think despite all that lone-wolf bs on the internet, most people don't benefit from solitude. Sometimes, sure but not always. 

    You could be the most developed person on the planet but that constant loneliness just can't be good for your mental wellbeing. I'd say working on gaining some social experience would go a long way. 

  21. Posted

    1 hour ago, Bobby_2021 said:

    It's not that obvious. Blue light has absolutely permeated our nigh life where it should have been dark. This is just near constant disruption of the circadian rhythm with leads to all those medical problems that you talk about.

    I agree with everything you wrote except that last bit. Sometimes you can trace the causes of people's sleep problems much further and those are harder to fix. Removing all electronics 4 hours before bedtime for those people does nothing because those issues are driven from a deeper place and need a different approach.

    But yah in general, blue light is a big one. For me, it messes up my sleep really bad. My girlfriend is completely unaffected on the other hand and can go ZZZ after 3 hours of late evening exposure with no problems. 

    Late coffee is another one, lot of people don't realise any caffeine taken in the afternoon could be in your system still at midnight and for those particularly sensitive or those with slowed-down hepatic detoxification of caffeine, it could be the reason. 

    All I'm saying there is much more there but on the pie chart of sleep problems, blue light would probably take at leasy 30-40% of cases. 

  25. Posted · Edited by Michael569

    Good list. Those are definitely burdensome points. 

    If the product is niche enough that in itself is already a USP but figuring out how to get more people to care about it is the real challenge. We are all just so busy and our attention already so incredibly preoccupied that it seems like there just isn't much attention left. 

    Not to mention the market is so polluted and prostituted with the businesses who are willing to annoy 10,000 people to get one sale that consumers have lost almost all the trust in a new products - its a tough market out there , whatever you do. 

    Patience and faith are your strongest weapons. And obviously hard work