2017 - new year resolutions

Discussion in 'Living Room' started by Scott No Mates, 18th Dec, 2016.

Join Australia's most dynamic and respected property investment community
  1. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22nd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    11,767
    Location:
    Perth
    Hows everyone going with their NYRs?

    I quit coffee and I am still quit. I don't feel amazing.

    I also quit alcohol and I am still quit. Makes no difference to me.
     
  2. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    27,095
    Location:
    Sydney or NSW or Australia
    I've held up my end of the resolution - I'm still posting plenty of diversions ;)

    Oh look! A butterfly!!
     
    Gladys, Sackie, datto and 1 other person like this.
  3. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22nd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    11,767
    Location:
    Perth
    I have a funny follow up to this new years resolutions thing. From memory, I had some positive and negative resolutions:

    - quit coffee for the year

    - quit alcohol for the year

    - get more sleep

    - eat more fruit

    - drink green tea instead of coffee

    I had no problems quitting coffee and alcohol. I haven't touched either all year and don't regret it at all. All the others have long gone though. I started out well and kept it all up for a few weeks but none of the other changes stuck.

    I guess I am the opposite of the psychologist dude.

    Trying to change that default thinking by "not trying to do it," in effect just strengthens it.

    So how come I quit coffee and alcohol with no effort? But the other things I really want to do I could not make into habits?
     
    Sackie likes this.
  4. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    25,034
    Location:
    Vaucluse, Sydney.
    What if you were offered 100k every year if you did keep those other things. You think you would do it then? :)
     
  5. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22nd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    11,767
    Location:
    Perth
    Probably not. :( I have broken a lifelong habit before and it took at lot of study, work on mind-set and effort to break it. If I really wanted to commit to some changes I would really have to put in some dedicated effort to making the changes. It would require strong determination, planning, mental preparation and effort. I could do all those things if I decided to. Money would make no difference.
     
    Sackie likes this.
  6. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    25,034
    Location:
    Vaucluse, Sydney.
    Holy smokes..you REALLY don't like fruit to forfeit that 100k...:)
     
  7. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22nd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    11,767
    Location:
    Perth
    The fruit would be easy. :)

    The most difficult change is sleep. I value my late nights too much to give them up without a fight. I think this is the problem. Giving up something I don't particularly like or value is easy. Giving up something that I love it very difficult and will take a lot more effort. It takes about 2 months on average to form a new habit, so this means doing something I don't particularly want to do or like doing for 2 months. The other side is that it is a 40 year habit, so that makes it even more entrenched.

    How Long Does It Actually Take to Form a New Habit? (Backed by Science) | HuffPost
     
  8. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    25,034
    Location:
    Vaucluse, Sydney.
    Would you be open to hypnotherapy? :)
     
  9. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22nd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    11,767
    Location:
    Perth
    Not really. It's not my type of thing. When I have really committed to something, it is rare for me to fail. I am struggling with the commitment part. It's a change that needs to happen in my head before anything else.
     
  10. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    25,034
    Location:
    Vaucluse, Sydney.
    I also like to sleep very late.. what is it you do late at night that you value so much?
     
  11. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22nd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    11,767
    Location:
    Perth
    Nothing in particular. I just value the "me" time. It is a quiet time when I can spend time with my own thoughts, really enjoy a computer game I have been looking forward to, catch up on social media, chill listening to music or watching funny cat videos on youtube or as a last resort, veg out watching trashy tv. As I said, what I am doing is not as important as the time to wind down and disconnect. I have a very structured life with work and renovating and a lot is expected of me. What I do in those late hours is something that I actually have control over, unlike much of the rest of my life.

    Here are some quotes that explain how I feel about this:

    "The night is the only time of the day where our true self emerges, defying the non-judgmental eyes of others. This is why they say that night owls make a better company than morning larks."

    and another from Albert Einstein:

    "It’s when the moon rises that our shadows emerge to play beneath the fog. The night is for unconcerned minds and wild hearts. It’s the time when secrets are revealed and our imagination runs wild. It’s when we make reckless decisions knowing that we will regret them in the morning. It’s when things come to ‘light’ and we truly see our desires."

    I have always been a night owl. It is an act of defiance.

    "Did you ever think that your act of defiance ‘to not sleep’ could have been somehow changing the way you think? By defying this trend, there’s a possibility that you will take up evolutionary novel values. These ‘novel values’, in the future, will help you in becoming a leader."
    Why Be A Morning Lark When You Can Be An Intelligent Night Owl

    Being a night owl has a genetic basis or is a lifestyle issue. Considering I have been a night owl since I have been a toddler, I would say I have the genetic basis.

    "Genetics play an important role in making morning people perky. Five years ago, researchers at the University of Surrey isolated a gene called Period 3 that appears to regulate our preferences for morning or night."

    Can a night owl become a morning person? A Slate experiment.

    That link about is a story about a person who tried to change from being a night owl to a morning person. I feel like this would be me if I really tried:

    "I was so tired I was losing the will to live at all. By Day 11, I had developed two distinct personalities: "Mel," my melatonin-induced alter ego, who walked briskly around the block as the sun was rising, and "Deepa," who emerged three hours later, cranky and easily provoked.

    On Day 13, I ended the experiment one day early. The decision was easy. The alarm went off, and I stayed put."

    Maybe I just feel too strongly about night time. These two quotes explain exactly how I feel:

    "You find peace and tranquility

    I get far more done at night than at any other time of my day, even on those days when I rise early. I am not bombarded with questions, emails, texts, phone calls, or social media, and can actually concentrate without interruption for hours on end." (1)

    "Nighttime is mysterious and interesting and romantic and dangerous. I don’t want to miss out on it. There’s always possibility after dark that just isn’t there during the day. People are more daring, their inhibitions are lowered. No great story ever started with “So, I went to bed early… ” (2)
    Besides the freedom of possibilities to be able to choose to do anything I want, staying up late is an act of rebellion:

    "Staying up late has been, and always will be, an act of rebellion. A defiance of the nine-to-five, the very habit of staying up late is revolutionary. Since ancient times, there is evidence that society condoned the night owls." (3)

    What is appealing to me is the possibilities. Days are rigid and inflexible. Late at night, anything is possible:

    "It's by the nightfall that your most uninhibited and passionate sides are explored. It's the time to unleash your innermost desires and allow yourself the freedom that's masked behind the taunting exposure of sunlight.

    The night is for testing your limits and challenging yourself. It's for discovering those passions you suppress all day and breaking down all those rules your parents made to protect you.

    It's the time to dig into those hidden corners of your mind and unknown trails of your subconscious. It's a time of self-expression that can only be unlocked at night and evaluated by day."

    By now I am wondering what I am trying to give up and why. And if there is a genetic basis for this and I value it so much, why fight nature?

    "Why fight nature? After all, studies have proven that us night owls were born this way--it's genetic and biological. So for all you night owls out there, here are 11 great reasons to embrace your late night productivity habits, trust your internal clock, and ignore all those naysayers." (4)

    It's a pretty interesting topic and it seems I may have been approaching this all wrong.

    (1) 11 Scientifically Proven Reasons Why Night Owls Get More Done

    (2) Night Owls Rule

    (3) http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/night-owls-creative-intelligent/686025/

    (4) https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/11-scientific-reasons-why-night-owls-get-more-done.html
     
    Gladys and Sackie like this.
  12. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    27,095
    Location:
    Sydney or NSW or Australia

    Time to review last year's resolutions. Have you held up to your promise? Did you fail miserably or outdid yourself?

    I'm going to up the ante for next year. :D
     
    Perthguy and ellejay like this.
  13. ellejay

    ellejay Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    2,192
    Location:
    Kimberley and NZ
    Physical fitness so so. Its too hot and no gym where I am. Certainly did see some non gym exercise options that looked nice :D

    Gross portfolio value up by over $1mil.
     
    WattleIdo, Perthguy, Sackie and 2 others like this.
  14. datto

    datto Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    23rd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    6,675
    Location:
    Mt Druuiitt
    Nah, I bombed out with the reso's.

    Kinda expected it.

    I'll just recycle them for next year. Too easy.
     
  15. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    25,034
    Location:
    Vaucluse, Sydney.
    I didn't make any resolutions because my wife says I'm perfect. :D

    Smart wife.
     
    Scott No Mates and ellejay like this.
  16. Heinz57

    Heinz57 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    1,959
    Location:
    Paradise
    Hey I did some of this, sold the Taj all by myself without an agent and the Project is in council. Forgot this post.
     
  17. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22nd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    11,767
    Location:
    Perth
    I smashed my main resolutions of no alcohol and no coffee for the year. I don't think I will drink next year either.

    My fruit and water intake are up over last year, so a big improvement but I was inconsistent, so only a partial credit.

    Trying to get more sleep was an abject failure. Maybe in 2020 I will resolve to get more sleep.
     
  18. dabbler

    dabbler Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    8,572
    Location:
    Sid en e - olympic city
    You need to look after the sleep thing......my prescription.....,have a few drinks you stiffy
     
  19. Lizzie

    Lizzie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    9th Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    9,618
    Location:
    Planet A
    3112.jpg
     
    geoffw likes this.
  20. WattleIdo

    WattleIdo midas touch

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    3,429
    Location:
    Riverina NSW
    I do think you desrve a big congratulations for that!
    Keep going - you say it makes no difference but you'll see the rewards progressively. Also, don't take this achievement for granted. And don't assume that because you did it easily this time, it will be just as easy another time.
    As for trying to make yourself do stuff, I'd give up on that. Just keep telling yourself that you'd Like to eat more fruit, get more sleep etc but don't try to force it. Anyway, you have to have some foibles. Rather than make strict rules, make a few adjustments to support your good intentions.
    Well done.
     
    Sackie and Perthguy like this.

Buy Property Interstate WITHOUT Dropping $15k On Buyers Agents Each Time! Helping People Achieve PASSIVE INCOME Using Our Unique Data-Driven System, So You Can Confidently Buy Top 5% Growth & Cashflow Property, Anywhere In Australia