Weekly Improvement Megathread - Jan 7th (hexbear.net)

submitted 8 months ago by moonlake@hexbear.net to c/self_improvement@hexbear.net

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Hi comrades, welcome to the Improvement Megathread! unity

I plan to post a new weekly megathread here every Sunday. I think Sunday is a good day to review the previous week and make some plans for the following week. If somebody else wants to post a new megathread anytime, just let me know.

Here are some ideas for discussion:

Do you want to share something you've done in the previous week?

Even if you did only 1 push-up, read 1 page, meditated for 1 minute, or touched 1 blade of grass, let us know about it. When it comes to making progress, everything counts. The most important thing is to make progress, no matter how small.

What would you like to do next week?
What aspect of life would you like to improve?
Do you have any streaks? For example, "sober for one day." Feel free to post your streak every day in this thread.
If you don't have a continuous streak, did you manage to abstain from something for a day or more?
Did you come across some useful information or resource that might help others?

Of course, this is not a definitive list. And feel free to make a separate post in the comm for any of these topics. This is just a megathread for all the stuff that you want to share but don't feel like making a new post.

Let me know if you have any suggestions.

And remember the Golden Rule of Hexbear:

Always
Be
Commenting

hexbear-chapochat

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[-] professionalduster@hexbear.net 7 points 8 months ago

I'm starting therapy for the first time soon. Was meant to start going to the gym but I'm not able to stay at my apartment right now so that's delayed till probably next week. I have lots and lots and lots of other aims I'd like to work on in the theme of self improvement but I feel like getting those started will be the most beneficial and set me up for working on other stuff in the months that follow.

[-] aaaaaaadjsf@hexbear.net 6 points 8 months ago

Exercising for the first time in months due to back issues. Single leg squats are really hitting me hard now, I forgot how hard they were.

[-] Canis_latrans@hexbear.net 6 points 8 months ago

Appreciate reading everyone's comments-- it's nice to find solidarity in our communal efforts.

Last week my evening meditations dropped off for a few nights but I sat on Sunday night and want to keep that going. I normally try to sit zazen but lately have been using a guided meditation of sitting meditation that is helping me get "butt-on-cushion" time and I hope eventually I can work my way back up to just sitting.

Been on a diet since Jan. 2 and today my weigh in was 4 lbs lighter since then!

Definitely backslid on smoking weed but I didn't last night, even though I had already made my mind up that I would!

[-] Moss@hexbear.net 2 points 8 months ago

Congrats on the weight progress! Have you been exercising more or focused on changing your diet?

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[-] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 5 points 8 months ago

If you can, try to go for a 30 minute walk every day. I usually spend so much wasted time just doomscrolling (demand avoidance go brrrrr). I lift weights and eat right too, but juggling all these demands can be tough.

[-] eighthaccount@hexbear.net 5 points 8 months ago

Today marks day 15 of no marijuana. Trying to go 21 days for fun and also to re-define my relationship with the substance. I don't want to have to rely on getting high daily to cope with the horrors of this world anymore.

[-] Canis_latrans@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago

I'm in the same boat! Before the holidays I had managed to go from smoking everyday to once a week... but then since the new year I was back to my old ways. Last night was the first night without it in a week, and I want to keep that up. I too want to re-define my relationship with mj. My relationship is a cognitive distortion that whatever I'm doing, it would be better/cooler/more interesting if I was stoned. Trying to undo all of my associations with the drug and establishing a sober baseline.

[-] eighthaccount@hexbear.net 2 points 8 months ago

I can definitely relate to the cognitive distortion angle, and that's what I often told myself. I never had put the brakes on though and fully stopped for a longer period of time outside of just vacations where it wasn't accessible. Usually this was fine because I was out somewhere new and exciting where I didn't need to be stoned to have a great time.

This time, going cold turkey in the middle of the holidays, after about five days I hit a fucking brick wall of horrendous withdrawal symptoms. I had no idea it could be so bad. I think this new perspective has shown that while weed can be fun, it has a major, lasting impact on my body and mind that I need to be more mindful of. It made it that much easier to stay away for the 3-week experiment and since those symptoms, the temptation to toke has gone away entirely.

[-] material_delinquent@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

awesome! I think one doesn't need to quit all drugs/habits completely, but it's important to find a healthy relationship with them

[-] super_mario_69@hexbear.net 5 points 8 months ago

Trying to kinda-sorta partake in Jamuary this year. A couple of years ago patricipated in the "proper way" by making one jam/short track per day for the entire month, and while it was cool and all it was fucking exhausting and started feeling like a god damn job by day 4.

This year my goal is a bit more lenient: Spend at least 30 seconds making (or just try to make) any kind of music, every day. Tapping out a rhythm on my lap, playing a stupid melody on a piano, slapping together a cheesy acid bassline, wander up and down a minor scale a few times, whatever! Just go with it! If you're done after 30 seconds, that's ok! If you keep going, great! No pressure, no expectations.

30 seconds though? Really? Yes! It's absolutely enough for me to get the creativity and inspiration going. Every day I've sat down in front of my music machine of choice and thought "well let's get these 30 god damn idiot seconds out the way so I can play video games in good conscience", and then discovered that woah, this is actually kind of more fun than video games, and gotten completely hyper focused. This weekend I made a heavily swung blues/boogie type thing with vocoded lyrics and a 303 bassline. I started from the boogie thing because I'd been singing a silly song to my cats with that melody and I couldn't get it out of my head and wanted to do something with it and then it just kind of snowballed from there. It's stupid as hell, but making it made me a better musician. Today I think I'll start out by recording a short old-school jungle type drum pattern with wacky syncopation and hella snare hits and work from there. It's gonna be fun.

[-] moonlake@hexbear.net 2 points 8 months ago

Haven't heard of Jamuary, it sounds cool! I also like your approach of 30 seconds every day, I should do that too with my guitar

[-] material_delinquent@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago

13 days no games let's fucking go!!!

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[-] Mog_Pharou@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I've picked up bouldering at a new rock climbing gym that opened recently. I can climb quiet a few V3's and am eager to break into V4. I think I can hit V6 this year if I work on technique and strength training. Speaking of training, I started a calisthenics push-pull-legs routine this week, and can already hold an L-sit for 10 seconds!! Been getting stronger just from climbing without really realizing it. I want to be able to a planche and handstand pushup eventually. And then finally achieve the muscle up.

[-] material_delinquent@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago

9 days no video games

[-] Gay_Wrath@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago

7 days of gardening (mostly weeding) completed

i also got some native seeds in the mail today, gonna plant those this week :)

[-] Mokey@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago

OH THE MEGATHREAD!!!! JEQVZODNABD

[-] Mokey@hexbear.net 5 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

As many of you know I'm pretty serious musician and I come from a poor, uncultured background, I've had a tough time getting good but I'm starting to come out the otherside and people are recognizing me.

This weeks practice, I hit all of these items daily:

Arm technique:

[ ] Downstrokes using forearm and shoulder. Use different rates and try to be as relaxed as possible. 5 minutes each arm. 80 BPM.

[ ] Rebound stroke using forearm and shoulder. Use different rates and try to be as relaxed as possible. 5 minutes each arm. 80

Foot technique:

[ ] Left foot Heel Down 65 - 75. Try to get as wide of a swing as possible. 5 Minutes. Target tempo is 90 BPM.

[ ] Left foot Ankle Technique. 125-135 BPM range for 10 minutes. 175-160 range for 10 minutes.

Groove Studies:

[ ] Play jazz ride beat with recordings, work on a consistent, forward moving swinging beat and use repeated check patterns in the left hand to develop the groove. 45 Minutes.

[ ] Same thing but with a click 2 measures of Quarter note click and two measures of the second triplet only. Flow through and be steady. 120 BPM. 10 Minutes. Benny Greb metronome.

[ ] Rhythmic Scale 60BPM. Benny Greb metronome. Audiate quarter note and play Quarter Notes, Quarter Note Triplets, Eighth Notes, Eigth Note Triplets, Sixteenth Notes, Sextuplets, 32nd notes and then go back down. Ground time keeping by leading with feathered bass drum. 30 minutes.

[ ] Rhythmic Scale 30 BPM. Same but mega slow, target weak areas such as sextuplets > 32nds and eighth notes > eighth note triplets and back. You rush and drag these each respectively. 10 Minutes. Sing the Quartner note.

Transcription:

[ ] Listen to Recordings, take notes. Bill Evans - Minority from "Everybody Digs Bill Evans" 20 minutes.

Transcribe: [ ] The trading four section with Philly Joe Jones on the same track, Minority. 20 minutes.

Total Practice Time:

3 hours and 30 minutes.

My goal is to swing and swing hard, most young musicians in my area haven't figured out that a consistent ride beat is what makes you sound good. Mine will be consistent and deep, by consistent I mean, no deviation unless intentional for the entire song. I've already got a good conception of what I want. It kind of sounds like Billy Higgins I realized: Light and flowing but heavy on 2+4, quiet on 1+3. The skip beat is pushing to the next beat rather than anticipating it with the idea of giving my beat a sense of forward motion instead of a plodding, quarter note pulse. The quarter note is ahead or with the bass player and should be driving. I've listened enough to the music to know what I like, I don't like too wide of a skip beat unless its stylistic (Basie Drummers) and I don't like guys who accent 1+3 (It's blasphemy but I don't like Philly Joe Jones cymbal beat)

[-] material_delinquent@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

would you say music is talent or practice? I was told I wouldnt be able to learn playing an instrument really and I told myself - "encouraged" by Hitlerite sorroundings - that

ableism

I was too autistic to learn music bc I have got no feeling for rhythm

[-] super_mario_69@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago

idk if this anecdote helps at all but I have an acquaintance who is a really good DJ of some renown. Rather introverted engineer-type of guy. Only started doing music stuff in his late 30s. He has that impeccable ability to select the perfect track for the perfect moment and keep the groove going, without messing up the mixes. BUT the dude is completely tone deaf and has has barely any sense of rhythm. "How the fuck is that even possible?" I asked of him. "How do you keep track of the bars? How do you match the tempo??" He said he "just spins the disc and ride the tempo until it sounds good" and that he "never even bothered trying to count it out" because he knows he isn't made like that. So he just went and made up some own little fucked up system to keep track of the beats, because he knew he didn't vibe with the established set of rules and methods. Then he just practiced a lot until he got a feel for it. I still don't understand how he does it, but god damn does he do it well.

But I digress. I would argue that music is more like a language than a talent or skill or whatever. If you don't speak it at all and listen to someone else speaking in it, it'll be completely incomprehensible (but nice to listen to!). There is not a single person in the entire universe who was born able to understand music on a deeper level without studying it and actively using it. Those who seem to have been born innately musical have only learned it because they've been exposed to it from an early age. I can't remember consciously learning my own native language, like, I couldn't tell you now why some verbs have some particular conjugations in some contexts, but I can simply hear and subconsciously understand when something is correct. Music is the same. In time you learn to subconsciously understand what the fuck a C# minor sounds like or how long a 16th note is without having to really think too much about it. I only started learning this shit at 32 years old. damn I wish my parents would have given me an instrument to learn at age 5 so I wouldn't have to go through so much boring learning bullshit as an adult...

But no, I'd say talent isn't really a thing at all. It's just practice and consistency. More importantly: finding a way to practice that works for you. If you don't vibe with it then you're never gonna enjoy it, and if you don't enjoy it, you're never gonna be consistent. Honestly I always hated the platitude but I can't deny there is truth in it: consistency is key. Playing one shitty six-second song once makes you one shitty six-second song better at playing music. Going to the gym to lift one weight once is infinitely more progress than going to none gym and lifting none weights zero times, and so on. You can absolutely do it, I believe in you.

[-] material_delinquent@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

thanks!

[-] Mokey@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

My true opinion is environment. You'll learn a lot without really practicing if you're doing it all the time with people. The idea of practicing is to make yourself better as a type of weight lifting. A baby can learn multiple languages organically just by using them, music is the same.

In my opinion, due to academia and horrible western culture, we have it backwards. Practicing is how you get good and environment is an after thought. That being said the reason why we practice the way we do is a response to our environment, there's not enough environment so we must practice.

It's unavoidable as a westoid and partly explains why we have many people who are completely illiterate with music but still have people who are absolute masters of the craft. Reality should be more flat where mostly everyone can atleast participate.

Nothing can stop you from getting good at anything as long as you do the following things:

Practice with intensity and sincerity, use your senses to figure out what is wrong with whatever you're doing.
Find a community, no one lasts long in a bubble. Find other people who are doing the thing and resist the pressures of the world together.
Find a mentor, you learn how to talk from Mom and Dad primarily and also your community, getting good at anything is the same. If you want to be good at basketball, do not shoot 3 pters in isolation all day. If you want to be good at street fighter, find people who play street fighter. Japanese guys arent good at Street Fighter because theyre Japanese or they have a Hadouken bone in their brain, theyre good because theyve had a) The most amount of time with the game. B) The most amount of time with a competitive scene. D) These guys meet up in person and fucking talk about and play street fighter.
Develop a tough skin and resolute sense of grit. I've paid off massive amounts of student loans, failed horribly in more times and ways than I can count or possibly remember. I've wanted to quit many times but ultimately I stuck with it.
Lastly, live your life that's consistent with what you want. Don't be a guy who works 80 hrs a week if you want to get good at something that's not work. All of my major life choices have been in service of: I want to be a musician and I'm not playing around. That being said, I'm realistic, I know what I am and am not and can't just insert myself into the New York scene.

Response to that

Rhythm and time are something we should be getting from our parents and our communities, we should all be able to naturally sing and dance many Westoids have this issue, including myself.

The good thing is that you can develop and get better at it overtime, I'm living proof of it.

[-] material_delinquent@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

thanks. I think I don't have the energy for learning music right now, but I like doing languages very much and I think you make very insightful and important points that I can copy for a lot of things. I never really understood how important sensual perception and the ability to enjoy what I am doing are until very recently.

[-] Mokey@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

For sure, music isn't impossible for you or anyone as long as you are earnest with your intentions.

[-] material_delinquent@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

I will pick it up eventually, maybe, hopefully. now that I am not doing video games anymore, I have way more time lol

[-] super_mario_69@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

wise master can you teach me how to do the purdie shuffle? I can't get the snare hit to snare ghost note right. and am I right that it's triplets with 1 and 3 on the ride (or hh) with a snare ghost note in the "middle"? hard to explain, but its fucking me up right now

[-] Mokey@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

Yeah, that sounds right but your terminology needs more work. Long story short, break it down and go slower.

The motion is a dance and you need to learn the steps for each hand. The other thing is that you need to be able to audiate triplets and really be able to feel them and every partition within the triplet.

You might need to work backwards and practice playing and audiating triplets to a metronome. Good shuffles of that family demand really clean triplets.

Separate the hands, don't try to do them at the same time if theyre not coordinating right.

The right hand (arm, wrist, however you're orchestrating it) is doing the shuffle. When you do a downstroke to start the shuffle. There's a potential for a free upstroke so there should be an idea of motion efficiency and getting strokes for free without any wasted energy. If you're trying to hammer out the shuffle and you feel like you have to work to get all the notes, you're doing it wrong. Atleast for now imo.

The left hand is filling in the second partition of the triplet. Utilize the tap stroke for this. Put a metronome at like 60, count triplets outloud and try to just play that middle triplet. 1 + a, 2 + a, so on.

After that you put them together, slowly, and then build the tempo.

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[-] material_delinquent@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago

you can't g'me if you are overworked

[-] material_delinquent@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago

10 days no video games

[-] GreenWater@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago

I finally begin to lift weights and am happy with the improvement even if I am very sore 😅 It feels good to know that progress is being made. I am also hoping to practice swimming more so I can have better cardio and resistance for that.

[-] Moss@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

Awesome! Lifting weights is one of the most satisfying forms of exercise imo, lifting is hard but doesn't last too long and feels really good when you're finished, and its easy to track how far you've come when you notice you can do more reps. And increasing the weights you lift is such a good, satisfying feeling.

Swimming is also awesome, its one of the only forms of cardio I can stand. It gets kinda boring for me but I do take it pretty slow

[-] Gay_Wrath@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago

I gardened almost every day but the day i was soaking wet from coming from a vet appt, on that day i fertilized my inside plants. Every 10 minutes outside is like gaining 10mental HP points back. i'm gardenpillled

[-] Mokey@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

This person growing beans!

[-] Gay_Wrath@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

i planted my beans too late last year and got nothing, smh. This year i hope to harvest beans! Got a fuckton of carrots and squash tho. Squash is truly the easiest veggie to grow and harvest so much you'll be sick of.

This year i plan on having another food garden, but also i'm mainly doing work on meadowscaping the rest of the yard. I've killed all the grass already, colonizer scum

[-] moonlake@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

In the past week, I practiced meditation on 4 days in a row, went running on one day and cooked my healthy lentil & chickpea stew.

Next week I would like to touch grass with a friend and hopefully do some reading. It's gonna be too cold for running so I would like to practice my bodyweight routine on at least one day.

I wanna share a subreddit called Fitness Material Heaven where people are pirating and sharing paid fitness programs and books. There is a lot of good stuff, check it out!

Good luck to everyone with their goals unity

[-] Moss@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

I've been sober since the start of January. Intend on staying sober all month, and honestly, it feels easy atm. Probably because I don't have much stressing me out rn

Weight loss wise, I've been going for walks daily but not eating better or doing workouts. I'm committing right now to doing a workout today and will update when I've done it.

[-] Moss@hexbear.net 4 points 8 months ago

Also! I've been practicing my drawing. I followed some tutorials on shading and they've turned out alright, I'm starting to understand the basics. I did a few practice drawings of an apple and faces with shading and they turned out decent

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[-] Wheaties@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

i have a txt file called diary on my desktop. Open it, on the first line i hit enter to shove old entries out of the way, put the date, and start writing. Whatever. Sometimes it's a lot, sometimes it's next to nothing. Whatever I feel like. Some days I forget to open it. That's okay.

[-] Mokey@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago

Good and also healthy

[-] Gay_Wrath@hexbear.net 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

i've been collecting my junkmail that i would normally recycle, and i spread it outside on part of the garden that needed mulching, and covered it up with some mulch and did some weeding today. I plan to plant beans and strawberries in that spot :)

I haven't been good at working out lately, so today i decided to walk to the far bus stop instead of waiting at the close one, since i would have had to wait anyway. Feeling unmotivated to do much exercise when it's so cold still, but at least i'm not completely sedentary when i'm out weeding.

Cannabis reduction is going well, though today i smoked extra because i had tummy hurt disease. I'm fine with it tbh. I plan on going back to my reduced amount tomorrow.

[-] blipblip@hexbear.net 2 points 8 months ago

Today marks two years of veganism! Yesterday was the start of week two of regular exercise. I'm finally regularly eating enough to gain weight. The scale said 130 for the first time in my life! Only like 25ish pounds to go to get to a healthy weight.

Bought an ereader that should arrive today, hoping carrying it around at work will make it easier to study in my down time, and also at home away from the distraction box that is my computer.

[-] aaaaaaadjsf@hexbear.net 5 points 8 months ago

Peanut butter is vegan and really helpful in gaining weight, very calorie dense and rich in fat and protein. It's helped me a ton in gaining weight.

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[-] Awoo@hexbear.net 2 points 8 months ago

I'd like to even start the things I planned to do this new year but managed to put my lower back out and it's been screwed up for the last week or so. Not enough for me to be immobile or in considerable pain but I can feel it's not right and can't do exercise on it.

[-] material_delinquent@hexbear.net 2 points 8 months ago

2 weeks oh god yes! There are no miracles, but if still feels good. I am reading a lot more and generally feeling better

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this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2024

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Self Improvement

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A community which focusses on improving yourself. This can be in many different ways - from improving physical health or appearance, to improving mental health, creating better habits, overcoming addictions, etc.

While material circumstances beyond our control do govern much of our daily lives, people do have agency and choices to make, whether that is as "simple" as disciplining yourself to not doomscroll, to as complex as recreating yourself to have many different hobbies and habits.

This is not a place where all we do is talk about improving "productivity" (in a workplace context) and similar terms and harmful lifestyles like "grindset". Self-improvement here is intended to make you a generally better and happier person, as well as a better communist, and any other roles you may have in your life.

Rules and guidelines:

Posts should be about self-improvement. This is obviously a wide category, and can range from advice, to finding resources, to self-posts about needing to improve in a certain area, or how you have improved, and many other things.

Use content warnings when discussing difficult subjects.

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