For the primary time in 10+ years, I rewatched my 2012 TEDx speak:
“Nerd Fitness and Resetting the Game of Life.”
My first thought: “Whoa, Steve. These are some EPIC sideburns.”
My subsequent thought: “Daring alternative with the striped shirt, denims, and flip flops!”
Then I gave myself some grace.
I’m deeply uncomfortable with the highlight. I hate public talking. It makes me need to vomit each single time. I additionally don’t like being on digicam.
And but, I’ve concepts that I believe may also help folks.
So I write and share my concepts. And typically, I power myself to get on stage. For this speak, I needed to take two buses via the jungles of Ecuador (the place I used to be dwelling on the time), after which take two flights to get to Atlanta.
I stayed at my buddy Kappy’s home, and the night time earlier than the speak, I made a decision to remain up and rewrite the entire rattling factor. That morning, I practiced my speak to his two canines, after which hurried over to Emory and simply went full YOLO and shouted my speak into the universe.
12 years later, rewatching this speak, I’ve ideas.
If you wish to make a journey down reminiscence lane, you possibly can watch the talk on YouTube, which surprisingly has over 100,000 views.
My Greatest Shock Rewatching…
It wasn’t as embarrassing as I assumed!
Child Steve truly had some first rate concepts and was an okay storyteller! Particularly when you think about I had rewritten the whole speak 12 hours prior and was on zero hours of sleep. Oh, to be younger and naive once more.
That is the slide that cracked me up probably the most, and I believe the one I need to spend probably the most period of time on:
All through most of my early 20s, I spent an unhealthy period of time taking part in video video games. On the time, I had satisfied myself that the video video games had been the issue. They’d grow to be too addicting, too pleasant, and so they had been the explanation I wasn’t making a lot progress in my actual life.
The fact is one degree deeper. It wasn’t simply the video video games. It was that I didn’t have a lot life to sit up for. I didn’t like my job (promoting development gear), I didn’t have targets or issues in my private life to sit up for. So I escaped into video video games.
Older and wiser and with shorter sideburns, I’ve a greater understanding of human habits and my very own private struggles with procrastination and escape.
As specified by my buddy Nir Eyal’s e book Indistractable, if we don’t deal with the basis reason for distraction or escape, our brains will get excellent at discovering yet one more factor to get hooked on!
In different phrases, when you can go one degree deeper as to WHY you’re procrastinating or avoiding actuality (presumably with the help of therapy) it may possibly enable you get out of the rut.
As soon as I discovered one thing to sit up for (for me it was turning life into an journey online game like Zelda and EverQuest), all of the sudden video video games turned a far much less interesting use of my restricted free time.
Nowadays, I nonetheless play video video games recurrently (I simply completed Fallout 4), however I now know extra.
When video video games take over an excessive amount of of my life, it’s most likely as a result of I’m avoiding confronting the truth of an issue in life.
Possibly I’m scared to get again to work on my secret-book-shaped mission, as a result of I fear it’s not adequate. Or possibly I’m avoiding an uncomfortable dialog or addressing an actual downside in my life.
So, the answer isn’t unplugging the Ps. It’s addressing the issue I’m truly working arduous to keep away from.
It’s higher to know why I’m procrastinating as an alternative of simply blaming it on video video games.
How’s My Epic Quest Going?
In my speak, I discuss my Bucket Checklist, which I renamed my Epic Quest of Superior. For 8 years, this was an enormous focus of mine.
Actually incomes expertise factors for carrying out quests in actual life.
I did this after exercising around the world and dwelling 14 months of adventure travel.
I even acquired a e book revealed about turning life right into a sport, Degree Up Your Life, again in 2016. I not too long ago reacquired the rights to this e book, and I’m hoping to place out a Model 2 within the coming 12 months.
(Because of this you possibly can’t purchase it now, sorry about that!).
12 years later, life is a bit completely different.
When you’ve been studying this article for the previous 12 months, you might need observed a theme: acceptance and self-compassion.
I’ve modified my perspective on targets.
I had run myself ragged for over a decade, constructing Nerd Health, giving as a lot as attainable, chasing the subsequent objective. Every objective led to the subsequent objective. Every dragon slain required me to go discover one other dragon.
It turned an infinite loop of perpetual “extra extra extra.”
And finally I noticed that I had gotten fairly distant from what truly made me completely happy.
These previous few years, I’ve determined to reside a bit otherwise.
As a substitute of huge long run targets with dramatically organized plans, I’ve narrowed my focus to: “How can I’ve day in the present day?”
I reside as if I will NEVER “get there.”
I nonetheless have targets, and I nonetheless have issues I hope to perform in life.
I’m simply taking part in a special sport than I used to be at 28. I believe this “life is a sport” philosophy served me nicely on the time, and I believe now I’ve added a number of additional doses of actuality to how this performs out.
For anyone caught in a rut, and escaping an excessive amount of into digital worlds, I believe occupied with life like a online game generally is a fairly enjoyable approach to attempt to get away of that rut.
It won’t work for everyone, however I believe having issues to sit up for, and targets to work on, after which discovering methods to make tiny bits of progress may also help.
I cowl this in an article referred to as “A Nerd’s Guide to Success and Happiness” which nonetheless holds up!
A bit of little bit of nuance and perspective can go a good distance when gamifying life!
Wading into the Remark Part…
I made the perilous option to wade into the cesspool of the web:
The remark part on my video.
I used to be shocked to see that 95% of the feedback had been tremendous constructive!
There was one remark although, that supplied me a novel alternative to do one thing I’ve at all times wished to do.
Show anyone mistaken on the web.
In my speak, I discussed that I hoped to someday deadlift 400+ kilos. I grew up scrawny and weak, and I later realized that I’ve spondylolisthesis, which suggests two of my vertebrae don’t line up.
For the previous 15 years, deadlifting has been my favourite train. It’s the motion that has made me really feel probably the most robust and empowered.
I went and located a video of myself from 2018, the place after 6+ years of devoted, sluggish progress and give attention to getting stronger, I deadlifted 420 kilos at a body weight of 172 lbs. No belt, straps, and double overhand grip too!
And sure. 12 years later, I HAD to answer and let the man know I did it.
Not gonna lie, it felt good proving a random web commenter mistaken! Hahahaha
Petty and pointless? Yep!
Satisfying? Very.
Two Buttons: Energy and Reset
I completed my speak with one thing that was much more highly effective than I had anticipated.
The unique Nintendo Leisure System has two buttons: POWER and RESET.
Within the sport of life, we get to hit the facility button as soon as. It activates after we’re born, and it turns off after we die.
However we even have a possibility to hit the RESET Button. If there’s a thought or identification you’ve gotten that’s now not serving you, or some side of life that simply isn’t working…it’s okay to hit the reset button.
It’s okay to attempt once more, even when you failed the final time.
Keep in mind, our knowledge carries over, and we by no means begin again at sq. one.
Recreation on, my fellow nerd!
-Steve
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