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What have you done to improve your life this year?
- Thread starter NotTheGuyYouKill
- Start date
- Status
Ziltoidia 9
Member
Finally was able to get a full time job and will move out before years end.
kahboomkin
Member
Went back to school after taking almost a year off. Doing much better this time around (90 and 80 averages instead of 70 and 60...) and for once in my life I actually like going to class.
2011-2012 was a rough period for me, with 2013 being a real turn-around, so at the beginning of 2014 I set a number of goals for myself:
First, double my income. I made <20k in 2013. In March I started a small business selling various commodities locally and on eBay, buying low and selling high, AND learning how to properly budget my money. This has been the most difficult goal, since everything else sort of rests on it's success, but it's almost accomplished! Holiday season will be a real test to see how well what I've built scales with increased demand.
Second, continue getting into better shape and developing better eating habits. I started running regularly, and created a few good workout routines that have shown some positive results. I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life, so I'm happy with how this turned out.
Finally, buy a car that I can reliably drive for more than 30 miles. Done! As of this week.
Going into next year:
1. Continue expanding my side business and growing my income. Optimistically aiming for another double next year.
2. Pay off my 5k in student loans and old credit card debt, pay off half my car, build credit.
3. Kick my workouts up a notch. Find a gym, start going regularly.
4. Buy new clothes. I've been wearing the same jeans and basic t-shirts for close to 4 years now. My limited wardrobe is starting to affect my confidence and therefore my social life. :-|
5. Quit smoking weed. This one is going to require a serious change of scenery...
First, double my income. I made <20k in 2013. In March I started a small business selling various commodities locally and on eBay, buying low and selling high, AND learning how to properly budget my money. This has been the most difficult goal, since everything else sort of rests on it's success, but it's almost accomplished! Holiday season will be a real test to see how well what I've built scales with increased demand.
Second, continue getting into better shape and developing better eating habits. I started running regularly, and created a few good workout routines that have shown some positive results. I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life, so I'm happy with how this turned out.
Finally, buy a car that I can reliably drive for more than 30 miles. Done! As of this week.
Going into next year:
1. Continue expanding my side business and growing my income. Optimistically aiming for another double next year.
2. Pay off my 5k in student loans and old credit card debt, pay off half my car, build credit.
3. Kick my workouts up a notch. Find a gym, start going regularly.
4. Buy new clothes. I've been wearing the same jeans and basic t-shirts for close to 4 years now. My limited wardrobe is starting to affect my confidence and therefore my social life. :-|
5. Quit smoking weed. This one is going to require a serious change of scenery...
Whiteblade999
Member
-Finished the whole Rift War series in like a month.
-Stopped buying so many games. Pretty much no more bundles, and everything I buy either gets played, or tossed aside for good if its terrible.
-As a result of the previous one I more or less no longer have a backlog, the 6-7 games on it are more for variety then simply 'throwing it on the pile'.
-Recently started working and going to school, feels good to pull my own weight.
-Been getting some management training, which goes nicely with the business degree I'm going for.
-Finally upgraded the rig, so excited to play benchmark games again. Gonna be all over Inquisition for that reason.
-Stopped buying so many games. Pretty much no more bundles, and everything I buy either gets played, or tossed aside for good if its terrible.
-As a result of the previous one I more or less no longer have a backlog, the 6-7 games on it are more for variety then simply 'throwing it on the pile'.
-Recently started working and going to school, feels good to pull my own weight.
-Been getting some management training, which goes nicely with the business degree I'm going for.
-Finally upgraded the rig, so excited to play benchmark games again. Gonna be all over Inquisition for that reason.
jadedm17
Member
Mupod, good on you.
Me? Im sitting in a packed up 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse about 14 hours from driving New York to Florida where ill be moving to. No more snow sounded too good to pass up. Its cold and my motorcycle is already there so im excited to ride aimlessly once i get there.
Me? Im sitting in a packed up 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse about 14 hours from driving New York to Florida where ill be moving to. No more snow sounded too good to pass up. Its cold and my motorcycle is already there so im excited to ride aimlessly once i get there.
Foxtastical
Member
Got cheated on, divorced earlier this year. Hit a low point in my life, pulled out of it, and now I continue to keep going on up. Living nice. Work is doing good still. New girlfriend who is absolutely wonderful. Feel great about myself, a lot of introspection happened.
nice thread, making me reflect on my accomplisments!
-I graduated college
-Got a job in my field 2 days later for a great company
-Started dating an amazing girl
-Purchased a Wii U and Xbox One to go with my PS4 (jk, not really)
-Just today, finally got my driver's license (8 years later!)
-I graduated college
-Got a job in my field 2 days later for a great company
-Started dating an amazing girl
-Purchased a Wii U and Xbox One to go with my PS4 (jk, not really)
-Just today, finally got my driver's license (8 years later!)
Fenderputty
Banned
Lost 40lbs and found s better job. Though the job was a forced hand, it still ended out well.
LanceVance
Member
Good stuff
-Graduated
-Got job doing a job I'm really enjoying
-Made a ton of new friends
Bad Stuff
-Put on a stone over the last two months
-Haven't been to the gym in six months
-Smoking more
Basically I just need to sort my health + fitness out and then I'm going to be a very happy man
-Graduated
-Got job doing a job I'm really enjoying
-Made a ton of new friends
Bad Stuff
-Put on a stone over the last two months
-Haven't been to the gym in six months
-Smoking more
Basically I just need to sort my health + fitness out and then I'm going to be a very happy man
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
Joined the gym.
Started running. I can do 6 miles no problem these days, and I have a 10K coming up. First running event EVER for me. I feel really good.
Planned a trip over the holidays with friends I haven't seen in a while. Really looking forward to is.
Got a promotion at work, more in line with what I want to be doing.
Say my parents more often than usual. We're on opposite coasts so it's hard.
Planned a trip over the holidays with friends I haven't seen in a while. Really looking forward to is.
Got a promotion at work, more in line with what I want to be doing.
Say my parents more often than usual. We're on opposite coasts so it's hard.
biggersmaller
Banned
electricshake
Member
I started receiving treatment for depression, bought an amazing flat and got a cat. Feb-Aug were pretty awful for me (uncle died, got dumped, was ill for months) but things are finally improving! Feeling better about myself than I have in a really long time. Accidentally lost 15lbs (when I was sick) but when I look in the mirror I don't hate what I see anymore 
I bought an elliptical trainer back in April and started using it regularly after spending the first 29 years of my life never doing any physical exercise beyond what was required in school. Currently doing 10 km on it three times a week.
I guess I'm in slightly better shape than I used to be, but other than that it hasn't really improved my life. I was expecting it to also improve my mood and whatnot, but it hasn't.
I guess I'm in slightly better shape than I used to be, but other than that it hasn't really improved my life. I was expecting it to also improve my mood and whatnot, but it hasn't.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
- I kept breathing
- I live more healthy
- I played some great video games, saw some great tv shows and saw a couple of good movies. It's nice to have such awesome entertainment!
- I upgraded my computer. Motherboard, SSD, Graphics Card, CPU, case. It's wonderful, its fast.
- I just ate peanut butter. Cant help but feel better when eating peanut butter!
- I live more healthy
- I played some great video games, saw some great tv shows and saw a couple of good movies. It's nice to have such awesome entertainment!
- I upgraded my computer. Motherboard, SSD, Graphics Card, CPU, case. It's wonderful, its fast.
- I just ate peanut butter. Cant help but feel better when eating peanut butter!
-Tied my days to a work schedule so I can get things done.
-Cut down on internet debates (goal was to find a nice balance, but I think I'm going to cut them out completely or save for special occasions).
-Treat myself once a month to some fine chocolate to keep myself sane.
-Go out at least once a week to do something so I'm not locked inside for 7 days a week.
-Accumulated data through social networks to know what audiences like, what is the best way to tag my art, etc.
-Finished my first product for sale. I'm not expecting it to make much money, but as my audience grows, there will be an option there for them to buy something nicer as I start working on more for sale stuff.
-Start planning and automating more and more of my work so I can focus on the more important stuff.
-Invest in myself. Will be buying a new phone, new clothes, etc. Already have a website that I hope I can make money from soon. Will be getting other stuff like vimeo pro and so on.
-This all rounds out on my attempt to really, truly go with the independent artist route.
-I have also agreed to dissolve my company so that I don't have to spare extra time, which was probably the best decision I've made in years.
I thought this was a really bad year at the start, but it turns out to be one of the most pivotal moments in my life.
Edit: Basically everything about my intent to change my QOL revolves around making money off of my art and website. Once that starts to happen, I can than expand to personal health, vacations, investments and so on. Which is what I want 2015 to be.
-Cut down on internet debates (goal was to find a nice balance, but I think I'm going to cut them out completely or save for special occasions).
-Treat myself once a month to some fine chocolate to keep myself sane.
-Go out at least once a week to do something so I'm not locked inside for 7 days a week.
-Accumulated data through social networks to know what audiences like, what is the best way to tag my art, etc.
-Finished my first product for sale. I'm not expecting it to make much money, but as my audience grows, there will be an option there for them to buy something nicer as I start working on more for sale stuff.
-Start planning and automating more and more of my work so I can focus on the more important stuff.
-Invest in myself. Will be buying a new phone, new clothes, etc. Already have a website that I hope I can make money from soon. Will be getting other stuff like vimeo pro and so on.
-This all rounds out on my attempt to really, truly go with the independent artist route.
-I have also agreed to dissolve my company so that I don't have to spare extra time, which was probably the best decision I've made in years.
I thought this was a really bad year at the start, but it turns out to be one of the most pivotal moments in my life.
Edit: Basically everything about my intent to change my QOL revolves around making money off of my art and website. Once that starts to happen, I can than expand to personal health, vacations, investments and so on. Which is what I want 2015 to be.
Applied for a new job (within the same company), I start a week from Monday. Although it won't improve my savings much, it will be something more interesting and more transferable than what I'm doing now. Hoping to do this for the next year or two and maybe make a big life change after that, like going back to school or moving abroad or something.
Signed up for the gym last week, went running a couple of times since then. Hoping to get in better shape, for my (mostly mental) health but it would be nice to be able to play competitive sports again.
Been trying to be a little better about communicating with people in general, especially my friends.
Just leased a new car too. I'll be a bit poorer but I constantly felt like my old car was going to die on me, and it's wonderful driving something modern. When I got my license in 2006 I had a 93 Camry, and when I bought another car four years ago I bought a 96 Corolla. This 2014 camry is space age compared to those. Free maintenance is lovely as well.
Signed up for the gym last week, went running a couple of times since then. Hoping to get in better shape, for my (mostly mental) health but it would be nice to be able to play competitive sports again.
Been trying to be a little better about communicating with people in general, especially my friends.
Just leased a new car too. I'll be a bit poorer but I constantly felt like my old car was going to die on me, and it's wonderful driving something modern. When I got my license in 2006 I had a 93 Camry, and when I bought another car four years ago I bought a 96 Corolla. This 2014 camry is space age compared to those. Free maintenance is lovely as well.
I found the love of my life and I'm currently working on buying a ring for her.
I tried my hand at writing a music blog, something I had wanted to do for a while. It was mildly successful but I found it was too much work for me to keep up at the pace I was going so I had to drop it. Currently working on ways to do that elsewhere though.
I tried my hand at writing a music blog, something I had wanted to do for a while. It was mildly successful but I found it was too much work for me to keep up at the pace I was going so I had to drop it. Currently working on ways to do that elsewhere though.
UpperCaseN
Member
I bought a house this year, so I finally have space to put exercise equipment. I bought weights and an elliptical. After a few months I started to see results, which is the turning point for my viewpoint on exercise. I use to dislike it and try to come up with excuses to skip, now I enjoy it and feel like crud if I have to skip. My diet has been getting progressively better and saw a bit of a surge along with the exercising, but I think I've hit the point that is as far as I'm willing to go. My weight hasn't changed but I am putting on muscle, my confidence has gone up as a result.
charlie1701
Member
Been much more social, also quit smoking and cut right down on booze.
Kept training and have my first running event next month.
Got a great gaming community where I live, so started a regular twitch stream with friends.
I think the fact that I've been feeling more confident after leaving my last long term relationship has helped a lot.
Kept training and have my first running event next month.
Got a great gaming community where I live, so started a regular twitch stream with friends.
I think the fact that I've been feeling more confident after leaving my last long term relationship has helped a lot.
Randolph Freelander
Member
I closed on and moved into a new townhouse in September, which is going to allow me to start building equity instead of throwing away money on rent and is also going to give me an additional tax deduction every year. So that helps.
TwntyOneTwlv
Member
I got married and bought a house. It's been a good year.
ReturnOfTheRAT
Member
Pick up some new hobbies.
Got onto a dating site.
Got onto a dating site.
Moved somewhere better for me, working on finishing my stationary engineering certification, left a bad relationship, reconnected with family, participating in NaNo (! ), bought a small truck, got my damn confidence back after said bad relationship destroyed it from the constant put-downs.
), bought a small truck, got my damn confidence back after said bad relationship destroyed it from the constant put-downs.
Gameboy415
Member
-Re-connected with some old friends and met some great new friends
-I joined an Indie Game Dev team in May and have learned so much great stuff since then (mainly about UE4)
-I finally built up some credit and currently have an 'Excellent' score
-Made a point to attend events I'd missed out on in recent years (Midwest Gaming Classic, Chicago Comic-Con, etc.)
-Finished various projects in/around my house that I'd been putting off for ages (cleaning gutters, unclogging kitchen drain, re-caulking shower window, etc.)
-Put together a great new Halloween costume after using the last one 7+ times (haha)
This may seem baffling to most people, but the most positive change for me this year was:
-Getting let go from my Tech Support job (a week ago)
I'd grown to loathe the company (the job itself was okay) due to the incompetent decisions of the upper management (like forcing me to continue upgrading clients' PCs despite the fact that they knew the latest version of their software was completely broken) and after 2.5 years working for them I was in the worst physical & mental shape of my life. It's only been a week but I've already lost a bit of weight and feel a million times better!
Obviously money is going to be an issue eventually but I have several plans for next year that should help in that regard and I'm feeling really optimistic for the first time in years.
-I joined an Indie Game Dev team in May and have learned so much great stuff since then (mainly about UE4)
-I finally built up some credit and currently have an 'Excellent' score
-Made a point to attend events I'd missed out on in recent years (Midwest Gaming Classic, Chicago Comic-Con, etc.)
-Finished various projects in/around my house that I'd been putting off for ages (cleaning gutters, unclogging kitchen drain, re-caulking shower window, etc.)
-Put together a great new Halloween costume after using the last one 7+ times (haha)
This may seem baffling to most people, but the most positive change for me this year was:
-Getting let go from my Tech Support job (a week ago)
I'd grown to loathe the company (the job itself was okay) due to the incompetent decisions of the upper management (like forcing me to continue upgrading clients' PCs despite the fact that they knew the latest version of their software was completely broken) and after 2.5 years working for them I was in the worst physical & mental shape of my life. It's only been a week but I've already lost a bit of weight and feel a million times better!
Obviously money is going to be an issue eventually but I have several plans for next year that should help in that regard and I'm feeling really optimistic for the first time in years.
bitoriginal
Member
Bought a house, relationship is going amazingly well and worked hard at the best job I've had to set myself up for a promotion. Just 2 years ago my outlook was bleak and felt like I'd wasted time. Things turn themselves around eventually, just need a bit of luck sometimes!
Forsaken82
Member
-Re-connected with some old friends and met some great new friends
-I joined an Indie Game Dev team in May and have learned so much great stuff since then (mainly about UE4)
-I finally built up some credit and currently have an 'Excellent' score
-Made a point to attend events I'd missed out on in recent years (Midwest Gaming Classic, Chicago Comic-Con, etc.)
-Finished various projects in/around my house that I'd been putting off for ages (cleaning gutters, unclogging kitchen drain, re-caulking shower window, etc.)
-Put together a great new Halloween costume after using the last one 7+ times (haha)
This may seem baffling to most people, but the most positive change for me this year was:
-Getting let go from my Tech Support job (a week ago)
I'd grown to loathe the company (the job itself was okay) due to the incompetent decisions of the upper management (like forcing me to continue upgrading clients' PCs despite the fact that they knew the latest version of their software was completely broken) and after 2.5 years working for them I was in the worst physical & mental shape of my life. It's only been a week but I've already lost a bit of weight and feel a million times better!
Obviously money is going to be an issue eventually but I have several plans for next year that should help in that regard and I'm feeling really optimistic for the first time in years.
I have been in similar situations like this... this isn't incompetent decision making though. It is basically a covering there ass situation in that just in case someone is dumb, they would rather have Tech Support tackle that since you guys aren't supposed to be dumb in that regards. It is dumb for sure, but I think there is a valid reasoning behind it. There is always that one dumb ass in the company that would attempt to upgrade there system themselves and likely break something for everyone else. They would rather put that on Tech Support than on the rest of the staff.
Anyways... On topic, I have taken the initiative to be a leader at work and it is getting noticed from the higher ups and I started dating again after being single for quite some time.
Fnord
Member
BUNTING1243
Banned
Lost some weight. Did a decent job salvaging a really shitty situation. I dunno, kinda a rebuilding year.
Fnord
Member
Did you get divorced?
Seriously, though... awesome job! Losing just 25 so far has been amazing for me, I can't even imagine what it must feel like to lose 100.
DodgyGeezerFella
Member
New car, given up smoking, "complicated" promotion at work, started getting up at 6 and going for a run, lost 2 stone, and hope to get my own place before year end.
Still not "happy" so to speak but working towards it (I hope).
Still not "happy" so to speak but working towards it (I hope).
Vermillion
Banned
Not much. I still fuck up left and right, like everyone else.
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