Hello everyone. that is, length It’s been a while since I posted online. Well, that’s not entirely true.I have written a lot on facebook. In fact, Facebook is like my personal blog. But that is about to change. all I’m trying to change. Now let’s talk about it.
As you know, 2022 was a hell of a year for me. It was a year of death and destruction. That may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s not. It felt as if my world was crumbling around me.
After my mother passed away in October, I swore. I was willing to do whatever it took to get back into the same mental and physical space I lived in ten years ago. The period from 2012 to 2016 was peak JD and I wanted to see more of it. Maybe we didn’t get to the exact same state of mind, but we definitely got closer than we’ve been in years.
Optimize for pleasure
To that end, I asked myself. What was different about me? after that than i do now? I made a list. I named her 2023 my year. As cliche as it sounds, I started ‘optimizing for pleasure’. I started taking action. The action was effective.
Here are some of the things I’ve been doing.
- I have traveled. I spent some time in Colorado in February, spent a week in Mexico in March, and just returned from a month-long solo trip around the Norwegian coast via the islands of Scotland. Short reach to Svalbard, and ends with a week in Iceland. I did nothing.
- I was reading. Earlier this year, I spent a lot of time reading books on mental health and personal development.then i discovered Nero Wolf’s Rex Stout novel. Wolfe and Stout helped me rekindle my love of books.I read more this year Book Since then…around 2006? This is a lot of fun.
- I have been exercising. I go to the gym avidly three days a week. sometimes more. It was frustrating at first, but now I’m stronger and I’ve lost a little weight. I’m still not back to the peak fitness I enjoyed in 2012-2014, but I’m getting there. I plan to shift my focus from strength training to cardio and flexibility for a few months, but plan to return to weightlifting by the end of the year.
- I’m playing with my friends My social life has been terrible for a while now for a variety of reasons, including travel, COVID-19, and moving. length time. This year, I am intentionally making time for friends old and new.
- I have taken medicine. For years I resisted using drugs to deal with mental health issues. I’ve always believed that I should be able to dig myself out of the dark, dark hole I got into. Sometimes that works. Often that is not the case. In April I asked my doctor for help. She prescribed Wellbutrin. After a rocky start, I found it helped me keep my evil spirits at bay. It’s so nice to feel human again.
These are the things I’ve added to my life in my JD year, but some I’ve given up on. They include:
- Hearthstone. for Nine For years I’ve been hooked hearthstone, a digital card game. I chose the word “addiction” deliberately.I’ve recorded my play before, but I tended to average 2 hours Amount of Hearthstone per day. It’s insane. Still, I couldn’t stop. But do you know? The day I started taking Wellbutrin, my urge to play games disappeared. I’ve played Hearthstone for a total of 2 hours in the last 3 months, which is far from 2 hours per day for him. (That said, I haven’t stopped playing games entirely. I’m currently playing Zelda on Switch and I love it, but it’s not an addictive act. I haven’t played in a week.)
- Reddit. I know a lot of people are addicted to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. None of them are compelling to me. (I’ve always hated Twitter. I don’t use Facebook much, really just to share with friends.) But what about Reddit? Well, Reddit sucked a ton of time out of my life. I spend hours mindlessly scrolling through and seeing crap. Since I started taking Wellbutrin, my urge to do so has dwindled, but the site’s leadership’s recent actions have become a last resort. I gave up already.
- Get rich slowly. that’s right. This vacation has made me realize that I need to quit GRS. again. The site should never have been bought back. I can’t explain why, and I honestly don’t need to, but GRS is like a weight around my neck. It’s a psychological burden.My life is better when I’m no write about money
There was a time when I wanted to completely quit my internet life. I have some strong opinions about the modern Internet and its negative impact on society. I don’t want to be a part of what I believe is destroying our world. However, I realized that I needed to practice what I was preaching.
practice what i preach
As you know, I often advise friends who are angry about world affairs to: do something instead of complaining. For example, if you don’t like the way Mississippi works, move to Mississippi and contribute to change. Don’t try to dictate your actions in Mississippi from the comfort of your Oregon home. It’s bullshit on so many levels.
If I gave up the Internet completely, I would surrender. I would say, “Okay, I give in. The SEO spammer and his AI website and social media minions win.” I don’t want to do that. I don’t necessarily want to wage war on these things, do We want to provide an alternative to all the crap out there in a very small way.
Besides, I like to write.i’ve been writing online 26 years. This is part of who I am. During my long hiatus, I felt like I was missing a part of myself. During my recent trip, I posted photos and stories to Facebook every day. was fun! It made me realize how much I miss writing for the web.
So I’m going back to web writing. However, I do not intend to write only on one subject. I’m not going to publish on a niche site like Get Rich Slowly. I will write in my personal style on my personal blog. If anyone wants to read what I’ve written (and join the conversation), that’s great. Even if it’s not, it’s great.write for myself — because that’s what I need to do to process my thoughts and feelings. Because writing has been part of who I am for nearly 50 years.
Conclusion
I reached an agreement with my business partner, Tom Drake, to give Tom Drake control over Get Rich Slowly and at the same time allow me to use the money writing any way I like. Basically, he’s going to take over his GRS and do what he thinks best and I’ll run my online world. whole The Online World — You can continue to use articles you’ve written while visiting jdroth.com.
For those unfamiliar with Tom, in a way he’s Canadian me. I’ve been called the “Godfather of Money Blogging” (and more recently, the “Grandfather of Money Blogging”).Well, Tom is the godfather Canadian money blog. Tom has been writing about personal finance since his 2009. Tom runs many sites, but the best known is maple money.
perhaps I occasionally write about GRS. But maybe not.Then those articles will be called Get Rich Slowly folded space. (Folded Space is the name of a personal blog I publish on jdroth.com.) For example, this article appears in both places at the same time.
So that’s where I am. His first six months of 2023 were happy and fulfilling. It was very wise to make this “your year”. I am in very good shape physically and mentally and things continue to improve. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds…
