Self Improvement

[bearlotz]

Anyway, in the long term I'd like a plot of land one day. A house off the grid with solar panels, and possibly geothermal.
And keep bees, along with other insects.
For now, I'm content to work towards saving money and finishing my horticultural program.
I'd also like to improve my guitar skills.

Before giving advice on this I would want a bit more clarity in terms of your purpose; are you trying specifically to get off the grid and be self-sufficient without a lot of frills or were you leaning more towards having a regular 9-5, saving money with the solar/geothermal power, and bringing in a bit of money through your hobby of beekeeping? In either case, I would suggest investigating very carefully and extensively before making a commitment to setting up a solar power system. Several engineers that I've talked to (including my current supervisor) who worked in the solar field and became thoroughly disillusioned with it as a "silver bullet" technology usually give the same reasons. The main limiting factors are the batteries and the transformers in these systems: no matter how many corners you cut, these sub-assemblies are generally going to be very expensive (around 5K USD for one battery cell and 7K USD for the transformers) and they need to be replaced every couple of years. Granted this information is a couple years old and manufacturing methods may have improved in the intervening time, but just a heads-up to look into all of the hidden costs with that kind of setup.

OT: I have a couple things I'm trying to work on:

Spoiler: list

1) Weight loss - I used to be in pretty good shape a few years back, I see no reason I shouldn't be now. I already know how to get there (lots of cardio, cut back on simple carbs, mild weight training) so now it just comes down to maintaining my motivation
2) Finding a new/better job - currently employed in the engineering office at a small manufacturing company with a...lax...attitude towards testing, quality control, documentation, worker safety, etc.. When I graduated college last May and found this job so close to my parents' house it seemed pretty great that I could save so much money on living expenses and whatnot by living there, but this job really is killing me inside: I can't take pride in what I do because I'm always worried it might kill/maim/whatever our customers, the management considers actually doing my job and documenting everything properly to be "a waste of engineering time", and even when I push back to get things done the right way it seems like everyone else in the office has worked here long enough to just accept the way things are and not make any effort to improve. I see the boss (third generation family business, so he answers to no one) constantly abusing the assembly departments because they can't possibly meet the absurd schedules he creates by promising our customers the moon and the stars in 30 days or less, to say nothing of his cartoonish racism and misogyny (it's honestly like working for a younger Cotton Hill).
3) Learning to code in C++/C - When I was in school I had a couple classes that used the languages but didn't get too in-depth with them. I enjoyed it at the time, and now there's no real reason why I can't pick it up again beyond a lack of motivation and general lifestyle inertia.
4) Learning to play the harmonica - After going on a bit of Black Sabbath binge, I have decided that this is a skill which I must possess.

Whoo, that felt surprisingly good to type out. Thank you for this thread Esotera, you remarkable space-man of the future!

*Edit-grammar*

 

[Nickolai77]

I can certainly relate to the OP, i'm studying for a degree in management but i often question wherever i should have pursued a teaching qualification after i graduated or even tried making a career in writing.

This links to my fundamental personality flaw: Indecisiveness. It's reflected through the fact that i couldn't really decide what i wanted to do when i finished my undergraduate studies and in the smaller things in life like deciding what to do for a day. (Although, i've made progress in appearing more decisive when i'm around other people). Indecisiveness also impacts on my personal interests like creative writing. It takes me literally months of musing before i am happy enough with a story concept to start writing it- and of course most of those stories are never finished because my doubts overcome my confidence in the story.

So yeah, identifying a personal problem is the first step, the next is acting upon it, and that's the harder part.

Remember, just because you got a degree in a certain field doesn't necessarily mean you have to work in that field later on. As most white collar professions go, most employers just want you to have a degree, and they don't really care which one it is. So it's ok to be indecisive about what you want to do in your life, just because you have a degree in management doesn't mean that you're completely set on what you're going to do with the next 50 years of your life, you can always change your career path if you really want to.

Indeed- I'm going to try and get into a sector that interests me first (like film/game/book publishing, or governmental work) and at the age of 25 i'm going to decide if i'm happy with my life direction and if not then change career, and most likely go into teaching.

 

[Penitent]

Spoiler

A bit of background:

I am a biochemistry undergraduate in the UK currently on placement at a software company as part of my course. Next year is my final year, and after finishing uni I should be stuck with a large but manageable amount of debt (20K loans but that is offset by savings).

However, I can't really handle all the stress that comes with university and the automatic assumption of a white-collar job afterwards, partly because my heart just isn't in it, and partly because I've had issues with mental illness in the past & a high-pressure environment is likely to trigger a relapse. It's not that I'm not good at what I do, I just don't seem to enjoy it at all. All I really want in life is a bit of land which I can live on in an area that isn't super built-up, financial security, to be geographically close to family, and internet access. The rest can be sacrificed to achieve this.

As most UK jobs for IT are in London, that sort of leaves me in a dilemma between money & happiness. I'm quite close to pulling an Alexander Supertramp and just living on a caravan on the Isle Of Wight doing odd jobs based on things I enjoy (PC repair/gardening), but would quite like some outside perspective on things. Basically I'm not happy with the way my life is heading and want to change direction, but am not entirely sure how far to go. Anyway, here are my goals in a bullet pointed list:

- Own somewhere I can live in a non-built-up area legally (doesn't necessarily need to be a house)
- Have enough money to live on (at the minute I only need 10k a year to live on, half of which goes on rent. I'm fairly sure I could reduce this amount if it was required).
- Find a job I enjoy doing or that I can bear enough to do for a couple of decades.
- Become a more active member of the escapist community (so that new users are building statues of my avatar for hundreds of years to come). From now on I will try and remember to reply when I'm quoted, and I've also added my Steam profile today.

I appreciate there's probably no silver bullet for this but I could really use an outside perspective or just to know that someone else feels the same way.

Remember to give constructive feedback to someone else as well as posting your own points!

Link to group [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Escapist-Self-Improvement-Initiative]

I don't have the time to answer everything, or even talk about my own issues, but let me say this. The first job you do does not have to be what you do for the rest of your life. I'm in 4th year computer science and also wondering what to do next, but if I had to spend a year working at a job, making money to pay off debts, make myself more secure, and leave me some resources with which to follow other passions, I'd be fine with that. The first job you get isn't the place where you stay for the rest of your life. You can go back to uni and do a masters, phD or a degree that might be entirely unrelated to your original one: all of these are common. You can take the time to decide what are your passions, even if you're living for the weekends, and use the lessons you've learned to go after what you truly strive for.

Besides, after the business of 4th year, you might just be in the mood for a break. It's a stressful time of life!

 

[camscottbryce]

Anyway, in the long term I'd like a plot of land one day. A house off the grid with solar panels, and possibly geothermal.
And keep bees, along with other insects.
For now, I'm content to work towards saving money and finishing my horticultural program.
I'd also like to improve my guitar skills.

Before giving advice on this I would want a bit more clarity in terms of your purpose; are you trying specifically to get off the grid and be self-sufficient without a lot of frills or were you leaning more towards having a regular 9-5, saving money with the solar/geothermal power, and bringing in a bit of money through your hobby of beekeeping? In either case, I would suggest investigating very carefully and extensively before making a commitment to setting up a solar power system. Several engineers that I've talked to (including my current supervisor) who worked in the solar field and became thoroughly disillusioned with it as a "silver bullet" technology usually give the same reasons. The main limiting factors are the batteries and the transformers in these systems: no matter how many corners you cut, these sub-assemblies are generally going to be very expensive (around 5K USD for one battery cell and 7K USD for the transformers) and they need to be replaced every couple of years. Granted this information is a couple years old and manufacturing methods may have improved in the intervening time, but just a heads-up to look into all of the hidden costs with that kind of setup.

OT: I have a couple things I'm trying to work on:

Spoiler: list

1) Weight loss - I used to be in pretty good shape a few years back, I see no reason I shouldn't be now. I already know how to get there (lots of cardio, cut back on simple carbs, mild weight training) so now it just comes down to maintaining my motivation
2) Finding a new/better job - currently employed in the engineering office at a small manufacturing company with a...lax...attitude towards testing, quality control, documentation, worker safety, etc.. When I graduated college last May and found this job so close to my parents' house it seemed pretty great that I could save so much money on living expenses and whatnot by living there, but this job really is killing me inside: I can't take pride in what I do because I'm always worried it might kill/maim/whatever our customers, the management considers actually doing my job and documenting everything properly to be "a waste of engineering time", and even when I push back to get things done the right way it seems like everyone else in the office has worked here long enough to just accept the way things are and not make any effort to improve. I see the boss (third generation family business, so he answers to no one) constantly abusing the assembly departments because they can't possibly meet the absurd schedules he creates by promising our customers the moon and the stars in 30 days or less, to say nothing of his cartoonish racism and misogyny (it's honestly like working for a younger Cotton Hill).
3) Learning to code in C++/C - When I was in school I had a couple classes that used the languages but didn't get too in-depth with them. I enjoyed it at the time, and now there's no real reason why I can't pick it up again beyond a lack of motivation and general lifestyle inertia.
4) Learning to play the harmonica - After going on a bit of Black Sabbath binge, I have decided that this is a skill which I must possess.

Whoo, that felt surprisingly good to type out. Thank you for this thread Esotera, you remarkable space-man of the future!

*Edit-grammar*

I found that a lot things have already been answered so far, so I'm just going to pick one and then state my own I guess...

Anyway! The main thing I'm commenting on is the weight loss part. Right now I'm working on body building, so I guess it's similar. Maintaining motivation is HARD. Hard as all hell. The best thing to do (and this is opinion, and perhaps even a shitty one at that) is to just start. Even if you feel crappy, sore, whatever, if you start and just go until your body cannot go any farther, you'll feel like you achieved something, and that will drive up motivation. Some days I feel tired and I don't want to work out but then I start doing push ups and after I do 50, I'm in the mood to work on my body again. I don't know, just seems to work!

OT: I'm really angry/afraid of being in college. I'm a full time college student and I want to be a game designer/game "analyzer" on YouTube or whatever, and part of the issue is motivation, but for my first year in college, I've learned absolutely nothing. And it takes up so much time in my week that I can't help feeling like I'd be better off without it. I hear from way too many places that if you start making games, you'll learn more than any college can teach you, ad I truly believe that. I want to make games and analyze them and make that a career, but for some un-explainable reason, I just don't have the motivation. I guess that's the part I want to improve, but man, it's hard. Not to mention, I can't find a part-time job anywhere, so money is dwindling, and school takes up so much of the week, plus working out, like, geez.

 

[Kolby Jack]

It really depends on how you define "self." My personality, the core of who I am, is fine. I see nothing that demands improvement. I'm friendlier, more socially capable (still prefer to keep to myself though), more carefree, more forgiving, more patient, mentally healthier, and all around happier than I've ever been previously. Nothing has really "caused" this to happen, it just sort of grew over time as I got older and hasn't faded since it hit its peak. I mean, I'm going through a period of slight boredom right now because there haven't been any new games that have really piqued my interest lately, but that's more of an external issue. It has no bearing on my overall satisfaction with life.

Physically, I'm somewhat out of shape. It's not really a concern for me, but it's a concern for the Navy, so I'm having to work out and diet a bit to slim down. I've been at it for just over a month and am already back within acceptable standards, but I have to keep going a month more until the next PRT. No big deal, really, though I get the feeling my PT "instructors" would prefer me to at least appear more concerned about it. Meh.

 

[Esotera]

Ok, finally found some time to reply to a few things in this thread - I'll try and stick to what I know.

Being a biochemistry undergraduate sounds pretty swell. Not to sound like a jerk, but some folks can't afford university even with loans.

Anyway, in the long term I'd like a plot of land one day. A house off the grid with solar panels, and possibly geothermal.
And keep bees, along with other insects.
For now, I'm content to work towards saving money and finishing my horticultural program.
I'd also like to improve my guitar skills.

I also share this goal of a plot of land (and I guess a few others probably do as well). So any answers would be awesome.

As for guitar, how far have you got? There are loads of powertabs on the internet and I find just picking a song I like & playing it against that is the best way to learn. It's also worth learning your scales & arpeggios and a bit of music theory, also learning to play from ear is a really useful skill, along with practising improvisation.

A lot for me. I'll just bullet it down and see what I could need help in.

- Relearn my violin and piano. This is the first year of my high school that I haven't taken a music program. I hate myself for it.
- Like Binnsyboy, write a novel. Several, and I'm not planning to stop after gaining a lot of money.
- Learn some hard core programming over the summer to make a video game.
- Get better at my drawing skills. I draw like I have all thumbs.
- Become a Linux (because I can) and computing expert. Something that's a hobby of mine, learning about computers and Linux. ;-)
- Go to other countries; Japan and Germany specifically, since I've heard they're both awesome places.

And more that aren't coming to my mind at the moment. I guess I need to force myself away from the Escapist in order for this to truly happen. Don't worry, I'll still partake in discussion, but I need to stop lurking in the site until I have a headache about it. >.>

For programming & Linux our user group might be able to help a bit? I'm sure there's interest from others to learn how the technology actually works, and maybe even collaborate a bit on open-source projects if it takes off.

Anyway, in the long term I'd like a plot of land one day. A house off the grid with solar panels, and possibly geothermal.
And keep bees, along with other insects.
For now, I'm content to work towards saving money and finishing my horticultural program.
I'd also like to improve my guitar skills.

Before giving advice on this I would want a bit more clarity in terms of your purpose; are you trying specifically to get off the grid and be self-sufficient without a lot of frills or were you leaning more towards having a regular 9-5, saving money with the solar/geothermal power, and bringing in a bit of money through your hobby of beekeeping? In either case, I would suggest investigating very carefully and extensively before making a commitment to setting up a solar power system. Several engineers that I've talked to (including my current supervisor) who worked in the solar field and became thoroughly disillusioned with it as a "silver bullet" technology usually give the same reasons. The main limiting factors are the batteries and the transformers in these systems: no matter how many corners you cut, these sub-assemblies are generally going to be very expensive (around 5K USD for one battery cell and 7K USD for the transformers) and they need to be replaced every couple of years. Granted this information is a couple years old and manufacturing methods may have improved in the intervening time, but just a heads-up to look into all of the hidden costs with that kind of setup.

OT: I have a couple things I'm trying to work on:

Spoiler: list

1) Weight loss - I used to be in pretty good shape a few years back, I see no reason I shouldn't be now. I already know how to get there (lots of cardio, cut back on simple carbs, mild weight training) so now it just comes down to maintaining my motivation
2) Finding a new/better job - currently employed in the engineering office at a small manufacturing company with a...lax...attitude towards testing, quality control, documentation, worker safety, etc.. When I graduated college last May and found this job so close to my parents' house it seemed pretty great that I could save so much money on living expenses and whatnot by living there, but this job really is killing me inside: I can't take pride in what I do because I'm always worried it might kill/maim/whatever our customers, the management considers actually doing my job and documenting everything properly to be "a waste of engineering time", and even when I push back to get things done the right way it seems like everyone else in the office has worked here long enough to just accept the way things are and not make any effort to improve. I see the boss (third generation family business, so he answers to no one) constantly abusing the assembly departments because they can't possibly meet the absurd schedules he creates by promising our customers the moon and the stars in 30 days or less, to say nothing of his cartoonish racism and misogyny (it's honestly like working for a younger Cotton Hill).
3) Learning to code in C++/C - When I was in school I had a couple classes that used the languages but didn't get too in-depth with them. I enjoyed it at the time, and now there's no real reason why I can't pick it up again beyond a lack of motivation and general lifestyle inertia.
4) Learning to play the harmonica - After going on a bit of Black Sabbath binge, I have decided that this is a skill which I must possess.

Whoo, that felt surprisingly good to type out. Thank you for this thread Esotera, you remarkable space-man of the future!

*Edit-grammar*

It sort of depends on how you use energy as well. I know a family of 4 who can quite happily live off-the-grid with only a couple of solar panels over summer, as they use very little power in day-to-day life.

I also did a bit of C/C++ a couple of years ago, so if you have any questions you can always PM me. Or we could see about getting a few technical seminars in the Linux user group here...

General Reply to Everyone

Thanks for your advice back to me. This has reaffirmed my decision to continue university & get the qualifications (as well as a professional qualification for software testing). After that I'm still not sure what to do, but I get the feeling it probably won't be a usual career path. I'll talk it through with my parents or something soonish...

It's also great to know that this many people want to take positive steps in their life (and some even joined the group). I didn't think anyone would - it'll be great to see how far we get.