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Other Resources for Self-Improvement

Discussion in 'Self Improvement' started by Enki, Apr 5, 2017.

  1. silenteagle

    silenteagle Fapstronaut

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    Great set of resources man!
     
    Enki likes this.
  2. Enki

    Enki Fapstronaut

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    I sure thing! I'll add them to the list.
    I know about Ziglar and Hill, but I've never heard of Trudeau before. I'll take a look at him when I get the chance.
     
  3. Enki

    Enki Fapstronaut

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  4. The |E|volutionary

    The |E|volutionary Fapstronaut

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    Remind me to add some ideas in a few hours.
     
    Vegan Police likes this.
  5. Vegan Police

    Vegan Police Fapstronaut

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    Set an alarm dude wow what a demand that is!
     
  6. Enki

    Enki Fapstronaut

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    @|E|volutionary gives quality content. A little demand is not bad at all :)
     
  7. The |E|volutionary

    The |E|volutionary Fapstronaut

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    Firstly, shut the fuck up. Go eat tofu or something.

    Secondly, I wanted to make a quick word about self-help (not improvement) books. It seems a lot of you losers on NoFap plaguing the SI forum with your tripe emphasise the reading of non-fiction like pseudo-intellectual halfwits. The thing is, there is more self-improvement to be had (with exceptions of course, so shut your mouths) in fiction. I'll list some such works of fiction and have Enki add them to the first post.

    Welcome to the NHK
    It's a novel, manga and anime. I recommend the novel due to censorship in both the manga and anime that isn't there in the novel itself. Censorship takes away from the message, and if you're hung up on foul language, sexual themes, whatever, rather than aware of the message the work is trying to portray, you're an idiot. But I digress. Without spoilers, NHK is a psychological, almost-black-comedy about a super-recluse. I don't want to spoil the lessons or the messages contained within its pages as well as the story itself, but it does tackle themes like loneliness, wasted time, and personal responsibility. On not living a life to its fullest capacity. Does that sound familiar, folks?

    DISCLAIMER: I have yet to read the novel. I have only seen the anime, but have every intention of reading it.

    Demian
    From what I'm told, it's a book about two boys who go on an intellectual, philosophical and even spiritual journey that changes their beliefs. Flipping their worlds entirely. Well, as much as the worlds of teenagers can be flipped. It seems to be a strong foundation of questioning things, of realising that objectivity doesn't exist, and of dogmatic groupthink -- which 99% of you need a crash course in, because your posts reek of betaness. I seem to recall a thread in which a male user was bashed for wanting sex with a live female. The worst of you told him that "he hasn't rebooted" and "is still an addict". You lot need to question these beliefs and ask yourselves where they come from.

    DISCLAIMER: I have yet to read the novel. I will be reading it ASAP.

    The reason why I think fiction is better than non-fiction self-help is because the latter always has an agenda. Always has something to sell. Be it a seminar, some retreat, or some weird bracelet that does fuck all to your body's "balance". With fiction, the treat is in the words. It doesn't rely on seminars and subscriptions; it needs to "sell" itself on its characters and plot alone. It is through these characters, these "avatars" that an author presents a narrative, or a theme, and the subsequent material which brings us to its conclusion.

    I'll cut this post short in leaving you with this quote.

    "Self-improvement doesn't need to be sold; it needs to be told."

    @Enki, what are your thoughts on this man?
     
  8. Enki

    Enki Fapstronaut

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    Lots.

    My first reaction was repulsion because these were anime. While anime/manga is not inherently bad, I've been severely addicted to it since before and I would rather avoid it now if I can. (I spent an entire summer doing nothing but watching anime and playinig video games before. I often finished 5-7 seasons a week) I've fought long and hard to move past that stage into the productivity-fulfillment mindset you see since we first talked.

    However, the way you presented "Welcome to NHK" makes it seem very interesting, and relatable to my past self. You mentioned it was also a light novel. I'm open to reading that after I finish the novel I'm reading now (The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman).

    I'm less inclined to read Demian simply because of the premise of intellectual, physical, and spiritual journey. I've done a lot of that in my high school life, and a lot of overthinking. I believe I've made a lot of mental and philosophical evolutions back then that shifted my perspective on the world and let others perceive me as more mature. HOWEVER, I have few skills or experiences to show for it. Most of it was observation, reading, and watching others make the big mistakes. I plowed through, allowed mistakes to happen, and avoided it as much as I could. It wasn't until I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - a novel about a shepherd boy who throws away the comfort he had in his boring stable life in order to embrace adventure and pursue his dream - that I realized how much I was missing out by TAKING ACTION NOW on the things I wanted. Demian may be a good novel, but personally it's not a good fit for me at this point in my life. I'll still put it up on the main post when I get the time.

    For your last point, I'm of the opinion that both nonfiction and fiction have their place.
    Assuming you get both from good, reliable sources, then I say that
    1) Nonfiction is for telling you straight up in technical terms what's going on with this world.
    2) Fiction is mainly for one of two things
    a) Changing your perspective about the world and providing a new one.
    b) Really getting your emotions involved in the message by tying it to a STORY - one of the most powerful tools of human persuasion.

    I think that BOTH nonfiction and fiction have something to sell to you. Good non-fiction often gives you information, new mental tools, strategies, and perspectives to use to get by in this world. Good fiction has a main message the author wants convey about how the world works and then uses the power of story to get you to attach your emotions to it. If good fiction shows you what the world is like, good nonfiction tells you why it's like that and how you can get to that point.

    Again, I'm assuming that you have QUALITY sources.

    Not BS like Tai Lopez and Robert Kiyosaki books. They have one good idea and repackage it to keep selling you more stuff. Although it was a very useful and life-changing idea, it's no longer self-improvement with these books. It's simply 10 pages of a good idea followed by 230 pages of marketing fluff (you can translate that to minutes on a Tai Lopez video) - In other words, it's BS.

    I'm wayyy past my time to go. So I'll have to cut it short now. Thanks for the content.

    Please remind me to put it up on the main post next time. And of course, I'm interested in your thoughts and feedback, Evolutionary.
     
  9. The |E|volutionary

    The |E|volutionary Fapstronaut

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    Yes. Non-fiction has its place and fiction has its own. But like I said, there is always an angle with the former. Even in nofap group heirs of the sun. It's more pontification and cult following than beating addiction. Question everything.

    I'm wondering if there is a 'better way' to go about nofap. Maybe when time permits us both, Enki, you and I can remap the journey, so to speak, to ensure that our particular nofap journeys are uber successful. Just an idea I've had in my head for a while where I kept asking myself, "what if we're wrong?" It's hard to sift through the garbage that is nofap these days. Maybe by throwing everything we think we know out the window and baking a new pie from scratch, we can develop a super-effective system for no only PMO, but addiction in general.

    It starts with us, am I wrong, @Enki?
     

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