3 Personal Journey Results, aka Intrapersonal Social Experimentation Show and Tell. Hey, my name is Zev. I am an aspiring writer, and full time developer.
I spent most of my life having ideas, and not really having the skills needed to get them done well. My attempts at working with a mentor have also failed for the most part, due to my hectic schedule. Now that I have become a better developer... I have come to realize it is more about having an idea that will catch on without advertising, or reminding people to try it.
I left my job to pursue a writing career. I'm always doing ridiculous things in search of a good story, or an interesting experience. I'd love to be a writer... I just don't know what my audience is (I know it interests me). It could just be an inability to write catchy post titles.
I am really good at studying myself, and I think in some ways maybe that can help people discover themselves. I get lots of compliments on my taste, but I don't write any fashion blogs. Maybe I will do some of those next. I'm trying to see which if any of these blogs gets some attention.
I'm sure you just don't want to hear about me so I guess I will get to the good stuff. The things I found from all the strange self-investigative experiments.
- What is it like to be homeless? I decided I wanted to write a modern survival guide tale, of how one average joe could follow their dreams using some of the techniques I read in blogs, just quit, get moving etc. I left my job. However, with no safety net, I began to wonder, what if I didn't have other people in my life to help me. I hit the streets. I spent maybe 3 days investigating homeless life. It taught me, several different things.
a. If you look good when you are down and out, people are more likely to help or believe your situation is temporary.
b. Once you have an experience yourself, you become hyper-aware of its existence. When I would set-up my stand, other "actual" homeless people would come by and tell me their stories. We are all controllers of our destiny, but it some people you will discover, have had less chances to rebound.
c. Start with the good part. I need money for, I need help, bad leads. Indie Film seeks additional funding, much better. Less words, appeals to identity, better attention grabbing.
d. You may not always find a place to sleep, but you'll always find a place to get high. I didn't. However, I noticed I had 3 people offer me a place to stay... I had 4 people straight up ask me if I wanted to go to the crack spot with them. No thinks, bud, I'm just a tourist. I noticed after this that behind a lot of the women on the streets faces, were beautiful girls that probably got high a few times when the bed offers weren't coming.
e. There is no motivation or depression like having the cold ground beneath you. It makes every convenience you acquire after the experience a precious thing. Moreover, I noticed that I started crossing my "t's" and dotting my "i's." It improved my programming abilities and now I go for perfectionism.
- A cup and bowl are the same - For a month I ate everything out of a bowl that kind of reminded me of a cup, and I used only a spoon.
a. I thought I would find out how long it would take to break habit, indeed I went to the cabinet 8 or 9 times and had to switch my dish because I forgot about the experiment. I did continually catch myself before eating and switch the dish.
b. My roommate started wanting to use the bowl. Even though she never really used it before... Two weeks into the experiment she used it. I was about to eat and couldn't find it. We got into a discussion about it being her dish, but the conversation ended once I mentioned...
c. Less dishes were in the sink. When I only used the mug and spoon, plate foods like spaghetti were weird at first. I determined that ultimately if the mouth is about the same as the height, it is both bowl enough and cup enough. Either way I cut back on the extra dishes because mostly I just rinsed my bowl. I did notice however, how much my taste was associated with presentation, and what I deem as "normal."
- Set alarms. Choose any time, and set an alarm. - I have alarms at 4:30am, 11:30am, 2:00PM, 6:30pm, and 11:20pm. Everyday at these times I will look at my phone or computer.
a. In fact, I noticed I instinctively have begun looking for my computer or phone shortly before the alarm.
b. I don't always do the activities associated with the clocks, but if I am not doing something beneficial when it goes off, I think about what I am doing, and if I should be doing something instead.
c. This "gateway habit," helps me keep up with personal goals, or at least keep sight of them past inspiration. Google calendar even has a goal option.
d. One hour a day is enough to learn a lot, 30 Hours is (3 Hrs of class a week, 3 four week months) is almost a semester of a school course. Imagine what you could learn or get done if you followed through even a few times.
Well, that's all I have for today.