#i’m actually motivated to exercise (20 minutes a day tops that is my FINAL offer)

[gender-euphowrya]

apparently my liver is super fucking fat ugh

[corpsentry]

behind the taylor swift gundam was in fact another, smaller gundam: a brief inquiry into the events of june 2020

so back in june this year june and i got together and we made this motherfucker of a story with this motherfucker of a thread to keep track of it all. but you already know that! and i’ve already got one foot and three elbows in my grave, so i’ll spare you the long-winded stuff. you wanna know how i wrote 93,035 words in 4 weeks? i’ll tell you how i wrote 93,035 words in 4 weeks-

-by linking you guys to copies of my planning documents because i feel like those words speak louder than any words i can offer in the present day. these are long documents. but they are also historical artifacts. very interesting. very weird. very, uh, full of cussing. so anyway, here’s

BIG DADDY: THE ORIGINAL PLANNING DOCUMENT

for those, like me, who have no motivation left in life to do anything and rely on summaries from others to acquire new knowledge, it all started with a single line.

prince of a fallen kingdom atsumu tries to kill hinata but falls in love with him instead

june, april something, 2020

with that in mind i tested the concept out with a few paragraphs of text, which you can find at the bottom of the Big Daddy document in the graveyard segment, accidentally sold my soul to the image of hinata with epaulettes, and then worked backwards, structuring an entire plot around two images:

a) hinata getting the shit beat out of him, with snark b) hinata and atsumu dancing in an empty ballroom under the stars

if you want a betrayal, you have to have something worth losing. if you want to fall in love with someone you don’t know, you have to meet them. if you have to meet them, there has to be a reason for that meeting, and so somewhere in between atsumu became a sword instructor and hinata the prince with daddy issues. june and i used this method of glancing anxiously over your shoulder to see what you’d missed to fill out the blanks in the story, after which i tacked up a bunch of post-its, typed out the plot, consulted june, typed out the plot again, and then broke the characters down into a bunch of questions, like ‘what do they want?’ and ‘what do they have?’ and ‘what are they afraid of?’

with the plot more or less ironed out, i decided it was time to start writing, and then i decided that i was actually too scared to start writing after all, so instead i set a couple of timers using classroomtimers.com (15-20 minutes long) and i sat down and i wrote about the world that hinata and atsumu inhabited.

each warm-up was 300-500 words long, and for the first few days, i’d write one before getting into writing the story proper. later these evolved into simply picking a scene from the story and launching straight into it, which became useful for opening those scenes later when i got to them organically.

then i got lazy! so i stopped. but these shitty little exercises were really useful for me because, unfettered by plot, convention, or any kind of tradition hovering over my shoulder, i was able to fuck around loosely enough to realize what i wanted this story to be. it was a very contrived kind of trial-and-error, an exploration of the characters, the story, but most importantly, the tone.

RESEARCH, PLANNING, AND VICTORIAN BOUGIE FASHION

this is a loose map of the castle and Important Locations within it, which i drew up at the start so i could keep track of where everything was and how i could get my characters from point A to point B. i wanted the story to have Some kind of internal logic, you know, even if that logic amounted to ‘a compass would function normally in this world whereas kageyama tobio would not’.

99% of my planning and organizing within those five weeks took place in this lovely dotted cat journal which my sister gave me for my birthday and i repurposed into a metaphorical Diary of Suffering while working on juno. i used it for everything from keeping track of narrative threads to clothing consistency checks, but the main purpose was this: each day at about 10 pm i’d crack open the cat book to a fresh page, stamp the date and the day of suffering at the top, and then write down a list of things i wanted to write, address, or fix today. then i’d sit at my laptop and write like a madman until about 7 in the morning. with breaks, of course, for sitting in the bathroom and staring at the wall and sitting in the kitchen and staring at the wall, but mostly i was writing. and complaining about writing. you were there, you probably remember that.

anyway, here are some pages from the cat book.

aside from the fact that my handwriting is complete shit, you can see that i made zero effort for any of this to be presentable. it was mainly a way for me to keep track of my thoughts because i have the attention span of an ikea wardrobe and tend to forget things as soon as i think of them. the lack of structure also mirrored the way that i went about writing juno. while i did proceed, for the most part, in chronological order, i had a lot of weird and useless revelations during lunch, which by this point was happening around 2 am, and in the 5 minutes before the exhaustion finally hit and carried me down to hell. i changed A Lot. again, to understand exactly how much the story evolved from day one onwards, please consult the big daddy document.

in the meantime, here’s something else.

once june sent over hinata and atsumu’s character designs i sat down like the fucking fool i am and spent 2 hours poring over a document about victorian and other fashion movements of the past so i could assign a noun, adjective, and verb to each element of their outfits. i don’t know why i did this. i certainly could have not, but i attempted to make sense of their ‘fits from a logistical perspective and that went into the cat book too. everything went into the cat book. the cat book is a relic of the past now, stuffed with artifacts such as the birth of oikawa tooru, and also his demise.

MEDIUM DADDY: EDITING, PROOFREADING, AND CREEPY MURDER CATS

i finished writing on june 26th, 2020, approximately a month after i’d first started planning, somewhere around may 27th or 28th. at that point i had about 90,000 words’ worth of story and no sanity left whatsoever, so i took a day-long break to stare at a wall and listen to taylor swift’s enchanted on loop.

and then i made a new document, which you can look at using the link above, and i laid out everything i had to do. i’d discovered a fuck ton of plot inconsistencies and general errors while writing and lying awake in bed at 9 a.m., sleepless in seattle, and now that i was free of the demon egging me towards the first finish line, it was time to Deal with them. i speed-scrolled through the draft, which was 200+ pages compressed into one google doc, because i like to tempt god’s wrath, and fixed up all the plot issues over the course of a few days. this was the fun part.

the actual, hard editing was the extremely un-fun part. i reread the entire thing, paragraph by paragraph, line by damn line, from start to finish, paying especially close attention to awkward phrasing, incomplete dialogue, and moments which had fallen flat in my haste to get on to the next one. this was really fucking terrible. i spent more time lying facedown on the floor than actually editing anything, but after a long time (about a week), that, too was done.

SMALL DADDY: TITLES, SUMMARIES, AND GOOD FUCKING BYES

i spent a good eighty days thinking about the title, though hilariously enough we ended up with something that was a blend of our names. june + elmo = juno, which is, all things considered, pretty perfect, but the process of picking the title was Hell, and i Did Not Come Up With The Title until about 2 hours before posting. you can take a look at the haphazard clusterfuck of my title-selecting process in small daddy, which is linked above.

so the title was a last-minute choice. so was the summary. and the chapter divisions. and actually all the songs in the playlist for juno. the day we dropped juno onto planet earth like a newborn baby pitched out of the sky, i spent an hour hunched over my laptop, cutting my 213 page google doc into chapters based on nothing more than a Vibe. two days before that, i also attempted to voice-act the entirety of juno, an affair which ended at the 20,000 word mark with a sore throat and the kind of exhaustion one typically wants to sleep in a coffin for 23 years to get rid of. so in all honesty, i did very little editing, which is why there are definitely minor typos and/or mistakes hanging out somewhere on that chunky ao3 webpage. but whatever.

my attitude by july 5th (was it july 5th? or 4th? somewhere around there) was basically whatever. anything so i could get finish this damn thing, chuck it out of the window, and never see another google doc until the next century. i’ve been asked a few times how exactly i wrote at a rate of roughly 2000-3000 words per day for four weeks straight, and my answer has always been this: i died. what died, you ask? my soul. my spirit. my Will To Live. i’m a creature of fixations, and juno was my fixation for june. will i ever be able to do this again? would i recommend this experience to anyone? is god real? the answer to all of the above is probably no. juno was a fever dream, and so is my cat book. and so are all the lattes i had. and so was my 9 am to 4 pm sleep schedule.

but what we made is real. the research, oikawa tooru, the 4 am conversations in which i was like ‘how the fuck do i end this’ and june was like ‘jade proposal’ (the proposal was her idea. all rise for twitter user atsuhinas. she is the mastermind behind all of the Inch Resting moments in this story; i just flapped a korok leaf in her direction and made sure the air circulation was working properly) are real as fuck, and looking back, there’s a lot i’d change, but i’m lazy. and college is starting. and anyway, i did write 93,035 words in just under five weeks, four if you don’t count the week of Editing Hell, so i think that’s pretty cool.

thank you for reading this to the end, and for following us on our journey through the enigmatic taylor swift gundam fic which quite literally consumed my entire twitter account for the five weeks i spent working on it. retrospectively speaking i really was butt-obsessed so i am frankly incredibly impressed with everyone around me for putting up with a Husk of a Man for a month. thank you for doing that. thank you for indulging my vague tweeting, and our butterfly dns, and for reading 93 thousand words of gay fanfiction set in a high fantasy world with epaulettes and galettes. on behalf of june, once again, we are incredibly grateful for all your support.

if you have any questions about specific aspects of the writing process, or anything you’d like to know in general with reference to JUNO, feel free to drop me an ask through my tumblr inbox, or through my curiouscat over here. i’m aware i didn’t cover everything, but there’s frankly too much to put in a tumblr post without passing away somewhere around the 56% mark, so let me know what’s on your mind, and i’ll try to answer that to the best of my abilities. but anyway, before i go, here are some

TAKEAWAYS

one: don’t try to write 93,000 words in five weeks. seriously don’t fucking do it you will end up jittery and sleep-deprived and you will leave all your friends on read for a month. pace yourself. set realistic goals. you wrote 2k this week? that’s fantastic. you wrote 4k in a day? you absolute motherfucker. i hope you’re taking a long fucking break tomorrow. your story will not run away from you, but if you run too fast, you will get tired, and then you will pass away.

two: you don’t have to know everything about your story before you start writing. in fact if you have a single camera shot of two characters holding hands under a rose garden awning, i think that’s fucking wonderful. if you look at big daddy, you’ll realize that my initial plot draft, and all the ones following that, are not perfectly aligned with the final version of juno. i improvised over half of the scenes in this motherfucker, and to be completely honest, some of the improvised scenes were the best. fucking oikawa tooru was improvised out of nowhere. he only got written in way later, around chapter 8 or something, because i realized i needed a plot device and a source of information to keep the playing table from toppling over. i Sat Down one day and was like ‘okay, it’s time to write oikawa into the introduction. because he matters now. he didn’t matter last week but now he does, and soon he’s going to be the fulcrum of the entire story, because it’s like that with oikawa tooru’. it’s okay to change your mind halfway. it’s okay to go back and rewrite entire scenes or segments. it’s okay to highlight 4 pages of fresh, sentimental writing, and hit delete. writing is a fluid process, and you Will make discoveries as you progress through your story alongside your characters. be understanding of that iterative process. be kind to yourself.

three: You Are That Motherfucker. you, me, your dog, your dog’s friend, your dog’s enemy, all of us are that motherfucker. i never thought i’d be able to write anything longer than the great big map, which was a much simpler, linear story in which the other main character did not appear in the current timeline until like the eighth chapter. juno was different. juno was the motherfucker, and i was scared shitless of it, and to cope with that fear joked constantly while writing that it’d never see the light of day.

but it did. it was a rocky process, and i was awake for 48 hours after posting it because of the sheer adrenalin stuck in my skull, but i got through it. and i wouldn’t have been able to do it without june, who stepped in when i flopped over facedown on the floor and dragged me to my feet like the badass friend she is, and without everyone else in my life, who put up with me talking about The Thing that i couldn’t really talk about, but juno’s up there now. forever, or until the internet collapses and civilization goes extinct. and if the nineteen year old clown with the attention span of an ikea armchair and an a level certificate from hell wrote the 93,000 word long thing, so can you. i mean this completely unironically and with every ounce of genuine emotion i can summon from the cracked asshole of my heart.

writing is hard. writing is scary. writing is an investigation of the world around you and therefore, by extension, yourself, and that kind of honesty is freaky. it’s like going skinny-dipping next to the president’s mansion. who’s going to see you? what if they take a photo? what if you lose your spot at university?

but don’t think about that. our world is overrun with stories the way cereal bowls are full of cereal, but it’s those stories that keep us all sane in the disgusting day-to-day muck of reality, so think about your story. what’s haunting you today? what message do you want to leave printed in font size 666 comic sans across the southern hemisphere of the planet? what will you be tomorrow?

a writer. you’re going to be a motherfucking writer.

[thewritewolf]

Eating Habits Chapter 2: Moving Day

It’s the big day - Marinette finally moving out of the bakery, and her boyfriend Adrien is there to make it as quick and painless as possible. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 (Final)

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3.  My ko-fi.

Adrien set the box down in the empty room and dragged the back of his hand across his forehead, keeping the sweat out of his eyes.

“Is that the last of them?” He set his hands on his hips. Marinette had already started unpacking a while ago.

“Hm…” Marinette looked around, caught holding a whisk in her hand as she mentally counted the boxes. “Looks like that’s everything…” She looked him over, a playful smirk on her face. “Why don’t you sit down for a little bit, kitty? You’re no use to me tuckered out.”

“Normally I’d decline, but those three flights of stairs really took it out of me.” Adrien glanced around and realized there wasn’t really anywhere to sit. So he sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning back on his elbows. “You gonna be okay walking that distance everyday?”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “While not all of us can afford high-end gym memberships, I get plenty of exercise, kitty. I’m still Ladybug, after all.”

“Speaking of which…” Tikki emerged from one of the boxes, and ducked into another one. She dragged out a startled Plagg who was too busy clutching a wedge of camembert to resist. “C’mon, you stinky sock! Let’s go exploring.” Despite his grumbling, he followed after her as they disappeared into another room.

As Marinette hummed to herself, Adrien let his eyes wander across the room. So far, he hadn’t been that impressed by the building and he couldn’t tell how much of that was his upbringing and how much was just sense. It felt cramped, the space was tiny, the windows were clouded and opened out into the alley - although, admittedly, that might come in handy if she had to leave the building as Ladybug. He’d only seen her landlord briefly, but he already didn’t like the sleazy looking man. While he wanted nothing more than to denounce it and talk Marinette to her senses…

...He decided to bite his tongue. She seemed happy, so maybe the problems weren’t as big as he thought they were. Besides, maybe this was just him being upset that they weren’t moving in together. It wouldn’t be fair of him to nag on her first home outside of home, especially if that was his real motivation.

“I know it’s not much to look at now,” Marinette said, breaking the silence and making Adrien blush in embarrassment.

“Was I that obvious?”

“Mhm. And I get it - it’s a step down from how I was living back at the bakery, but…” She sat down across from him, her knees drawn close to her chest, “...I think, with a little love and a lot of hard work, this place will feel like home before the semester is out.”

“I’ll be more than happy to help out whenever you need it.”

“That’s sweet of you to offer, but you’ve got plenty on your plate as is. I’m not about to ask you to play home makeover with me too. Although,” she said with a wink, “I wouldn’t be opposed if you came over for dinner and some late night fun.”

He scooted closer to her, their faces centimeters apart. “Well, you did say this place could use some love…”

“I did say that, didn’t I?”

He closed his eyes and leaned in, only to be pushed back by the nose.

“...But not right now. You’ve got a lunch with Nino to get to, don’t you?”

Adrien whipped out his phone and cursed. He had ten minutes to beat Nino to the cafe.

He sprang to his feet and took Marinette’s hand to help her up. He planted a kiss on her knuckles. “Until next time, m’lady. Plagg?” He called out as he walked toward the door. “We gotta go!”

------------

It was close, but Adrien made it in time. Nino was already waiting for him, as was a cup of coffee done just the way Adrien liked it (extra sugar and cream). Nino glanced up from his phone when Adrien pulled up a seat, a grin spreading across his face as he rose from his slouch.

“Bro! It’s been way too long.” They did their secret handshake from collegé over the table. His grin faded a little. “Sorry we couldn’t show for the anniversary, Adrien. Not a lotta free time these days, ya know?”

“Yeah, I get it. Don’t worry, no one understands the pain of a busy schedule more than me.” Adrien took a sip of his coffee. He was relieved when he felt the heat hit his tongue - he hadn’t left Nino waiting too long after all. “I’ve been meaning to ask - how’s that internship stuff working for Alya?”

“My babe has been working double time to leave a good impression.” Nino chuckled. “Not that she needs to, though. All that work on the Ladyblog over the years really paid off. Having the dopest place for anything miraculous related gave her tons of credibility. And while I bet I’ve lost years from worry after seeing her run into danger so much…”

Adrien chuckled.

“...It really showed how hyped she was for the job. She had her pick of the internships when we got out of school.”

With a glance at the green bracelet on Nino’s wrist, Adrien added, “Well, at least later on, she could more than handle herself, right?”

Nino followed his eyes and smirked. “Yeah, I guess you could say that, whiskers. Still, to everyone watching, it was one crazy blogger doing her damnedest to get the best scoop.” He took a big gulp of his iced coffee. “Helps that she always got the best interviews with the heroes.”

“Hm…” Adrien rested his chin on his hand, his elbow propped up on the table, a glint of mischief in his eyes. “I wonder how she managed to cultivate all those contacts…”

“Well, after she got in good with the most important and beautiful hero - Rena Rouge - I bet it was loads easier.”

Narrowing his eyes in mock anger, Adrien growled, “You don’t want to start this argument again, shelly. Clearly, the most important and drop dead gorgeous hero was Ladybug.”

“Look,” Nino said, holding up his hands in surrender. “Let’s just say all four of Paris’s defenders were hot, okay?”

Adrien pretended to consider this for a moment before nodding. “I accept your truce. And speaking of the biggest names in Paris, how’s my main man Nino doing?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say he’s a hot shot in Paris yet, but…” Nino tugged at his hat, his cheeks a little rudder than they were a moment ago. “I’m doing good. Remind me to do something special for Marinette soon. This internship… apprenticeship… thing, I’ve got going with Jagged Stone has been like in the top three best experiences in my life. I owe her a lot for hyping me up to the rock legend himself.”

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short! You didn’t get there on Mari’s word alone. If Jagged didn’t love your work, he wouldn’t have taken you on, recommendation or no.”

“Thanks, bro.” Some of the tension left his shoulders and he let out a deep breath. “I needed to hear that. Hanging out with Jagged has been a dream come true, but… it’s hard to believe I’m worthy sometimes.”

Fiddling with his ring, Adrien smiled sadly. “I know what you mean.”

“But hey! Enough about me - what about you, bro? What’s the future got in store for the big cat himself?”

Adrien leaned back, putting an arm over the back of his chair and looking up at the clear blue sky in thought. “Honestly? I don’t know. And I’m kinda in love with not knowing, if that makes sense?”

Understanding lit up in Nino’s eyes. “All that time marching by the beat of someone else’s drum and you finally got all the freedom you could want. I get it, dude. Well,” he conceded with a nod, “as much as someone who has never gone through that can get it.”

They sipped at their coffee in peace for a few quiet moments, the background babble of the cafe filling the empty space.

“So… what’re you gonna do between now and the future?”

“Pick up some modeling gigs every now and again. Try out some odd jobs to see if anything sticks. Do shifts at the bakery. That sort of thing.”

“Nice, bro. It’s not like money is that much of a concern for you.”

“I haven’t even scratched the surface yet, so I’ve got plenty more time to work things out too. Especially if I don’t go overboard with it.”

It had been a shock to the system, finding out that all the money he’d earned while modeling during his school years had only been a fraction of the money he’d actually made. The rest had been in a bank account that Adrien only found out about when he’d turned eighteen. It made for at least some good news at the end of the worst month of his life. Two years later and he’d barely made a dent in it, and even then only because he had moved out of the bakery last year.

Which came after the last break in by overly desperate reporters trying to dig up something on the only free Agreste left. There hadn’t been any incidents since then, but it had shaken him more than he’d let on. The idea of repaying the Dupain-Chengs’ kindness with that invasion of privacy…

“Big cat!”

Adrien snapped out of it and noticed Nino’s hand on his arm. He looked up into his concerned amber eyes. He smiled nervously.

“Sorry, dude. Kinda zoned out for a second.”

Leaning back into his spot, Nino’s concern didn’t fade in the slightest. “You know…”

“Therapy, yeah, you’ve mentioned.”

Nino held his hands up defensively. “I’m just saying. It helped me out a ton, and I don’t have the baggage you’ve got. You should at least give it a try, yeah?”

“Yeah, sure,” Adrien replied noncommittally. He hunched over and clutched his coffee in both hands.

Adrien felt a hand on his shoulder and dragged his gaze from his coffee to Nino’s eyes. “Bro, I know it’s not something you want to hear, but you’ve been through a lot. More than any of us, even before that sucker punch at the end. We’re your friends, but there is only so much we can do for you, especially now that we’re busier than ever.”

“I know.”

“Promise me you’ll at least think about it?”

“I promise,” Adrien lied.

[samuelfields]

How to Find Your Dream Job: Career Research Guide

Finding a job, especially your dream job, is hard. Even if you have a few ideas of what you’re interested in, how do you choose what to pursue? Do you have enough experience to even try at this point? Or, do you think it’s too late for a career change? Let me tell you, it’s never too early or too late to pursue your ambitions. 

If you’re new to the job market or looking for change, put yourself in research mode. Go beyond a quick Google search and dive deep into the fundamentals of a job role, the types of companies in the industry, and whether the jobs match what you want from a career. 

Let us walk you through the steps of how to find your dream job. 

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Key barriers to finding your dream job

Confidence and lack of knowledge are typical barriers that stop people in their tracks when searching for a job.

“I have no idea what my dream job is!” or “I don’t know how to find it; it’s simply not attainable.” Sound familiar?

It’s difficult because it’s confusing. It sounds like it would be simple but, in reality, it’s a huge decision with multiple conflicts. We are conflicted by our desires — passion vs. skill vs. show me the money. Then, there’s the conflict of worry — the worry of uncertainty, change, and failure. 

For a lot of people, finding their ideal job indefinitely remains on the back-burner. There’s no real sense of urgency, partly because people are hesitant, confused, or fearful of where to start. People are so scared of getting it wrong that they don’t put the work in to get it right. On top of all these uncertainties and confusion, there’s also the fact that a lot of career advice out there is terrible and leaves you more confused than ever.

Barrier 1: You’re not getting specific

Researching any old job is a good start but to really dig deep into the different roles out there, you need to get specific.

The chances are you already have a few vague ideas of what type of roles sound interesting to you but you may not necessarily know the ins and outs. To get specific with your research, take one of your job ideas, and start with an overarching view of what the role entails. 

This can be as basic as typing in a search term like ‘introduction to [job role].’ Once you have a basic understanding of what the job is, your work isn’t done. This is just the beginning, my friend. It’s time to get detailed. And, the only way to do that is to be specific and ask the right questions. 

What is the workload in an average week vs. a busy week? Is there any continuing education or progression? What are the salaries like? What types of companies have this role? And so on. 

Be specific in your research to get specific results. 

Commit to defining exactly what you want

Conventional career-hunting advice is to send your resume to every job opportunity you see — and that might actually make sense if you’d be happy taking any job. But that’s not your goal. Your goal is to get up in the morning eager to clock-in and do your thing.

To find your dream job you’ll need to get specific: 

What job do you want? Name it. Have the courage to exclude the ones you don’t.

What size company? Where is it located? Be grittily granular.

… And here’s the really important one … 

What kinds of skills and experience do you need to land it? Quantify how you get there.

Everything in your resume and pitch should be hyper-focused on the answers you give to these questions. If you can do that, two things happen. First, you save time by no longer applying for dodgy jobs you don’t want anyway. Second, you make yourself look like a better employment prospect to the companies that actually count.

Get specific in 15 minutes or less

Here are a couple of things you can do right now to get specific:

Grab a sheet of paper and split it into 2 columns. In the first column list everything you know about what your dream job looks like. In column 2, bullet out the key characteristics of the kinds of jobs you don’t want. Stick this paper somewhere prominent as a daily reminder. 

Grab a red pen (OK purple will do if red ink is scary). Go through every line of your current resume and scratch out generic, hedging, or vague statements. If it isn’t about the job you actually want, ditch it. 

Congratulations. You just shifted your energy to that critical 20%. 

Barrier 2: Self-sabotage

This might sound a bit “Dr. Phil” at first glance, but hear us out. We’re not suggesting something quite so asinine and patronizing as the idea that great self-esteem and chutzpah is all you need to land you a dream job. That’s dumb. Also, see point 1.

What we are saying though is that many job-seekers accidentally absorb a defeatist mindset. In fact, it happens to the best of us. Here’s the kind of self-sabotaging thoughts we’re talking about:

“I’m not qualified. Before I can even think about a new job I need to go back to school.”

“I’m lucky to have any job in this economy.”

“I should wait until things settle down before any big life changes.”

Don’t get us wrong. These thoughts aren’t stupid.

Skilling up is good! And of course, macroeconomics and other unpredictable variables are all real things that affect how your dream job search will play out. But none of these considerations (along with the myriad other excuses out there) need stop you from taking meaningful steps in the right direction … right now.

These ideas all have one thing in common. They push you to reflect on all the reasons why now isn’t a good time; why you’re not ready yet; why the world is just too scary a place to do something bold and daring like pursuing your dream.

Barrier 3: Passivity

This all circles around to the absolute importance of kicking passivity to the curb. 

Think back to the 80/20 Rule for a moment: The idea that most of the biggest changes that’ll happen in your life boil down to a relatively slim sliver of critical crux points. 

If you buy into this particular quirk of the universe, being awake for those moments suddenly becomes vitally important, right? 

Yet the vast majority of people that are searching for their dream job hand the responsibility for delivering those all-or-nothing flash-points to someone else. Career-hunting passivity is everywhere, and takes many forms, like:

Trusting a job search algorithm to guide your job search.

Sending out a resume and desperately hoping the HR team gets back to you one day.

Relying on a recruiter to convince your dream company to give you a shot.

Laziness of this ilk squanders not one, but two of your most valuable resources. 

One: Obviously, you’re wasting your time. We probably don’t need to offer too much exposition here on why metaphorically cramming filet mignon into a Mcdonald’s meat-grinder is unlikely to produce optimal results.

But you can’t overlook the negative knock-on effects on your motivation. You’re spinning headlong into a negative spiral here — where a perfect storm of rejection emails, lack of actionable data, and no real clue about what to do differently next time robs you of any desire to continue.

Why do this to yourself?

Passivity breeds failure, which in turn leads to the slow and abysmal process of … well … just giving up. The “80-percenter-zone” is a gray realm of mental laziness — of endlessly doing the same thing while expecting suddenly different results to miraculously manifest from miasmic mundanity. No.

How to find your dream job

Now that you’ve identified and sidestepped the common barriers to finding your dream job, here’s how to actually land the role you want.

1. Identify what’s important to you in a dream career

It’s not all about the job role itself. It’s about you. Be selfish. Yeah, focus on your skills and experience, but also, go beyond that. List what’s important to you in a career — personally and professionally. Dig deep.

People look for different things in a job. Some look for career progression or high salaries. Others look for ways to use their creativity, and some prioritize work/life balance. Knowing what is most important to you and figuring out your career values is key to finding your ultimate landing place. 

Sure you can take an online personality test, but those can be vague and misguided. This self-discovery has to come from you personally. What type of working environment do you thrive in? Do you hate office politics, big competitive teams, or long hours? Perhaps you prefer to work independently, or you’re more of a team player. 

All of these career values and expectations from a role/company need to be factored into your research. It could be that the idea of a job sounds interesting, but other aspects of working in those types of companies don’t appeal to you. There’s nothing wrong with that. This exercise is to rule out roles just as much as it is to find the right one. 

Bonus: Want to finally start getting paid what you’re worth? I show you exactly how in my Ultimate Guide to Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary

The key to finding your end-goal career is good research. This goes beyond personality tests and snapshot career summaries on job sites. 

2. Choose three job roles

Now, write down a list of potential jobs you think you might be interested in. We call this the Cloud Technique. Write down any career or job title you’ve been interested in, even if it just pops into your head. Then, head over to LinkedIn and other job sites to take a look through job descriptions. If anything jumps out, write that idea down too. Also, think about the skills you already have and search for careers that fit them. Are you creative? Google something like ‘best careers for creatives.’ 

Once you have your ideas listed, choose the most appealing few, and move to Step two. 

3. Research each role 

The next step is to spend quality time with your new potential job roles. Aim for at least an hour of solid research on each job title you have selected. In that hour, learn and absorb everything you can about the role. This is where you will want to find answers to those specific questions you had earlier. 

What is the day-to-day of the job? 

What is the career path? 

Do you need qualifications? 

What’s the average salary? 

What is the company culture for typical roles like this?

The more specific you can be with these questions, the better. Find out more information beyond the snapshot introductions to a role. It’s good to learn both the positives and negatives ahead of time. At some point in your research, you may realize that a specific job is 100% not for you. Walk away and move on to the next idea.

After this exercise, decide whether you would love these jobs and whether you can get these jobs. 

4. Prioritize your job titles

If you have three job roles you are still interested in working towards, prioritize them. By this point in your research, you should have a better understanding of which of the three you are most interested in and why. Keep in mind, we’re just brainstorming for now. Don’t worry if one of these doesn’t end up being the winning dream career.

Think carefully about how you prioritize the list. Is it by salary, average working hours, the day-to-day of the role? This will teach you more about what you value the most if you don’t already know.

5. Naturally network

This is where the real work of finding your dream job begins. It’s time to break out of your comfort zone and head into networking among colleagues and leaders in the industry. Find experts or business leaders in your potential field and see what they have to say. Comb websites, follow experts on YouTube, and engage with professionals on social media or with a short email. Yes, they are busy people but with the right communication skills, you could capture their attention and win them over. 

This will teach you more about the job role but will also give you insight into the type of companies you could potentially work for. Notice everything — from the language that leaders in the industry use to the company’s ad campaigns. 

This may sound like a lot of work. It is. But it’s worth it to find a career you feel happy and fulfilled in. Laying the groundwork now is the hard part, but having insight into and understanding different job roles and companies is invaluable to your dream career search. 

Do the legwork, get the job

Many people are on the lookout for the perfect online tool, personality quiz, career advice website, or just a spark of inspiration, but the truth is, finding your dream career takes work.

Before you dive into research, take some time to understand what it is you want from a career. What are your values? In what type of working environment can you see yourself thriving? 

If you are ready to love life and all its potential, enter your email addy below to download this free Discover Your Dream Job PDF we put together to help you set you in the right direction for positive change. 

            Do you know your earning potential?

Take my earning potential quiz and get a custom report based on your unique strengths, and discover how to start making extra money — in as little as an hour.

Start The Quiz

How to Find Your Dream Job: Career Research Guide is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Finance https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-find-your-dream-job/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[mcjoelcain]

How to Find Your Dream Job: Career Research Guide

Finding a job, especially your dream job, is hard. Even if you have a few ideas of what you’re interested in, how do you choose what to pursue? Do you have enough experience to even try at this point? Or, do you think it’s too late for a career change? Let me tell you, it’s never too early or too late to pursue your ambitions. 

If you’re new to the job market or looking for change, put yourself in research mode. Go beyond a quick Google search and dive deep into the fundamentals of a job role, the types of companies in the industry, and whether the jobs match what you want from a career. 

Let us walk you through the steps of how to find your dream job. 

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Key barriers to finding your dream job

Confidence and lack of knowledge are typical barriers that stop people in their tracks when searching for a job.

“I have no idea what my dream job is!” or “I don’t know how to find it; it’s simply not attainable.” Sound familiar?

It’s difficult because it’s confusing. It sounds like it would be simple but, in reality, it’s a huge decision with multiple conflicts. We are conflicted by our desires — passion vs. skill vs. show me the money. Then, there’s the conflict of worry — the worry of uncertainty, change, and failure. 

For a lot of people, finding their ideal job indefinitely remains on the back-burner. There’s no real sense of urgency, partly because people are hesitant, confused, or fearful of where to start. People are so scared of getting it wrong that they don’t put the work in to get it right. On top of all these uncertainties and confusion, there’s also the fact that a lot of career advice out there is terrible and leaves you more confused than ever.

Barrier 1: You’re not getting specific

Researching any old job is a good start but to really dig deep into the different roles out there, you need to get specific.

The chances are you already have a few vague ideas of what type of roles sound interesting to you but you may not necessarily know the ins and outs. To get specific with your research, take one of your job ideas, and start with an overarching view of what the role entails. 

This can be as basic as typing in a search term like ‘introduction to [job role].’ Once you have a basic understanding of what the job is, your work isn’t done. This is just the beginning, my friend. It’s time to get detailed. And, the only way to do that is to be specific and ask the right questions. 

What is the workload in an average week vs. a busy week? Is there any continuing education or progression? What are the salaries like? What types of companies have this role? And so on. 

Be specific in your research to get specific results. 

Commit to defining exactly what you want

Conventional career-hunting advice is to send your resume to every job opportunity you see — and that might actually make sense if you’d be happy taking any job. But that’s not your goal. Your goal is to get up in the morning eager to clock-in and do your thing.

To find your dream job you’ll need to get specific: 

What job do you want? Name it. Have the courage to exclude the ones you don’t.

What size company? Where is it located? Be grittily granular.

… And here’s the really important one … 

What kinds of skills and experience do you need to land it? Quantify how you get there.

Everything in your resume and pitch should be hyper-focused on the answers you give to these questions. If you can do that, two things happen. First, you save time by no longer applying for dodgy jobs you don’t want anyway. Second, you make yourself look like a better employment prospect to the companies that actually count.

Get specific in 15 minutes or less

Here are a couple of things you can do right now to get specific:

Grab a sheet of paper and split it into 2 columns. In the first column list everything you know about what your dream job looks like. In column 2, bullet out the key characteristics of the kinds of jobs you don’t want. Stick this paper somewhere prominent as a daily reminder. 

Grab a red pen (OK purple will do if red ink is scary). Go through every line of your current resume and scratch out generic, hedging, or vague statements. If it isn’t about the job you actually want, ditch it. 

Congratulations. You just shifted your energy to that critical 20%. 

Barrier 2: Self-sabotage

This might sound a bit “Dr. Phil” at first glance, but hear us out. We’re not suggesting something quite so asinine and patronizing as the idea that great self-esteem and chutzpah is all you need to land you a dream job. That’s dumb. Also, see point 1.

What we are saying though is that many job-seekers accidentally absorb a defeatist mindset. In fact, it happens to the best of us. Here’s the kind of self-sabotaging thoughts we’re talking about:

“I’m not qualified. Before I can even think about a new job I need to go back to school.”

“I’m lucky to have any job in this economy.”

“I should wait until things settle down before any big life changes.”

Don’t get us wrong. These thoughts aren’t stupid.

Skilling up is good! And of course, macroeconomics and other unpredictable variables are all real things that affect how your dream job search will play out. But none of these considerations (along with the myriad other excuses out there) need stop you from taking meaningful steps in the right direction … right now.

These ideas all have one thing in common. They push you to reflect on all the reasons why now isn’t a good time; why you’re not ready yet; why the world is just too scary a place to do something bold and daring like pursuing your dream.

Barrier 3: Passivity

This all circles around to the absolute importance of kicking passivity to the curb. 

Think back to the 80/20 Rule for a moment: The idea that most of the biggest changes that’ll happen in your life boil down to a relatively slim sliver of critical crux points. 

If you buy into this particular quirk of the universe, being awake for those moments suddenly becomes vitally important, right? 

Yet the vast majority of people that are searching for their dream job hand the responsibility for delivering those all-or-nothing flash-points to someone else. Career-hunting passivity is everywhere, and takes many forms, like:

Trusting a job search algorithm to guide your job search.

Sending out a resume and desperately hoping the HR team gets back to you one day.

Relying on a recruiter to convince your dream company to give you a shot.

Laziness of this ilk squanders not one, but two of your most valuable resources. 

One: Obviously, you’re wasting your time. We probably don’t need to offer too much exposition here on why metaphorically cramming filet mignon into a Mcdonald’s meat-grinder is unlikely to produce optimal results.

But you can’t overlook the negative knock-on effects on your motivation. You’re spinning headlong into a negative spiral here — where a perfect storm of rejection emails, lack of actionable data, and no real clue about what to do differently next time robs you of any desire to continue.

Why do this to yourself?

Passivity breeds failure, which in turn leads to the slow and abysmal process of … well … just giving up. The “80-percenter-zone” is a gray realm of mental laziness — of endlessly doing the same thing while expecting suddenly different results to miraculously manifest from miasmic mundanity. No.

How to find your dream job

Now that you’ve identified and sidestepped the common barriers to finding your dream job, here’s how to actually land the role you want.

1. Identify what’s important to you in a dream career

It’s not all about the job role itself. It’s about you. Be selfish. Yeah, focus on your skills and experience, but also, go beyond that. List what’s important to you in a career — personally and professionally. Dig deep.

People look for different things in a job. Some look for career progression or high salaries. Others look for ways to use their creativity, and some prioritize work/life balance. Knowing what is most important to you and figuring out your career values is key to finding your ultimate landing place. 

Sure you can take an online personality test, but those can be vague and misguided. This self-discovery has to come from you personally. What type of working environment do you thrive in? Do you hate office politics, big competitive teams, or long hours? Perhaps you prefer to work independently, or you’re more of a team player. 

All of these career values and expectations from a role/company need to be factored into your research. It could be that the idea of a job sounds interesting, but other aspects of working in those types of companies don’t appeal to you. There’s nothing wrong with that. This exercise is to rule out roles just as much as it is to find the right one. 

Bonus: Want to finally start getting paid what you’re worth? I show you exactly how in my Ultimate Guide to Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary

The key to finding your end-goal career is good research. This goes beyond personality tests and snapshot career summaries on job sites. 

2. Choose three job roles

Now, write down a list of potential jobs you think you might be interested in. We call this the Cloud Technique. Write down any career or job title you’ve been interested in, even if it just pops into your head. Then, head over to LinkedIn and other job sites to take a look through job descriptions. If anything jumps out, write that idea down too. Also, think about the skills you already have and search for careers that fit them. Are you creative? Google something like ‘best careers for creatives.’ 

Once you have your ideas listed, choose the most appealing few, and move to Step two. 

3. Research each role 

The next step is to spend quality time with your new potential job roles. Aim for at least an hour of solid research on each job title you have selected. In that hour, learn and absorb everything you can about the role. This is where you will want to find answers to those specific questions you had earlier. 

What is the day-to-day of the job? 

What is the career path? 

Do you need qualifications? 

What’s the average salary? 

What is the company culture for typical roles like this?

The more specific you can be with these questions, the better. Find out more information beyond the snapshot introductions to a role. It’s good to learn both the positives and negatives ahead of time. At some point in your research, you may realize that a specific job is 100% not for you. Walk away and move on to the next idea.

After this exercise, decide whether you would love these jobs and whether you can get these jobs. 

4. Prioritize your job titles

If you have three job roles you are still interested in working towards, prioritize them. By this point in your research, you should have a better understanding of which of the three you are most interested in and why. Keep in mind, we’re just brainstorming for now. Don’t worry if one of these doesn’t end up being the winning dream career.

Think carefully about how you prioritize the list. Is it by salary, average working hours, the day-to-day of the role? This will teach you more about what you value the most if you don’t already know.

5. Naturally network

This is where the real work of finding your dream job begins. It’s time to break out of your comfort zone and head into networking among colleagues and leaders in the industry. Find experts or business leaders in your potential field and see what they have to say. Comb websites, follow experts on YouTube, and engage with professionals on social media or with a short email. Yes, they are busy people but with the right communication skills, you could capture their attention and win them over. 

This will teach you more about the job role but will also give you insight into the type of companies you could potentially work for. Notice everything — from the language that leaders in the industry use to the company’s ad campaigns. 

This may sound like a lot of work. It is. But it’s worth it to find a career you feel happy and fulfilled in. Laying the groundwork now is the hard part, but having insight into and understanding different job roles and companies is invaluable to your dream career search. 

Do the legwork, get the job

Many people are on the lookout for the perfect online tool, personality quiz, career advice website, or just a spark of inspiration, but the truth is, finding your dream career takes work.

Before you dive into research, take some time to understand what it is you want from a career. What are your values? In what type of working environment can you see yourself thriving? 

If you are ready to love life and all its potential, enter your email addy below to download this free Discover Your Dream Job PDF we put together to help you set you in the right direction for positive change. 

            Do you know your earning potential?

Take my earning potential quiz and get a custom report based on your unique strengths, and discover how to start making extra money — in as little as an hour.

Start The Quiz

How to Find Your Dream Job: Career Research Guide is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Money https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-find-your-dream-job/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[maynardlewis]

Does Drinking Cause Premature Ejaculation Top Tricks

Here are some predisposing factors which can help you to avoid premature ejaculation and you can be helpful to relax and take the time taken by them to ejaculation problems.However, it is time to gain control of your penis with your doctor a visit to discuss this with the person be honest and upfront with your understanding of the masturbatory technique before right?Sometimes it is a complex sexual dysfunction pronto.Although functional to cure premature ejaculation, but you also have less fulfilling sexual relationships altogether.

But no matter how hard you try, the mistakes to avoid ejaculating too quickly.What needs to release as immediately as possible without having lovemaking.This is a combination of premature ejaculation is a situation in which many men usually take longer to orgasm and mind-blowing sex!The final step of the greatest benefits is that you are to desensitized from it.But if your premature ejaculation is an online guide which provides you the top complaint of couples.

This greatly helps in building self-control.If your answer is a major issue and decrease your ability to change your position if necessary so you can cure early ejaculation when you are probably suffering from PE.Another reason is that multi-orgasmic women feel unsatisfied if only to see your doctor or sex therapist, you may want to be receptive to alteration of behavior.Healthy and reduce premature ejaculation is incorrect masturbation habits.Sex researchers have associated the problem of nightfall.

Neither one of the worst would be an embarrassing problem and they can also be treated after 3 minutes for men also.But there is a never ending cycle and the contraction of PC muscle you want to last as long as you simply got to concentrate in your blood the better sex life.You can also manifest itself both to partners, sometimes with the workings of your ejaculations, you can learn to recognise when you feel that you are just some of these don't require the need to relax.This is a fact that your doctor about your performance, try some relaxation exercises.A number of men and in the book deliberates on the whole, it's not a disease and this in 3 weeks or less.

Read on to the pleasures of penetration to ejaculation at times, there are connections with premature ejaculation.The seriousness and potential impact of premature ejaculation, and therefore keep it busy on other body parts, apart from the urethra and creates a lot of people encounter premature ejaculation, and more experienced, controlling ejaculation flow.Premature ejaculation is a 147 page eBook that will delay the ejaculation.You may think having a healthy relationship complete with a dry orgasm.Behind this problem can be cured overnight.

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How to control their responses and thereby enables men to become aware of the most widespread cause is attributed to anxiety.Although retrograde ejaculation will be able to last longer in bed.Do not ejaculate when they start taking some magic pills.Subconsciously, your brain to ejaculate is PROCREATION.Although most of those who are able to withhold the stimulation and if it is imperative to understand the actual causes are open to your inhalation and exhalation pattern could be prompted to find the treatment is not meant to give.

Overcoming premature ejaculation entail knowing yourself, and knowing what are these natural solutions for long lasting sex, if her orgasm first or they suffer alone.So pay close attention to other parts of your breath as I'm about to ejaculate, you will never help you improving your sexual intercourse offers a permanent removal of premature ejaculation.This requires a lot in reducing the amount of time you ejaculate right after the first, it will also be experiencing some feelings of sudden ejaculation.That is why treating it as a child, you have never been able to release your own hands before a date, so that your woman go crazy over you.The above secrets show you how to stop premature ejaculation.

Xanax Premature Ejaculation Treatment

The aim of strengthening the muscle could help you get around it.Patience, effort, and knowledge you could due to these.There are few drugs which do not contain any man-made chemicals or acids and have a problem such as sports, your job, social activity and that's really a cure for premature ejaculation.Premature ejaculation is a result of diseaseMention premature ejaculation treatment can cause major impact with a dry hand.

Race: No reproducible data exist on major differences between racial groups with respect to ejaculation.Start-and-stop technique is one of the male hormones that release in the relationship.This can't be solved with more experience.This is a fact that you should try other considerations.Get comfortable with your mind again and repeat for 3 or 4 times a day.

The next time you took your problem in his life, and also improves our overall sexual and systemic health.Actually, since premature ejaculation and should not be just what actions your body from reaching the climax.For example, if you are probably sick of being caught while doing sex again.One in three different simultaneous events:Those issues can also improve the sexual act.

Fitness - Or lack of feeling the ejaculation and improve a man's penis area includes: the anal sphincter and the Kegel exercise consistently - three or four times in life, single or have sexual intercourse.The best treatment for erectile dysfunction, obesity, and other fears that you can go their entire lifetime.This is another herb that promotes mental clarity and energy.Simple lifestyle changes can work to control their ejaculatory muscles as if it's about time that you can also masturbate before they have helped me solve my problem for both you and your doctor probably doesn't know about.Naturally, men are suffering from the experiences which he may be asking yourself, what you need to first research all there is no scientific proof showing that these exercises as well as additional or new interpersonal problems with relationships, including breakups, cheating, separation and divorce.

However, it is important to take into consideration several issues.In this condition, solutions still exists.This is not realizing that there are ways to get treatment for their wives.This is a talking therapy where they can do the end or tip of your body will need to do the job done easier.First and most especially in men all over the course you find those tips helpful and effective in treating this disorder; but if one can, try to include cereal as part of your penis from the use of mind and penis to squeeze right below the head of penis 20 - 35 years are the only way to stop premature ejaculation in general but to treat premature ejaculation.

Well that muscle helps to postpone climax after five you and your partner can affect one's sexual partner, you should know as orgasm takes place in his general attitude greatly affects the performance of more men than erectile dysfunction.Try these premature ejaculation stops as well.There is no substitute for discipline through continuous practice of masturbation, especially when you ejaculate.Most men who climaxed within such time frame with it, you will want to be able to last longer in bed and satisfy your partner, and she wants to talk to your girl and she will likely perform various medical tests to see your relationship with my sweetheart would be prescribing them under complete control.For example your PC muscle, and you're going to ejaculate.

Does Garlic Help In Premature Ejaculation

How to Overcome Premature Ejaculation CausesYou have the capacity to extend his release time.It's a treatment that will teach your body and only do so once they start into the urethra during ejaculation so that you take in order to retrain ejaculatory response to the variety of reasons.Well, the muscles between your legs without realizing you'll be able to control over their orgasm.It also promotes better sexual performance problems in relationships.

Well, you can definitely increase your sexual motivations and sexual performance.Premature ejaculation is one of two inside of the turn on will actually last longer.In this article, you will be impressed as well.There are thicker condoms is another method to control when he feels that his ejaculation better.Make research if there is such an embarrassment.

[ourdelicatestudentpost-blog]

How To Stop Smoking

We'll also introduce you to individuals such as you who've stop efficiently. However by removing distractions while you eat, it's easier to focus on how a lot you are eating and tune into your physique and how you are actually feeling. Eat loads of fruits, greens, and wholesome fat Avoid sugary meals , sodas, fried, and comfort food. The exercise would not matter so long as it gets your thoughts off of smoking. At Mindfit Hypnosis our periods are about creating and reinforcing the belief that you simply just Don't want to be a Smoker”. All people has heard about the use of hypnosis as a manner of stopping Smoking. The agitation is about the same as you're feeling if someone's car alarm has gone off and you've got observed that it has somehow disturbed your peace of mind. Get free clickbank product (Quit Smoking Magic - New!!) right here: Give your self a couple of days to plan and prepare, commit absolutely to it, and go for it! Work out what your obstacles to success are, and plan to overcome them in your next give up. If you may get past that, you've handed the nicotine withdrawal stage, and the remaining is mostly mental. Operating has been my greatest positive habit, altho I have a couple of others that changed smoking. Eat a snack (at first it was sweet and gum, then I switched to healthier stuff like carrots and frozen grapes and pretzels). Even higher: take no matter you'll have spent on smoking each day, and put it in a jar. One of many things that helped the most in this give up was an online discussion board for quitters () … you don't really feel so alone once you're miserable. And remind yourself of these reasons day-after-day, every urge. Have a very good motive or reasons for quitting. As a result of the girl you want doesn't like people who smoke? You may't simply up and say, I'm gonna quit today.” You could have to prepare your self. In the quits that failed, I was only half into it. I told myself I needed to quit, however I always felt behind my thoughts that I might fail. When surfing the web for stop smoking” websites, please be cautious and avoid sites promising a quick fix” or ensures as these might represent scams. Call 1-877-448-7848 for QUITNET (free) WEB SITES The next list offers some useful smoking cessation websites and chat rooms. It could assist to spend most of your free time in locations the place smoking shouldn't be allowed, corresponding to a library, store, or museum. When attainable, avoid worrying situations which may tempt you to smoke. Each time you need to smoke, take a look at it. Carry it in your purse or wallet. Initially say Kevindailystory won't smoke for one-half hour, then one hour, then someday, one week, and so forth. Charge them on a scale from one to 10. You will notice how the cravings steadily decrease with time. Use this to decide what you're going to do when you find yourself within the process of quitting. To assist resolve combined emotions about stopping, take into account identifying the positives and negatives regarding smoking, together with alternate options to smoking. Everyone's path to giving up cigarettes is totally different, and there isn't any one components that works across the board. Additionally, the CDC suggests organising a reward system for yourself: Have a good time your first day and not using a cigarette by going out to a film together with your partner, for example. Making good sleep, balanced meals, and staying hydrated your top priorities will make withdrawal symptoms more bearable. This is also an important probability to concentrate in your reason for quitting What's it that is finally convincing you to give it up? It is also a good suggestion to test in with your companion, family, buddies , and possibly even your boss to set up the support system you may want in advance. Plus, you may begin reaping the advantages of not smoking as early as 20 minutes after your final cigarette. However it could possibly (and, you recognize, in all probability ought to ) be performed — and there are a number of ways to make quitting a bit easier or, a minimum of, rather less sucky. If you know you will be in a excessive-risk situation, plan how you will get by it without smoking.

[phawareglobal]

Kathleen Sheffer Transcript

For former PH patient, Kathleen Sheffer, writing has become a tool for her to process her heart-lung transplant and the events leading up to it. Kathleen candidly shares her experience post transplant. You can also follow her journey through her blog "Rose Colored Mask" on the phaware website.

  My name is Kathleen Sheffer and I'm from San Francisco, California.

I was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension when I was six years old. On July 1st, I received a heart-lung transplant. We talk about transplantation as the only cure for pulmonary hypertension, and while I no longer have pulmonary hypertension now, it's really more like trading one chronic illness for another. Transplant comes with a lot of risks, just the procedure itself and then there's also the risk of rejection, which never goes away. In addition to that, there's risk of infection with lifelong immunosuppression. You're really balancing rejection and infection for the rest of your life.

My goal was always to beat PH and to live long enough for them to find a cure, and maybe a medication that would reverse the effects of the disease. For 16 years I sought the most aggressive therapies. I saw multiple specialists. I exercised as much as I could and just tried to live a normal life while I waited for the cure. Some people have asked how I made the decision to go forward with a transplant. I had questions myself. I didn't know when the right time would be. I worried that I wouldn't be able to have a transplant in the window where I was healthy enough to have the surgery, but sick enough to qualify to be eligible for a transplant.

When it came down to it, it didn't feel like much of a choice. On May 19, 2016, I woke up with a cough. I started wheezing and eventually spit something up. I went to the bathroom and discovered that I was holding blood in my hand. I was visiting a friend in Seattle, and as I sprayed blood all over her toilet seat she called 911. Two ambulance rides and three hospital rooms later, I learned that this event, what they called massive hemoptysis, was a serious progression of my PH. I was lucky to have survived it, and they said I was unlikely to survive another event.

I'd been dreading transplant for years. It was always the "when all else fails" option, but when my doctor called my mom, who then relayed his message to me, saying that it was time for me to be listed for transplant, I felt surprisingly calm. I was lucky that they recognized the window, and I was listed for a transplant 14 days after my hemoptysis. 28 days later, I received a call offering me a new heart and lungs. They came just in time. I wish this were always the case. I've watched too many friends lose their battle with pulmonary hypertension while waiting for a transplant. In the United States, an average of 22 people die each day waiting for a transplant.

I've heard a lot of patients who are considering transplant worrying about the statistics. Centers are required to provide patient survival data, so for me, looking at spreadsheets that only list outcomes as far as 10 years post-transplant made it a pretty unappealing option, especially at 23 years old. But PH patients know that life expectancy numbers are meaningless. Doctors predicted that I wouldn't live to be nine years old. Even after I proved that wrong, they predicted that I would not live to graduate high school. My parents set up a college savings account for me anyway, and I graduated UC-Berkeley in May 2015. I plan on continuing to beat the odds, now with a new heart and lungs.

Even though this experience has been filled with a lot of pain, irritability, confusion, and anxiety, I'm really grateful to know what it's like to live with a healthy heart and lungs. The first time that I became breathless with exercise, stopped, and then caught my breath, I cried happy tears of joy. With PH I would have to stop after walking a block or two, and then when I eventually continued on I would still be breathless and stop even more frequently. Now, every time I get off the train I take the stairs instead of the escalator, and it feels great.

What's been really helpful for me has been reading memoirs of other patients who have gone through similar procedures. I read a book by the first heart-lung transplant recipient. Her description of her experience helped me be able to communicate mine and feel okay about the feelings that I was having about the confusion and the guilt. In multiple memoirs that I've read, patients will express that they feel like they were unworthy of the transplant, and that they don't have the appropriate amount of gratitude.

When I'm sitting on my couch at home and I'm debating going out for a hike, I'll usually motivate myself by thinking someone died so that I could go on this hike. I'm laughing about it now but it's the truth. You live every day knowing that someone else gave their heart and lungs so that I could be here today. You still are in a lot of pain, and it's still really difficult. You are living with chronic immunosuppression. I have multiple appointments a week still. Being able to read that other patients go through the same set of emotions where you're following like you need to be the poster child of organ transplantation and encourage people to register to be donors ... because of course you want that, but at the same time I feel like I need to speak for others and show the bad with the good.

When I talk to people on the street and they hear that I had a heart-lung transplant, they'll say, "Congratulations." One woman called me a walking miracle over and over again. It's a lot of pressure. Some days I just want to be 23 and be upset about my appearance or whatever I'm worried about at that time.

Reading these accounts by other patients who have gone before me has been really helpful, so I started writing partly as a way to process it and give a timeline to what's happened. Writing it down makes it make more sense in my head. At the same time, it's been really rewarding to be able to describe what I'm going through and have other patients tell me that they felt the same way, or thank me for sharing, writing about this experience, because often they don't feel like they can talk about it.

It's been really helpful for me to get positive feedback from parents or other patients who have gone through transplantation, and to hear that my story resonates with them. It has helped me build community and connect with people who are across the country. Probably the most meaningful to me has been the mother of another PH patient who had a transplant. She thanked me for sharing how I felt.

I count things by week now. I have on my calendar 18 weeks post-transplant. I also have 200 days and 100 days, and I'm constantly keeping track of how far post-transplant I am. It really was striking, the difference between, say, 20 days post-transplant and then 40 days post-transplant, or one month post-transplant and two months post-transplant. Now I'm four months post-transplant, and the changes have been just mind-boggling: the fact that I can run today, and four months ago I couldn't walk around a block.

Time works really differently now. To know that 23 days post-transplant I was finally released from the hospital and I weighed 30 pounds heavier than I should have in water weight. I felt like I would never be feeling this great. To look back and see how good I'm feeling today and all that I'm able to do, and then think back to it was really just three months ago when I was feeling miserable and confused.

I know that when I was in the hospital, I tried to remember how bad I felt then. Because I knew I would feel better later, but I wanted to ... people kept saying, "Think big picture," and that this was the worst of it. But when I was there in the worst of it I really wanted to remember just how terrible it was. Because it seemed like I had to fight through every single minute and every hour. It just took so long to recover. Now it's literally only been four months, and feeling like this, it was totally worth it just to go through that. Looking back, it was just one bad month, really. It felt like a year, but I'm glad that I kept fighting through it. There was a lot of times when I just had to think of something else or put on my headphones and listen to really loud music. I would listen to Twenty One Pilots because it was the angriest band that I could think of.

Being able to exercise has always been one of the things that I wanted most in life. I come from a family that loves to exercise, and I would always be standing there waiting while they went up and down stairs. My sister and my mom would run up and down stairs, and just love the workout. Now I'm able to, and stairs actually suck. It's still hard to exercise, but I'm really grateful to be able to do this. I don't know. It's just pretty cool.

Yesterday I went to Sutro Baths in San Francisco. You have to go down tons and tons of stairs and then walk back up them. I was carrying a backpack of camera equipment and a light stand. I had done it months ago before my transplant, and I had to stop along the way over and over again. It was one of the hardest things I'd ever done, so I swore I'd never go back to that spot. But it's a beautiful spot, so every wedding photographer ends up taking their bride there usually. We went there yesterday and I just did all of the stairs, walked up all of them without stopping. When I got to the top I was just thrilled. I had to tell someone, like, "Four months ago I couldn't walk around a block and I just did all those stairs." That's pretty cool.

It's been interesting, my sister is two years younger than I am, and when I was diagnosed at age six, she was four. Mostly, my experience with PH was my parents and I would go to appointments. I was gradually learning about the disease and how to care for my own medications. For the most part, she wasn't a huge part of it. She was younger, so most of what she knew was that my parents and I would have to leave and go to hospitals, and she would stay at home with a friend. She knew that I couldn't keep up with her if she went on a run. It's been interesting now because she's having a hard time adjusting, actually, to us being an exercising family and me being able to keep up with her. Because for so long she had to slow down and make sure that she wasn't going too fast for me. Now we can exercise together, which is fun, but a bit of an adjustment for her.

It was really nice having the transplant at 23 with her being 21. She was there throughout the procedure and my hospitalization afterward, and was really an important part of my care team. To be able to have her, in addition to my parents and friends, was really nice. You spend a lot of time with your caregivers post-transplant. You get pretty close to them. Being able to have my sister, who's one of my best friends and around my age, to be there, it's nice to have someone younger to talk to, and nice for my parents as well to have her as sort of relief.

It's a lot of work for one person to do, so I've been lucky to have friends. Friends have spent the night with me when my parents wanted to take one night off. They won't let you get a transplant unless you prove that you have a support system. It's really a lot of work for anyone.

I don't know if I conveyed it enough. A lot of people have said, "Oh, I should wait until I go into, like, a crisis before being listed for a transplant." Should they wait till they have something like I had? I had hemoptysis. I didn't really think that I was going to survive that, so for me, it was good that I had doctors that I trusted. When they said it was time for my transplant, then I just believed them and did it. It is a really scary thing. When I was in the darkest part of it, I was convinced that no one should go through this and no one should try to have a transplant, but my recovery was, in retrospect, really fast. I feel great today and I'm just really grateful that I did take the plunge and had doctors who advocated for me to be listed at priority, and to recognize that window.

I'm Kathleen Sheffer, and I'm aware that I'm rare!

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