Hello.
I am a workaholic.
My workaholic traits definitely come from my Father. When I find something I’m truly passionate about, I become obsessed. I’ve always gone through different obsessions – mainly with gaming. Up until last year, I was a HUGE gamer. I’m talking, 18+ hours A DAY type gamer. I always loved it, mainly due to the escape. I played hockey for 15 years at an incredibly high level. Hockey and school combined to take up the majority of my time. Escape (fun) was gaming.
Fast track to this time last year. Going through the beginner phases of this lifestyle change, I knew I had to cut out gaming. Just the simple act of getting a full-time job, I had to quit playing ANY games at all – or else I would end up quitting the job and just playing games all day again. I know myself. At first that was very tough, I went through incredible withdrawals, but through time they got better and going through the day sans game became easier. I had a new game to play: Self-improvement. Throughout the first 6 months, I was still pretty balanced between self-improvement, work, and relaxing. I found time to hang out (even going out 7 nights a week), and let my mind rest. Since I started becoming much more involved in the teaching aspect of this lifestyle, I have become more involved in my personal improvement as well.
Reasons why are simple:
- I don’t want to maintain my current skill level. I want get better.
- I don’t have as much time for personal growth, I need to make use of any free time I have.
- I want to learn as much about every aspect as possible – to be the best teacher I can.
Up until this weekend, I never fully understood the consequence of such actions. One day last week I was sitting at my computer with the goal to relax. The second I sat down at my computer, I began to feel lost. What do I do? My mind swirling with theory, any thought I had was related to self-improvement, any activity I pondered – self-improvement. This was slightly frightening, as I had the thought… I will never be the same. This was theory a student and I discussed on our way back from Edmonton. We had a laugh about it, because it’s very true (in a positive way of course)… that no one who fully embraces this lifestyle will be the same again. Even if I’m no longer teaching, or going out actively to meet people, I will always be aware of how the social interactions around myself are going. How this guys body language is, what his tonality is saying, etc. This is not a bad thing – in Balance.
Now just prior to the Edmonton Seminar, I was starting to burn out a little bit. I’m always very aware when I start to burn out (even slightly). I noticed I was not staying out as late as normal. I was going through big lifestyle changes (quitting my day-time job): I was just tired. After the Edmonton Seminar, I noticed I was still feeling burned out, and knew I needed to take a couple nights off to relax. With a special visitor in town this past weekend, The SAINT and I decided Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and most of Monday we would do our best to not focus on work – knowing after Monday, Charisma Concept would be continuing to go hard. Now I’m like my Dad, I don’t really take a break. Even on vacations, he will still be working, the only difference is it’s from the beach instead of an office.
I attempted as best I could to relax. I got drunk Friday night. Saturday night I remember sitting down in my chair, to ponder ways I could relax. Quickly I came to the realization I had no fucking clue how to do it anymore! All I’ve ever done for the last few months is WORK (day-job), come home, WORK (Charisma Concept), go out (although yes I do have fun, it’s not really: relaxing), SLEEP.
I wrote down a list of activities I could do:
- Write (self-improvement -> blogs, posts)
- Read (self-improvement books)
- Watch (self-improvement DVDs)
- Photo-shoot (wasn’t in the mood)
- Clean (that’s a chore)
None of these were relaxing – ha ha! It was hilarious. I ended up watching a self-improvement DVD (6 hours worth), taking notes, and pounding my brain for knowledge. Afterward I turned a new Armin Van Buuren set on, turned all the lights off in my apartment, laid on the couch, and relaxed. It was pretty funny. 2 hours later I went to bed. This brings us to yesterday morning (hardly morning I slept until 2pm). Why did I sleep so much? I didn’t know what else to do! Fucking hilarious! So I woke up, our visitor departed, and I began talking to The SAINT about my hilarious realization!
He said: “Want to go out and do something?” To which I replied “Fuck yes!?” We gather our things (including keys – after taking a solid 5 minutes to find them) when I turn and ask him if he wants to walk or take a car. Before he can reply, I cut him off and say we’re walking. To where? WHO KNOWS! Adventure time! “Another Day, Another Story” as I discussed at Edmonton Seminar.
We begin walking downtown heading west, I notice the gorgeous blue sky. I let him know I have no fucking clue what I want to eat, and he’s says: “I heard Mr. Fuckers is good… I mean Mr. Tuckers.” Apparently as the story goes, his Uncle told him it was delicious food for a cheap price! Perfect! As we walk in to Mr. Tuckers, we tell the hostess: “For two please.” She replies: “Ok, is it either of your guys’ birthdays?” Without missing a beat, The SAINT says “Ya it’s His.” and points to me while he continues to walk into the restaurant. APPARENTLY IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! Ha ha. She believes us for god knows what reason, and sits us down handing us the menus. I look at mine: BIRTHDAY MENU. The birthday menu is a choice of the 5 most popular dishes… ON THE HOUSE! Fuck ya! The SAINT grins and says sarcastically: “Happy Birthday bud!” Now I’m scrambling to find out what day it is, in case they ask me. Also hiding my ID so I can use the ‘I don’t have my ID excuse’ if they are smart and ask for it! Waitress comes up and asks if we are ready to order. Of course! I point to my selection to make sure she sees it’s from the BIRTHDAY MENU, to which she asks if it’s my birthday. “Yes!”, “Oh well Happy Birthday” she says. Ha ha fuck this is great! Looking at the menu, everything is rather pricey, in the $30 range. We like our McDonalds, so paying $80 for 2 meals is a bit more than we prefer. GOOD THING IT WAS 2 for 1! Ha ha. We eat, it’s fucking delicious (his Uncle gets a 1/2 score), and before we leave, I get my own brownie with a candle! Happy Birthday!
We pay. $35 later we are laughing as we walk along the street. Getting back to the apartment building, we have never seen the basement, which holds the mysterious pool and weight room. Everyone in the apartment building we have talked to says the following:
- The pool sucks
- The elevator sucks
- The whole place sucks
- The location is the only good part
Our expectations are rather low but for self-amusement sake, we want to see both attractions. The pool was a big reason we moved in here. Being able to go swimming whenever is a deal-breaker for me. Regardless, we open the door to the pool, and IT’S PRETTY SWEET! This was a huge relief – I can go swimming now! The weight-room on the other hand can hardly be called that, and we should sue the apartment building for false-advertising. The SAINT and I decide we are going swimming! Nice, I can totally relax! Ha ha!
After a good session of playing football in the pool, we go back upstairs. He uploads the photos from our pool session – I begin editing. I love editing photos and going all abstract ‘what the fuck’ on their asses. It’s the artist in me. Enjoi.
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