My first thought: \u201cWhoa, Steve. Those are some EPIC sideburns.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n My next thought: \u201cBold choice with the striped shirt, jeans, and flip flops!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Then I gave myself some grace.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m deeply uncomfortable with the spotlight. I hate public speaking. It makes me want to vomit every single time. I also don\u2019t like being on camera.<\/span><\/p>\n And yet, I have ideas that I think can help people.<\/span><\/p>\n So I write and share my ideas. And sometimes, I force myself to get on stage. For this talk, I had to take two buses through the jungles of Ecuador (where I was living at the time), and then take two flights to get to Atlanta.<\/span><\/p>\n I stayed at my friend Kappy\u2019s house, and the night before the talk, I decided to stay up and rewrite the whole damn thing. That morning, I practiced my talk to his two dogs, and then hurried over to Emory and just went full YOLO and shouted my talk into the universe.<\/span><\/p>\n 12 years later, rewatching this talk, I have thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n If you want to take a trip down memory lane, you can<\/span> \u200b<\/span>watch the talk on YouTube<\/span>\u200b<\/span><\/a>, which surprisingly has over 100,000 views.<\/span><\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t as embarrassing as I thought!<\/b><\/p>\n Baby Steve actually had some decent ideas and was an okay storyteller! Especially when you consider I had rewritten the entire talk 12 hours prior and was on zero hours of sleep. Oh, to be young and naive again.<\/span><\/p>\n This is the slide that cracked me up the most, and I think the one I want to spend the most amount of time on:<\/b><\/p>\n Throughout most of my early 20s, I spent an unhealthy amount of time playing video games. At the time, I had convinced myself that the video games were the problem. They had become too addicting, too enjoyable, and they were the reason I wasn\u2019t making much progress in my real life.<\/span><\/p>\n The reality is one level deeper. It wasn\u2019t just the video games. It was that I didn\u2019t have much life to look forward to. I didn\u2019t like my job (selling construction equipment), I didn\u2019t have goals or things in my personal life to look forward to. So I escaped into video games.<\/span><\/p>\n Older and wiser and with shorter sideburns, I have a better understanding of human behavior and my own personal struggles with procrastination and escape.<\/span><\/p>\n As laid out in my friend Nir Eyal\u2019s book<\/span> \u200b<\/span>Indistractable<\/span><\/i>\u200b<\/span><\/a>, <\/span><\/i>if we don\u2019t address the root cause of distraction or escape, our brains will get very good at finding yet another thing to get hooked on!<\/span><\/p>\n In other words, if you can go one level deeper as to WHY you\u2019re procrastinating or avoiding reality (possibly with the<\/span> \u200b<\/span>help of therapy<\/span>\u200b<\/span><\/a>) it can help you get out of the rut.<\/span><\/p>\n Once I found something to look forward to (for me it was turning life into an adventure video game like <\/span>Zelda<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>EverQues<\/span><\/i>t), suddenly video games became a far less appealing use of my limited free time.<\/span><\/p>\n These days, I still play video games regularly (I just finished <\/span>Fallout 4<\/span><\/i>), but I now know more.<\/span><\/p>\n When video games take over too much of my life, it\u2019s <\/span>probably <\/span><\/i>because I\u2019m avoiding confronting the reality of a problem in life.<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe I\u2019m scared to get back to work on my secret-book-shaped project, because I worry it\u2019s not good enough. Or maybe I\u2019m avoiding an uncomfortable conversation or addressing a real problem in my life.<\/span><\/p>\n So, the solution isn\u2019t unplugging the Playstation. It\u2019s addressing the problem I\u2019m actually working hard to avoid.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s better to know <\/span>why<\/span><\/i> I\u2019m procrastinating instead of just blaming it on video games.<\/span><\/p>\n In my talk, I talk about my Bucket List, which I renamed my Epic Quest of Awesome. <\/b>For a good 8 years, this was a big focus of mine.<\/span><\/p>\n Literally earning experience points for accomplishing quests in real life.<\/span><\/p>\n I did this after<\/span> \u200b<\/span>exercising around the world<\/span>\u200b<\/span><\/a> and living<\/span> \u200b<\/span>14 months of adventure travel<\/span>\u200b<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n I even got a book published about turning life into a game, <\/span>Level Up Your Life, <\/span><\/i>back in 2016. I recently reacquired the rights to this book, and I\u2019m hoping to put out a Version 2 in the coming year.<\/span><\/p>\n (This is why you can\u2019t buy it now, sorry about that!).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 12 years later, life is a bit different.<\/b><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been reading this newsletter for the past year, you might have noticed a theme:<\/span> \u200b<\/span>acceptance and self-compassion<\/span>\u200b<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve changed my perspective on goals.<\/span><\/p>\n I had run myself ragged for over a decade, building Nerd Fitness, giving as much as possible, chasing the next goal. Each goal led to the next goal. Each dragon slain required me to go find another dragon.<\/span><\/p>\n It became an endless loop of perpetual \u201cmore more more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And eventually I realized that I had gotten pretty far away from what actually made me happy.<\/span><\/p>\n These past few years, I\u2019ve decided to live a bit differently.<\/b><\/p>\n Instead of big long term goals with dramatically organized plans, I\u2019ve narrowed my focus to: \u201cHow can I have a good day today?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I live as if<\/span> \u200b<\/span>I will NEVER \u201cget there.\u201d<\/span>\u200b<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I still have goals, and I still have things I hope to accomplish in life.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m just playing a different game than I was at 28. I think this \u201clife is a game\u201d philosophy served me well at the time, and I think now I have added a few extra doses of reality to how this plays out.<\/span><\/p>\n For somebody stuck in a rut, and escaping too much into virtual worlds, I think thinking about life like a video game can be a pretty fun way to try and break out of that rut.<\/span><\/p>\n It might not work for everybody, but I think having things to look forward to, and goals to work on, and then finding ways to make tiny bits of progress can help.<\/span><\/p>\n I cover this in an article called \u201c<\/span>\u200b<\/span>A Nerd\u2019s Guide to Success and Happiness<\/span>\u200b<\/span><\/a>\u201d which still holds up!<\/span><\/p>\n A little bit of nuance and perspective can go a long way when gamifying life!<\/span><\/p>\n I made the perilous choice to wade into the cesspool of the internet:<\/b><\/p>\n The comment section on my video.<\/span><\/p>\n I was shocked to see that 95% of the comments were super positive!<\/span><\/p>\n There was <\/span>one<\/span><\/i> comment though, that provided me a unique opportunity to do something I’ve always wanted to do.<\/span><\/p>\n Prove somebody wrong on the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n In my talk, I mentioned that I hoped to one day deadlift 400+ pounds. <\/b>I grew up scrawny and weak, and I later learned that I have spondylolisthesis, which means two of my vertebrae don\u2019t line up.<\/span><\/p>\n For the past 15 years, deadlifting has been my favorite exercise. It\u2019s the movement that has made me feel the most strong and empowered.<\/span><\/p>\n I went and found a<\/span> \u200b<\/span>video of myself from 2018<\/span>\u200b<\/span><\/a>, where after 6+ years of dedicated, slow growth and focus on getting stronger, I deadlifted 420 pounds at a bodyweight of 172 lbs. No belt, straps, and double overhand grip too!<\/span><\/p>\n And yes. 12 years later, I HAD to reply and let the guy know I did it.<\/span><\/p>\n Not gonna lie, it felt good proving a random internet commenter wrong! Hahahaha<\/span><\/p>\n Petty and unnecessary? Yep!<\/span><\/p>\n Satisfying? Very.<\/span><\/p>\n I finished my talk with something that was far more powerful than I had expected.<\/span><\/p>\n The original Nintendo Entertainment System has two buttons: POWER and RESET.<\/span><\/p>\n In the game of life, we get to hit the power button once. It turns on when we\u2019re born, and it turns off when we die.<\/span><\/p>\n But we also have an opportunity to hit the RESET Button. If there\u2019s a thought or identity you have that\u2019s no longer serving you, or some aspect of life that just isn\u2019t working\u2026it\u2019s okay to hit the reset button.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s okay to try again, even if you failed the last time.<\/span><\/p>\n Remember,<\/span> \u200b<\/span>our knowledge carries over<\/span>\u200b<\/span><\/a>, and we never start back at square one.<\/span><\/p>\n Game on, my fellow nerd!<\/span><\/p>\n -Steve<\/b><\/p>\n ###<\/span><\/p>\n The post I apologize for my sideburns and striped shirt<\/a> first appeared on Nerd Fitness<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the first time in 10+ years, I rewatched my 2012 TEDx talk: \u201c\u200bNerd Fitness and Resetting the Game of Life.\u200b\u201d My first thought: \u201cWhoa, Steve. Those are some EPIC sideburns.\u201d My next thought: \u201cBold choice with the striped shirt, jeans, and flip flops!\u201d Then I gave myself some grace. I\u2019m deeply uncomfortable with the…<\/a><\/p>\n
My Biggest Surprise Rewatching…<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
How’s My Epic Quest Going?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Wading into the Comment Section…<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Two Buttons: Power and Reset<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
\nThe post I apologize for my sideburns and striped shirt first appeared on Nerd Fitness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":""},"categories":[20,1,21,22,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24147"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24147"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24156,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24147\/revisions\/24156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}