Cathedral of Learning, University of Pittsburgh

So what are the results so far of my end of year challenge after one month? At the beginning of October I set out a little challenge for myself to work on my self-discipline. The challenge had both a body and a mind component. The body component consists of going to the gym and working towards my goal of gaining weight. That part has been mostly a success. The mind component consists of setting up a schedule for language learning (advanced French and intermediate Dutch) and sticking to it. That part has been a failure so far.

Body: I go to the gym three times a week and mostly stick to a regime on eating a lot. I have gained 3 to 4 kilograms so far (a part of it fat ๐Ÿ™ ). So I think I am doing and well on my way to achieve my goals here. ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐Ÿ™‚

Problems encountered: Not always being able to choose what I eat.

Challenges: I drink too much alcohol during the weekend and last week I was also drinking every day of the week! That has to stop if I want avoid gaining too much fat in the bulking phase. Another challenge has been forcing myself to cook dinner in the evening.

Lessons Learnt: Full body routines are quite taxing on your body. Initially I wanted to do deadlifts 3 times a week, however lately I have cut that down to just 2 times a week. I seem to have pain in one of my shoulders now.

Mind: Utter failure so far. I have only spent very little time on language learning, either Dutch or French. I have skipped four of my last Dutch classes and have spent very little time doing self-learning. I have added some Dutch past tenses to my Anki deck, but that’s about it.

Problems: Part of this has to do with motivation and depression problems…

Challenges: I cannot seem to force myself to sit down and actually do some quality studying. I sometimes have French language TV on, but that’s about it. Need to have some more self-discipline and stick to my schedule and also to force myself to go to Dutch class.

Lessons Learnt: In order to concentrate, you also need to have other areas of your life handled. Problems from other areas can spill into your learning and prevent you from being able to concentrate.

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