Manga 🇰🇷: October Update

[Akilles7]

- and the reason it's neglected is because I see Korea as a place where I can't build anything. Any lifestyle gains get wiped as soon as I leave.

I've seen you lament this fact before: that in the grand scheme of things, you're in Korea only temporarily.

I know that gets you down a bit, so hopefully what I have to say can alter your mental attitude. It's muddled, but any conversation about psychological states will be muddled. Personally, I have the opposite reaction to you when I know I'm gonna to be in a place only temporarily. It fills me with immense appreciation for the time I'm presently spending there. It really impels me to live in the present moment and enjoy my time. There's 2 reasons for that.

1) Knowing that my situation is guaranteed to change in the future, I'm excited for what comes next. Even if now appears to suck , the knowledge that everything will change, and my current problems end, excites me. Obviously, I don't live my daily life on the prospect of the future. It's just a thought that I tap into when I feel down about the now. It energizes me, and I channel that energy into the present.

2) I know that in the future - when I'm removed from my current situation/problems and Rosy Retrospection has kicked in - I will look back on my time in the present situation with fondness and nostalgia. It's inevitable. Somehow, even the shittiest periods of my life I look back on with warmth. And I always end lamenting that I didn't appreciate those periods sufficiently. So, taking the imagined point of view of me 5, 10, 15 years from now, regretting not having appreciated the present while it was happening, I try and appreciate it.

I can understand the desire to build something long-term, but in the really grand scheme of things (Life), everything is temporary. Death negates everything we built in Life. Should we let that get us down and hamper us in our daily lives?
-----
Again, really admire what you're doing and rooting for your success.

 

[Manganiello]

May 3

Day 12
https://youtu.be/jGOf8eyHGzs
Did it.



Overall

- feeling a lot more clear headed
- shit is working.



Lessons


As I was going through some of the exercises in the program I'm doing I realized 2 pretty big things...


( 1 ) Your friends will shape your life more than your own plan for it.


The caliber of my friends has had a much bigger impact on my life than the clarity and sensibility of any plan I devised. My environment, my inspirations and my friends have literally made a bigger difference and I can easily trace this phenomena in my life. I stopped being obese, and made huge gains in dating because literally my friends told me to. It wasn't a grand plan. The plan came after.

So I'm better off worrying about my friends. This is a GIANT takeaway. I'm sure first of many.



( 2 ) Being right about something is a bad idea


Even if your right about a situation. Doesn't mean you should listen to it...

Hard to explain, but sometimes being right about the probability of an outcome isn't productive. If being probably right that doing something won't work, so you decide to do nothing instead, is actually worse off than being dillusional sometimes. You're better off sidestepping your 'rightness' and actually trying. Case and point would be weight loss..it's like 98% of diets fail. But even if that's true, youre better off dieting than not.



Actions



- booked the Bus to Busan. New times opened up. It's not perfect. I know nothing about Busan but that's what makes it exciting.
- Restarted keto. imperfectly, but it's going.
- 2 hours of program work.
- Corrected a few problems with my phone provider (sounds minor, but in Korea your phone number is essentially your ID, it was seriously annoying)

Train to Busan, you say?

Exactly what I thought.

- and the reason it's neglected is because I see Korea as a place where I can't build anything. Any lifestyle gains get wiped as soon as I leave.

I've seen you lament this fact before: that in the grand scheme of things, you're in Korea only temporarily.

I know that gets you down a bit, so hopefully what I have to say can alter your mental attitude. It's muddled, but any conversation about psychological states will be muddled. Personally, I have the opposite reaction to you when I know I'm gonna to be in a place only temporarily. It fills me with immense appreciation for the time I'm presently spending there. It really impels me to live in the present moment and enjoy my time. There's 2 reasons for that.

1) Knowing that my situation is guaranteed to change in the future, I'm excited for what comes next. Even if now appears to suck , the knowledge that everything will change, and my current problems end, excites me. Obviously, I don't live my daily life on the prospect of the future. It's just a thought that I tap into when I feel down about the now. It energizes me, and I channel that energy into the present.

2) I know that in the future - when I'm removed from my current situation/problems and Rosy Retrospection has kicked in - I will look back on my time in the present situation with fondness and nostalgia. It's inevitable. Somehow, even the shittiest periods of my life I look back on with warmth. And I always end lamenting that I didn't appreciate those periods sufficiently. So, taking the imagined point of view of me 5, 10, 15 years from now, regretting not having appreciated the present while it was happening, I try and appreciate it.

I can understand the desire to build something long-term, but in the really grand scheme of things (Life), everything is temporary. Death negates everything we built in Life. Should we let that get us down and hamper us in our daily lives?
-----
Again, really admire what you're doing and rooting for your success.

I think tone is lost. I actually don't feel that down. What I'm doing now is sort of flushing out all the negative feelings just by labeling all of it. So it sounds more negative than I actually am.

Regarding the points tho, I do agree with them.

All this stuff is temporary.

This is more of a value thing.




Some people need time alone, and they get seriously stressed when they don't get it for a long period of time. Other people don't care.


Some people value being appreciated, and will feel an urgent need to quit their job if they don't get it, other people can go forever without it.


For me I need growth, and it bothers me a lot when I don't get it.


So I'm just dealing with a value thing. I just have to see a way to have meaningful growth here and now.

 

[colgate / bulldog]

( 1 ) Your friends will shape your life more than your own plan for it.

lol damn i needed this one

 

[Manganiello]

( 1 ) Your friends will shape your life more than your own plan for it.

lol damn i needed this one

Ya it's true tho.

You pick up ideas, change your standards, take action, aspire to win acceptance, all based off your friends.

Plans are pretty flimsy.

 

[Manganiello]

Day 13

Currently on the bus to Busan. Which is actually sick as fuck. The ride is not scenic as people have said. But in booking late the only bus available was this luxury bus, oxymoron, but it's actually such a nice way of traveling.

Ran out of time to make this before I departed.

actions
- just did more belief work on a notes app on my phone.
- Spent 2 hours reading and Journaling.

That's it.

 

[Manganiello]

Day 14


https://youtu.be/xNKP3eLouJ8

Long day. Had literally 4 different things go wrong trying to get into Busan. Took 11 hours to get settled lol.




But seems worth it so far.



Note


Still doing the work on exercises.
I think I'm getting a better handle on what's what. Probably won't say anything on it til the thought fully distills.

That being said. I think I need to be more intentional on getting solutions, and productive answers. I can analyse stuff super super well. But sometimes it's better to just solve it.

Tomorrow I want to be intentional in coming up with more productive beliefs and getting inspired.

 

[Manganiello]

Day 15

https://youtu.be/uBxjNW1lVi4
Uneventful but productive day.





Despite being in a cool tourist destination I mostly just journaled and did course work.




Notes


Think I 80% turned the corner on "Korea being a waste" thing.

Ultimately. It's not productive to think that. I'd be better off believing (even delusionally) that if I get a girlfriend here I could take her with me wherever I go.

People have done it.

But the main thing, is to have a win-win scenario. Before it looked lose-lose.

Win-win. Is I get a girlfriend to travel with me, or I get so good at getting girls it doesnt matter.

I'm already decent with chicks from online. But I want it to be even more effortless.


---
I say 80% because there's still a bit that wonders about what-ifs. But that's better than the 5% I was at last week.

---

So still got a bit more to go on this.
My plan is to follow this process til the long weekend I got in about a month, but actually plan a proper getaway and do goal setting.

And then jump hard into this again.
Or even just start sooner.

---


Other shstuff
- Day 5 of keto. Seems to have switched.
- dunno calories but it's low.

 

[colgate / bulldog]

Ultimately. It's not productive to think that. I'd be better off believing (even delusionally) that if I get a girlfriend here I could take her with me wherever I go.

one of the most important things that made me turn around recently was something troy said, "a belief doesn't have to be true for it to be helpful".

then i recently realized the converse is also massively helpful: "a truth can be unhelpful to believe"

having "i'm only temporarily in korea" in your mind is clearly not helpful no matter how true it is.

likewise seems like "if i can get a girlfriend here i could take her with me wherever i go" would be helpful

 

[Manganiello]

Ultimately. It's not productive to think that. I'd be better off believing (even delusionally) that if I get a girlfriend here I could take her with me wherever I go.

one of the most important things that made me turn around recently was something troy said, "a belief doesn't have to be true for it to be helpful".

then i recently realized the converse is also massively helpful: "a truth can be unhelpful to believe"

having "i'm only temporarily in korea" in your mind is clearly not helpful no matter how true it is.

likewise seems like "if i can get a girlfriend here i could take her with me wherever i go" would be helpful

Ya there's some wisdom in that.

I'm not really sure how cautious I should be with staying/leaving Korea.

Teaching for 8 years and coming back to Canada probably wouldn't be smart. At all.

I've seen a few foreigners here who had no intention of staying. Get a gf, life is great. Breakup up. And then they realize they're a 42 year old poorly paid English teacher with no skills back home. Those guys are in shit.

But at the same time, thinking Omg what's the point of being here? Is just as pointless.




Troy and his infinite wisdom. Seriously the world is missing out on him not publicizing his thoughts.

 

[colgate / bulldog]

And then they realize they're a 42 year old poorly paid English teacher with no skills back home. Those guys are in shit.

dude you definitely have way more skills than just teaching english lmao. that shit is just to get your foot in the door after all.

Toast and i both did language school just to get in the door here in japan. i think both of us plan on staying here long term. dunno what he's going to do, but i'm likely going to get a job in my original field again so i can get a permanent residence card.

still, i'm not sure what your goals are in korea, and i'm slightly saddened to see you mentioned thinking that korea is just temporary. even if you plan to relocate again after korea, you could definitely get like a 5 year work visa of some sort, and 5 years is basically forever lmfao. even 1 year is an insane amount of time.

i might be projecting but perhaps is it because the examples of foreigners you see in korea are just washed up dudes relying on their dominant wives to navigate the alien world they put themselves into?

idk how it is in korea but afaict even in japan it seems like you could actually have a pretty interesting life with very little japanese thanks to the amount of foreigners who are here. i've run into some interesting characters lol.

though personally i don't want to do that and most of my friends are japanese (i am so fucking glad i basically already knew japanese before coming here lmfao). would strongly recommend taking language learning seriously if you're scared of becoming a "42 year old poorly paid english teacher". you only need about 8-12 months of slamming the gas to get to the point where you can at least not be trapped in the foreigner english zone.

the world blows open once you can even understand 30% of the language of the foreign country you're in. you'll truly feel like you stepped in a different dimension and i will straight up tell you that you cannot imagine it until you at least become conversational in the language

 

[Manganiello]

that shit is just to get your foot in the door after all.

@Toast and i both did language school just to get in the door here in japan

My visa is solid AF. I have an equivalent disposable income to the average Korean on day 1. Just work 9 hours a day tho.

..

But it's worth mentioning that both you and Devin have been dreaming of Japan for awhile.

Chris has been learning Korean since highschool.

Korea is like a year old-ish desire for me.

i'm slightly saddened to see you mentioned thinking that korea is just temporary.

Which is why I'm thinking this.

Honestly, it's a pretty natural thought. I know nothing about the country. Been here for 6 months, of course my default stance is going to see it as temporary.

foreigners you see in korea are just washed up dudes

There is a lot of this. It's actually been a turn off I have about Korea. Koreans themselves are cool tho.

you only need about 8-12 months of slamming the gas to get to the point where you can at least not be trapped in the foreigner english zone.

the world blows open once you can even understand 30% of the language of the foreign country you're in

Totally.

Which is why I'm not dead set on it only being temporary. Plan is make money as soon as I'm done the dating phase. So honestly, that totally means I wouldn't stay teaching even if I stayed. As fun as teaching can be sometimes.

 

[Manganiello]

Day 16

Made video. Upload is taking too long and it's late.



Got back into Seoul

- Seoul is so giant it makes a city like Busan (7 million metro pop.) seem small.
- Busan is the nicer looking city hands down. And probably more liveable, but nothing beats Seoul for game.



Actions


- moved onto week 4 of the program and got most of it done.
- Listened to a lot of GLL on the trip back home.
- Day 6 of keto. Which is awesome. Hardest part of keto is over.


Course/Process Check-in


- There is an urge to go back and approach now, vs waiting this process out.
- Everytime I've done this course it's been worth its weight in gold. Arguably generated some of my biggest wins.
- So cheaping out on it may not be a good idea.


Either way I'm probably back into full blow approach mode in 30 days or so, even if I don't cheap out. It's just hard to wait while colgate and Toast are out approaching. And lacroix nets 2 day game lays this weekend.

Makes it real hard. I wanna be impatient, but also everytime I've gone slow on this step it's been 100% worth it.

So idk the right move. I just know seeing other guys get after it makes it hard to have this deliberation phase on big goals.

 

[natedawg]

Makes it real hard. I wanna be impatient, but also everytime I've gone slow on this step it's been 100% worth it.

So idk the right move. I just know seeing other guys get after it makes it hard to have this deliberation phase on big goals.

Solid perspective here.

I personally believe the hardest part of this game is to quit playing "keep up" with other men, and stay focused on your own unique path to victory.

 

[Manganiello]

May 8

- taking a day off from the course, so no coursework
- Calories were between 1400-1500. I think that's what I've been averaging the last week.

Makes it real hard. I wanna be impatient, but also everytime I've gone slow on this step it's been 100% worth it.

So idk the right move. I just know seeing other guys get after it makes it hard to have this deliberation phase on big goals.

Solid perspective here.

I personally believe the hardest part of this game is to quit playing "keep up" with other men, and stay focused on your own unique path to victory.

Absolutely true.

 

[Manganiello]

Day 17
https://youtu.be/jNmH2Og5U3U


Short update today.


Actions
- did about 2 hours of reading/journaling
- calories were between 1100-1200


Other stuff
- sick again. But not nearly as bad.

 

[Manganiello]

Day 18

https://youtu.be/WJiqr8pznkk



Actions


- 2 hours of journaling
- Keto (day 8) ~ 1200-1300 cal
- accountability call.



Notes


- I'm usually most inspired in a new setting. But Seoul is actually such a crowded repetitive city, I've been finding it hard to find those spots. But luckily I found an absolute gem 2 stops away from where I work.
- accountability partner is a great friend. But he's been busy, and the timezone differents has made the calls less effective because it's so hard to find a time that work for both of us.



Lessons


The decision to take a detour and really dig deep into a mental reset at this point feels like the right choice. Definitely.


I'm reminded that there are some lessons you get only from actively focusing on and thinking about a problem. Spreading your time, also spreads your focus, problems tend to grow like weeds and your too distracted to really think through them.

So I'm seeing the core issue I had earlier which was just general Disempowerment.

Being at your best isn't a lightswitch. There are many mental habits and micro-lessons you establish that build on each other. I have a lot of good habits, that come second nature to me. I can routinely work on a side project for 3+ hours after work every single day. No problem. I have good friends.

But things like creating a productive mindset has to be taken care of actively. Because new problems enter the fold, and if it's an alien problem to me, and I don't know how to solve it. I can easily revert to a disempowering thought. And if enough of those happen, pretty soon I'm routinely thinking shitty thoughts.

 

[Bman]

But things like creating a productive mindset has to be taken care of actively. Because new problems enter the fold, and if it's an alien problem to me, and I don't know how to solve it. I can easily revert to a disempowering thought. And if enough of those happen, pretty soon I'm routinely thinking shitty thoughts.

This is why personal development is never done. You better adapt yourself to the world, but then the world changes. New problems are presented. In which case you must adapt yourself to this new world.

That may seem disheartening, but you learn to adapt faster. You become more resilient in a wide variety of contexts. And if you remember to enjoy the process and not the destination, you have a whole lot of fun along the way.

 

[Manganiello]

Day 19

https://youtu.be/I1HjHNA1Ld0
feeling pretty good


Another journal type post/video, and probably will be that way for the next bit.



Actions


- Keto day 9
- 2 hours of journaling
- Finished up week 4 of the course I'm doing.



Thoughts


- I'm starting to see what I want to do, and how I want to do it differently. Nothing crystal clear of solid, but I definitely have an idea what needs to change.
- I feel closer to my old self.


Overall


I can feel the winds changing direction.

There's no real outward change, but inwardly I feel totally different.

Also. File I was logging a pretty large part of the course got corrupted and I lost maybe like 6 hours worth of work I had done over the last week. Oh well. Tech is great until it's not

That may seem disheartening, but you learn to adapt faster. You become more resilient in a wide variety of contexts. And if you remember to enjoy the process and not the destination, you have a whole lot of fun along the way.

Totally.

It's not a bad thing in anyway. Id actually prefer it work this way than anything else actually.

 

[Manganiello]

Day 20

Solid weekend.
Definitely enjoyed it.
But could've been more productive.
Which I'll talk about below.



Actions


- 4 hours of exercises and Journaling
- 2 more days of keto (under 1500 kcal)
- nearing the end of week 5 for the course.


Part of the course, has me revisiting old hobbies.

I did, but realizd that hobby came from a different guy. I used to make music (400+ songs), so I made another one.

It was fun, but I need to be doing something that builds my life. This hobby is so time consuming and it doesn't really advance my life.


Anyway, I'll put up the song I did.

Turned out nicely. Probably gonna do one more revision this evening to get the intro and ending more to my liking.

It's a remix of Dua Lipa and Elton John's Cold Heart.

Used it with $15 headphones so audio quality will be off balance

https://youtu.be/h7gCnZNOBSM

 

[colgate / bulldog]

It was fun, but I need to be doing something that builds my life. This hobby is so time consuming and it doesn't really advance my life.

hyper fucking relatable lmao