Some of u may remember I made a thread awhile ago talking about how I didn’t want to work a 9-5. A lot of u agreed but some laughed and said just wait

Whoever laughed you were right. As a man in 2024 you either lock in or get left behind. The amount of s*** in my life that has happened since I made that thread is crazy.

At the time I made that thread I was spiraling with my habits and emotions. I was angry at the world and at angry at myself and just wanted to put my thoughts out there. Angry bc of pressure from my dad to live how he did. I’m sure many of u are in a similar place to I was then bc men today get no help from anybody

Well I’m here to say that I was wrong and you need to lock in now bro no matter what is going on in ur life. It is now or never. You have the world at your fingertips right now. Stop lying to yourself and stop using the bad things in your life as excuse not to better yourself. Unless you have a literal chemical imbalance then you can change your life for the better

Today is the first step bro. If you need to lose weight eat a little less. If you need to stop smoking smoke a little less. If you want to be happier then take that first step. Make the change you need to make now bro. I want to see you win I want us all to win

Love u all and I hope u find ur way. If anybody needs help and feels alone reach out to me on IG: melzlifexo

We gonna get through this together 🤝🏾

inb4 OP has a financial crisis and goes back to 9-5

The real strength comes when you can realize all of this on your own without someone having to tell you. If you need someone to tell you or guide you then you already lost

Read the thread bruh I already went thru that lol

But it wasn’t a financial crisis it was more just a maturity crisis

i cant read

I think ur right and I realized all of this on my own

But I also think people are complacent and need a slap in face sometimes to wake them up

Couple of my friends are pissing me off rn

Started doing this after my last breakup which was a month ago. S*** really hurt. I gave up on love and focused on myself. Quit d**** and alcohol. Started working out. Mind you I got shot last year and lost my house, car, and a great paying job where I was also going to school for construction management. Now I’m working at a fast food place building back up. But man do I feel more hope after going sober and exercising more regularly.

I’ve been in a deep hole of d****, love, and violence since I was 15. Finally caught up and was fighting a 10 year bid but luckily, thank god, got probation. I’m 32 now and I’m starting to see the beauty in life. There’s more out there and you’re capable of more than you think.

It’s crazy, I pissed away years of my life and I thought it was over for me but I just decided to “stop pissing”, as it were, and getting back on track has been quicker and easier than I thought (although still a lot effort and still a work in progress)

You’re doing great fam keep it up

You will have the life you want if you keep going

Likewise man. We’ll make it out. Just gotta be resilient and stand on what you believe. Hell I’ve even been talking to the young kids I work with to keep their s*** straight so at least I can pass down some knowledge and maybe impact someone

Yup. I felt so hopeless like 5 months ago

Shaved my head, got a new job (old one was toxic), changed my mindset, started eating healthier, started being more open

Feel sooo much better now

I usually say no whenever people invite me places but I’m trying to fight that

I say yes to everything now even if I don’t want to do it and it’s going to give me anxiety

All it takes is one older person they f*** with to say something genuinely knowledgeable and you could change their life

Even if most of it goes in one ear and out the other it will hit for them eventually when they have some more experience

Real. And this mindset reminds me of Chapter 51 of the enchiridion. Let's see if I still have it memorized...

How long will you wait before you demand the best of yourself, and trust reason to determine what is best? You have been introduced to the essential doctrines, and claim to understand them. So what kind of teacher are you waiting for that you delay putting these principles into practice until they come? You’re a grown man already, not a child any more. If you remain careless and lazy making excuse after excuse, fixing one day after another when you will finally take yourself in hand, your lack of progress will go unnoticed, and in the end you will have lived and died unenlightened.

So decide that you are an adult who is going to devote the rest of their life to making progress. Abide by what seems best as if it were an inviolable law. When faced with anything painful or pleasurable, anything bringing glory or disrepute, realize that the crisis is now, that the Olympics have started, and waiting is no longer an option; that the chance for progress, to keep or lose, turn on the events of a single day.

I tell them just because it’s legal money and it’s slower, doesn’t make it any different than fast money and risking it all and not even making as much as legal money in the end. I tell em if school ain’t for you, look into a trade. Bc I wish someone would’ve told me this when I was younger and wouldn’t have these problems maybe. It’s the least I could do.

Even if you have a chemical imbalance you can change your life for the better, for the most part (there’s some conditions that require more attention obviously)

It’s all about acceptance and commitment and working toward your values

I agree with this but we can't romanticize the 9 to 5 when we know there are people that got born in privileged families that never worked more than 3 hours a day for their empires and will influence people like that user on the What's on your Mind thread yapping all day about how you need to 'work smarter' and take advantage of social crises to make a ton of money.

Locking in builds discipline, healthy habits, it makes you a responsible person, but it can also turn you into a slave that loves his cage. I've used to lock in until I sneaked into a comfortable position and now I work less than 3 hours per day, depending on seasons and s*** but yeah, could never be happier, and my salary is just a bit above average.

Nonetheless I'm happy for you bro hope you get better and better

As long as you have a solid plan, think of the plan and edit it every so often, along with working on the small goals that with bring your plan to fruition and making sure every step you take even if it’s not big, is celebrated as a win, you can pretty much do anything .

The key is balancing, fighting your bad habits, understanding yourself more, setting boundaries so you can have more time for yourself to achieve your goals, and proper rest.

The way I did this s*** so far is I took undergrad SUPER serious, got a stem degree with some internships and research experience, now I'm in grad school (phd) and tbh I can do my work for a day in 4-5 hours usually, I get paid stipend so I don't work hourly, got a side job with remote work, life is chill as f*** and I'm not rly stressed about cash (I'm broke but I make it work)

Real s***

Ur right op gonna major goon tonight

Best way to fight anxiety is to just do things

Neva Too Late

(Until you dead)

Chill bro lol