TLDR:
This post is about a new self-improvement platform I’m beta testing
called ‘The Strenuous Life’; if that is of no interest to you,
then what do you think of this?. The
bottom line is that you can safely ignore posts with [The Strenuous
Life] prefixed to the title, unless you want a glimpse into some of
the stuff I’m learning in my spare time.
“Let those who have, keep, let those who have not, strive to attain, a high standard of cultivation and scholarship. Yet let us remember that these stand second to certain other things. There is a need of a sound body, and even more of a sound mind. But above mind and above body stands character – the sum of those qualities which we mean when we speak ofa man’s force and courage, of his good faith and sense of honor.” - Theodore Roosevelt (Citizenship in a Republic)
I made
my first (cringe-inducing) post on this blog a little
under seven years ago. I probably could not have fully
expressed my reasons at the time, but the creation of a new blog was
just a minor component of a larger effort of self-improvement that
began when I graduated high school.
 |
| PICTURED: Awkward Chubby Nerd |
Don’t get me wrong – I actually had a great time being an awkward chubby nerd, and I spent many an enjoyable afternoon playing Halo 2, Magic, and/or Dungeons and Dragons instead of doing whatever it was the cool kids did
(Drinking? Going to pep rallies? Hanging out at the pep rally drinking and singing show tunes?).
 |
| PICTURED: Cool Kids, probably |
But I certainly wasn’t living my best of all possible lives – and I knew it. The main reason I was so eager to graduate early was because going to university represented an opportunity to re-invent myself, and start becoming the man I wanted to be.
 | |
| PICTURED: The Man I Want to Be |
I discovered the Art of Manliness blog soon after I arrived at uni, and have been following it ever since. It provides consistently high quality content on a wide range of topics, which almost always correlates well with my own self-improvement goals. Recently Brett McKay, the founder of AoM, launched a new project called ‘The Strenuous Life’; it’s a sort of a self-paced online gamified Scouts program for adults, complete with physical badges available for completing various requirements. This is definitely my bag, so I was thrilled to be one of the 150 accepted into the beta testing “Red Team” for the last couple months.
The badges cover a huge range of skills/topics - from ‘Sharpshooter’ to ‘Orator’ to ‘Kiss the Chef’ - and have all sorts of requirements - including reading (‘Read “Citizenship in a Republic”'), writing (‘Describe the different types of motorcycle’), and physical effort (‘Walk 50 mi. in 24 hours’). There are also daily check-ins for exercise and good-deed-doing, and weekly challenges (‘Take a 5’ cold shower every day’). The format is going to change somewhat before it goes live, so I won’t go into any more detail until I see the final form, but I can say that as it currently exists (1) I find it extremely motivating, and (2) I endorse it completely for anyone seeking broad-based self-improvement.
Now,
I’ve been working through a few of these badges in my pomodoro breaks and have decided that the most efficient/self-motivating
way to do the writing tasks is to structure them as blog posts. While
my blog posts are frequently rambling self-indulgent drivel written
primarily for my own amusement, usually they are at least original
rambling self-indulgent drivel. Those that will be going up
with [The Strenuous Life] tag are most often going to be a summary of
information easily obtainable from other sources, so may be of even
less interest than my typical fare. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Stay
tuned for the next
Strenuous Life post,
where I attempt to learn all about motorcycles (for the ‘Easy
Rider’ badge).
“I
live The Strenuous Life.
I
train for harmony in body, mind, and soul.
I am
strong to be useful.
I
choose action over abstraction.
I do hard things.
I do hard things.
I
live The Strenuous Life.”
