This is the public group rationality diary for May 5 - 23, 2015. It's a place to record and chat about it if you have done, or are actively doing, things like:
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Established a useful new habit
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Obtained new evidence that made you change your mind about some belief
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Decided to behave in a different way in some set of situations
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Optimized some part of a common routine or cached behavior
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Consciously changed your emotions or affect with respect to something
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Consciously pursued new valuable information about something that could make a big difference in your life
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Learned something new about your beliefs, behavior, or life that surprised you
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Tried doing any of the above and failed
Or anything else interesting which you want to share, so that other people can think about it, and perhaps be inspired to take action themselves. Try to include enough details so that everyone can use each other's experiences to learn about what tends to work out, and what doesn't tend to work out.
Archive of previous rationality diaries
Note to future posters: no one is in charge of posting these threads. If it's time for a new thread, and you want a new thread, just create it. It should run for about two weeks, finish on a saturday, and have the 'group_rationality_diary' tag.
Made the first few moves needed for getting out of the depressive slump I've been in for the past three months. Switched to a diurnal sleep cycle (for now...). Finally tidied up some spaces so as to make them useable at last (it's very difficult to care about this stuff when you're depressed) and now I'm marginally less frustrated with everyday existence. Called some old friends even though I wasn't feeling like socializing, just to confirm to myself that they still want to talk to me; otherwise I might have persisted in the belief that they had just decided they didn't like me anymore. Still have some people to call. Started to again put some effort into my appearance, bought some new stuff for myself, shaved for the first time in forever, and am currently working back on regaining my six-pack. My old pursuit of learning made a feeble comeback in the form of starting reading a macroeconomics textbook and a few other more "leisurely" non-fiction books on the side -- sure, it's not the holy grail of multivariable calculus, but it's a beginning.
I'm beginning to realize that a large part of my tendency to get into persistent low moods can be attributed to my being austere to a fault, always denying myself cheap and simple pleasures like buying a pretzel at a corner shop, being too focused on merely surviving and never moving beyond that to thriving. This attitude reflects in everything. Some people prefer to exercise in pleasant ways, like swimming or (wink and nod at a recent Omnilibrium thread) playing golf, whereas I give myself blisters exploring the city on foot, through pollution and sizzling hot weather, maybe with a little bit of weight to carry on me, for six hours at a time. My pleasures are getting out of my shoes and resting in bed after a long and exhausting day. I never buy things on impulse, and even on the rare occasions when I have money, I treat every personal purchase as a painful decision on investments, and the thought of the opportunity cost doesn't let me enjoy the new stuff. There's plenty to be said against mindless hedonism, but this is crossing into the other, Spartan extreme.
So, here may be a tip on overcoming depression and enjoying life more: allow yourself simple pleasures with a clear conscience. Not everything has to be a struggle.