Trp was a blessing for me. I'm not sure what it brought to you but it turned me from a lazy schmuck into someone with a will to live, with determination! (still somewhat lazy but will work on that)

I changed my job (obviously with better $$$), I changed from a semi-strenuous LTR to a more pleasing one with less hassle and a hotter girl! So I decided to give back to this site! (with special thanks to that friend that introduced me!)

Back on topic: TRP advocates change. This is fine and dandy but change is hard and by hard I mean it's as difficult as learning to walk on your hands: very hard, takes a lot of time, will hurt, will break you, will make you the star of the show once you master it.

Not being a graphical designer or anything related, these sketches are not much to look at but I hope you can bear with me and that they offer a more in-depth explanation of the concept.

The main topic this .

"Lift, eat better, dare to hit on girls, impose yourself when necessary, etc." these are but some of the ideologies advocated here. They are great but it's hard to take a phrase and alter your life (even if it's for the better) based on it since the ways things go in theory and in reality are as different as they are similar.

The starting point

Each and every one of us is in (what we shall call) a time-cycle (TC). A TC is a the definition of activities you do on a daily or even weekly routine. Think of it like this:

-my working day consists of: going to work, going to gym on 3 of the working days, going home and playing a few video games (I know it's bad, I'm working on it and reduced it from 3H a day to 1.5H a day and want to go to 3H a week or less), talking to girlfriend (currently in a LDR but that should change in ~ 2 months), surfing the net (that's stupid again given the vastness of the net), meditating and going to sleep.

-my week consists of: 5 of the above working days and 2 days off (the weekend) where I get to do whatever I want, which usually translates into chores around the house, exploring the place I moved to a few months ago a bit more, cleaning, some more gaming (yes, I know -.-), maybe a movies, some social interaction.

While this is not 100% accurate since things may pop up, I may feel like doing something different in a day, etc, this is "the main dish" and I will drift towards it.

Some of us will be conservationists and for them this circle is more fundamental and important than it is for the rest of us. Discussing with some friends and even co-workers I found that the conservationists are not as rare as you'd think and the actually tend to be happy! That sounds nice but actually they're happy with a lower quality of life.

A few examples (optional read): A co-worker that frequents the same gym as me started talking to me about workout seeing that I'm skinny trying to gain muscle and some fat. He asked how come I'm so skinny and I said that I don't really eat much and I go by the principle: "I eat to live, not live to eat". He looked pretty amazed at me and with a questioning voice told me: "but I really love food, I don't wanna quit it". I understood then that I have to smile and say: "don't worry, I'm sure you can do it without quitting food". Another dear friend which was my co-worker at my previous job heard about my resignation and came to talk to me. It quickly turned from small chat and laughs to him gently questioning me what has happened to me: "R3v4mp3d why are you not happy? You have an apartment here, a girlfriend, a good stable job. I'm happy as I am now; there comes a time in life when you must learn to be happy with what you have.". Since he was a dear friend I tried convincing him into changing his ideology but he always fell back to: "I created a state of life which I like and am comfortable with.". I gave up.

A normal TC looks like this. This is your base, this is you now. Your TC is nice and regular, perfectly cyclical, flowing smoothly.

The change

The main problem (but in the same time blessing) with the changes advocated by TRP is that they bring disruption to your TC.

You start out by just going to the gym and because of this your TC becomes disrupted. For the first 2-4 months you'll be experiencing some (mild or severe) cognitive dissonance and your TC will look something like this. The color changed since this change is a challenge, a burden for you and you're feeling uncomfortable; the pinch in your TC is a clear indication of the flow being broken, you are no longer cyclical and are actively trying to fight against your TC.

But TRP is asking a lot more of you: eat right, dress right, learn some basic body language and social interaction, approach as to get you comfortable with the sensation it gives, etc. If you start applying all these at once then your TC will look something like this. At this point your brain is firing like crazy(red color): anxiety from approaching chicks, some body from the gym, mood swings and cold-like symptoms given the fact that eating right caused your body to start regulating itself and you're feeling those changes first hand. We can talk more on this but for now let's leave it at that and we'll get back to it (point 1).

Settling down

You've started a hell of a journey in which the first 3-6 months ARE THE KEY! I say this because your TC is as amazing as you are. Whatever you decide to throw at it, it will eventually spin. If you have the will to succeed and are tired of being treated like shit and even being shit, then you will keep your new habits no matter what! You TC will respond accordingly and shift itself towards what you want from it. As you reach the 6 months border, your TC is contempt with what you gave it and so are you. Soon after you pass this milestone, the "changes" are no longer there since this became your new lifestyle. You have reached a new and improved TC.

Your new TC is a circle just like your old TC; the only thing that changed is its color since it's different from your old TC.

Getting back to point 1: TRP advocates many changes, but as a close friend of mine said (my unplugger ironically!) "willpower is a limited resource and the more you abuse it with correcting one or more bad habits, the more you have a chance of relapsing or enhancing other bad habits". This doesn't have to burst your bubble, but moreover it should be a warning: evaluate your willpower precisely! If you know you're strong willed then change all at once; if you know that this will be a monumental challenge then I suggest you just start with gym + eating. On the flip side, it doesn't matter if you can change in 3-6 months (all at once) or if it takes you 6-9 months or even 1 year; start your journey and when you get there, grab some nice whiskey and start reflecting on where you are, what's around you and who you left behind in the crab bucket and then crack that big smile that you've been waiting for and truly deserve. Good luck to you all!

TL;DR: change is hard and it brings cognitive dissonance which might make you relapse back into bad habits. When changing for the better make sure you keep repeating it since your life is cyclical and you need at least 3-6 months of settling in so that your new cycle forms.

EDIT: formatting and a bit of re-phrasing.

EDIT2: more formatting. EDIT3: final format.