Hello all, how have you been. I'm happy to see this place hasn't been banned yet, even if it seems slower than it used to be.
I think my last post was 2-3 years ago when I gave a little update on how my journey into self-improvement had been going. I figured it's way past time to give another one. Hopefully someone gets a little boost in motivation from this.
For anyone interested, I joined ConPro about when it migrated here from reddit, although I was never really all that active. I doubt even the old users that are still around remember me. This place inspired me to reevaluate most of my life and gave me the push I needed to start actively working on getting better at it.
I started working out a lot more actively. I can confidently say I'm now in the best shape I've been since I was 18. I regularly go out hiking and mountain climbing with people in their early 20s (I'm in my 30s) and I'm consistently one of the last ones going.
I learned a lot of woodland and bushcraft skills. I go camping by myself for days at a time. I picked up a bit of hunting and I'm currently working on navigating off the landscape with minimal tools and supplies. It's been huge fun, I highly recommend it! Still haven't picked up gardening. It brings me no joy and I've the privilege of having access to quality home grown food I can purchase (including meat). Maybe some day.
I also started learning basic skills like cooking (I make 95% of everything I eat), mechanical (I've not called a handyman for anything for a couple of years now) and electronic repair (phone and computer) and am currently wading through learning how to fix serious issues on my own car. I just finished rebuilding an entire VW with a couple of friends.
I also got into basic programming, image and video editing. I'm by no means great at it but I know the basics. I'm planning on focusing more on coding at some point in the coming year since it'll be useful for work and I only really know the basics of a couple of languages (HTML, Java, Python). I really don't enjoy it very much, though. Definitely not for me. Photo and video editing, on the other hand, is quite fun and I've been enjoying it immensely. I even set up a YT channel at one point to get feedback on my video edits, although I've deleted it since then.
I learned how to draw pretty decently and hopefully soon I'll have time to start learning an instrument properly. I'm actually completely talent-less when it comes to any of the fine arts, so this is extremely slow going but an hour or two every other day gets visible results.
I started trying to build up my own business in the field I've always wanted to work in. That failed. Miserably. So I had to go back to working my old job last year which pays well but is incredibly boring to me. At least it gave me a lot more free time to work on things. I've not given up, though. I'm currently gearing up for another try, hopefully with the experience I got the first time around I'll be able to do it better this time. I'm not fucking quitting.
On a personal level, having you lot challenging most of my ideas and worldview made me go back over pretty much every single thing I believe and support, reevaluate it and actually inform myself on the issue. I haven't changed my views that much (although I did skew quite a bit towards what normies consider far right and some libertarian views) and I still don't agree with everything most of ConPro believes but I can confidently say most of my opinions are now informed and logical, rather than basic and emotional. I might still be wrong about some of them, since I'm not God and don't have all the information but such is life. Thanks for that!
That being said, changing that drastically made a lot of people around me uncomfortable and I've lost quite a few relationships I had. It also strained most of the ones I still have quite significantly but I think they came out for the better in the end. It also showed me exactly who I can count on when things get serious which is priceless. I also got to "redpill" (not a fan of that term) a few of my friends and family, so I consider it well worth it. That being said, whoever claims people like change is absolutely fucking lying! Turns out that I can count the people I know who like change on one hand and still have some fingers left over. Keep that in mind.
Anyways, overall I feel better physically, mentally and emotionally than I ever have. Most of my efforts have been directed towards improving in the field I want to succeed in professionally but I've managed to get a decent spread of other skills going. I'm not the happiest I've ever been, that particular peak was when I was a clueless teen who didn't care for anything serious, but I am content with my life and the direction it's going in. The world might be going to shit but I'm not, at least not knowingly.
That's about it. I can go into greater detail if anyone is interested, these are just a few of the highlights. Turns out, you can actually pack a lot of living in a year (or three) if you're not glued to useless things like the TV or games.
On ConPro, like I mentioned, I'm glad you lot are still around (mostly). I'm a bit sad I only recognize a few of the usernames on the current threads but hopefully everyone who left did so for the right reasons. I'll be around for a few days to answer any questions or anything and to get a feel for how the site is doing but I'm probably going to focus on real life again come the new year.
To all the Kings here:
Live well, never falter, never quit! If I can do this shit, so can you!
P. S. I get that things are shit in many ways but that's no excuse to forget the self-improvement posts, the gardenposting, the shitting on blind consooming and, most importantly, the goatposting. WHERE'S THE FUCKING GOATPOSTING?
I think my last post was 2-3 years ago when I gave a little update on how my journey into self-improvement had been going. I figured it's way past time to give another one. Hopefully someone gets a little boost in motivation from this.
For anyone interested, I joined ConPro about when it migrated here from reddit, although I was never really all that active. I doubt even the old users that are still around remember me. This place inspired me to reevaluate most of my life and gave me the push I needed to start actively working on getting better at it.
I started working out a lot more actively. I can confidently say I'm now in the best shape I've been since I was 18. I regularly go out hiking and mountain climbing with people in their early 20s (I'm in my 30s) and I'm consistently one of the last ones going.
I learned a lot of woodland and bushcraft skills. I go camping by myself for days at a time. I picked up a bit of hunting and I'm currently working on navigating off the landscape with minimal tools and supplies. It's been huge fun, I highly recommend it! Still haven't picked up gardening. It brings me no joy and I've the privilege of having access to quality home grown food I can purchase (including meat). Maybe some day.
I also started learning basic skills like cooking (I make 95% of everything I eat), mechanical (I've not called a handyman for anything for a couple of years now) and electronic repair (phone and computer) and am currently wading through learning how to fix serious issues on my own car. I just finished rebuilding an entire VW with a couple of friends.
I also got into basic programming, image and video editing. I'm by no means great at it but I know the basics. I'm planning on focusing more on coding at some point in the coming year since it'll be useful for work and I only really know the basics of a couple of languages (HTML, Java, Python). I really don't enjoy it very much, though. Definitely not for me. Photo and video editing, on the other hand, is quite fun and I've been enjoying it immensely. I even set up a YT channel at one point to get feedback on my video edits, although I've deleted it since then.
I learned how to draw pretty decently and hopefully soon I'll have time to start learning an instrument properly. I'm actually completely talent-less when it comes to any of the fine arts, so this is extremely slow going but an hour or two every other day gets visible results.
I started trying to build up my own business in the field I've always wanted to work in. That failed. Miserably. So I had to go back to working my old job last year which pays well but is incredibly boring to me. At least it gave me a lot more free time to work on things. I've not given up, though. I'm currently gearing up for another try, hopefully with the experience I got the first time around I'll be able to do it better this time. I'm not fucking quitting.
On a personal level, having you lot challenging most of my ideas and worldview made me go back over pretty much every single thing I believe and support, reevaluate it and actually inform myself on the issue. I haven't changed my views that much (although I did skew quite a bit towards what normies consider far right and some libertarian views) and I still don't agree with everything most of ConPro believes but I can confidently say most of my opinions are now informed and logical, rather than basic and emotional. I might still be wrong about some of them, since I'm not God and don't have all the information but such is life. Thanks for that!
That being said, changing that drastically made a lot of people around me uncomfortable and I've lost quite a few relationships I had. It also strained most of the ones I still have quite significantly but I think they came out for the better in the end. It also showed me exactly who I can count on when things get serious which is priceless. I also got to "redpill" (not a fan of that term) a few of my friends and family, so I consider it well worth it. That being said, whoever claims people like change is absolutely fucking lying! Turns out that I can count the people I know who like change on one hand and still have some fingers left over. Keep that in mind.
Anyways, overall I feel better physically, mentally and emotionally than I ever have. Most of my efforts have been directed towards improving in the field I want to succeed in professionally but I've managed to get a decent spread of other skills going. I'm not the happiest I've ever been, that particular peak was when I was a clueless teen who didn't care for anything serious, but I am content with my life and the direction it's going in. The world might be going to shit but I'm not, at least not knowingly.
That's about it. I can go into greater detail if anyone is interested, these are just a few of the highlights. Turns out, you can actually pack a lot of living in a year (or three) if you're not glued to useless things like the TV or games.
On ConPro, like I mentioned, I'm glad you lot are still around (mostly). I'm a bit sad I only recognize a few of the usernames on the current threads but hopefully everyone who left did so for the right reasons. I'll be around for a few days to answer any questions or anything and to get a feel for how the site is doing but I'm probably going to focus on real life again come the new year.
To all the Kings here:
Live well, never falter, never quit! If I can do this shit, so can you!
P. S. I get that things are shit in many ways but that's no excuse to forget the self-improvement posts, the gardenposting, the shitting on blind consooming and, most importantly, the goatposting. WHERE'S THE FUCKING GOATPOSTING?
"Oh well, I fully agree. It seems others do not agree a lot on this "libertarian" stance. Add to that full ethnic homogeneity as a prerequisite however. And I also concur on the rest of what you wrote."
Ethnic homogeneity is, of course, the most preferred outcome, though I must admit that I am not completely against very low and highly vetted immigration. Ultimately every group has outliers that are exceptional and can be properly assimilated (this part is essential). However, things like dual citizenship and having more than 1-2 % of non-locals is, in my opinion, only a detriment in the long term. That being said, I can also quite happily live without any immigration whatsoever. In the end, I don't really hate any other groups of people, even the most damaging, as I don't think hate of people is a productive emotion. Ideas, on the other hand, I can quite happily despise with every fiber of my being.
"Perhaps. But you have to consider that as long as there is a dependence on government, and it appears to be of absolute power, there is an inherent problem in society."
Personal independence would be ideal, however there should also be a unifying structure to prevent total anarchy. Government, in my opinion, should not have a monopoly on power or violence; it's one of the main reasons why I am very fond of the American 2nd Amendment, even if I myself am not American. There should also, I believe, always be non-violent mechanisms (possibly guaranteed by the potential for violence of an armed populace) for the population to remove an incompetent or malicious government. They must, however, be immediate, unlike current "democratic" voting processes which may give the inept or sociopathic as long as multiple years to entrench themselves or veil their crimes from the population.
"The question is: Should there be anything to vote on? Because everything the government does leads towards higher taxation and more laws."
This is true which is why I am a proponent of a direct democracy. I apologize as I seem to have failed in clarifying that in my previous post. Anyways, a direct democratic process may have been difficult in the past but our current technologies and systems would allow for it to be implemented quite easily. Of course, having the entire eligible population vote on inane matters such as where to put a public lavatory would be beyond inefficient, however issues which might affect society as a whole could easily be put to a referendum nowadays. Switzerland is the closest to this system that I am aware of but even my own country has had periods in recent history where there were multiple elections organized within a single year without much issue. This tells me that referendums are not quite as complicated to stage as our "leaders" would like us to believe.
"Maybe people should vote for laws directly instead of parties who are walking busybodies who are oh-so eager to spend their 2 hours per week in work to push laws. In that case I think it's a good idea. The best? I don't know."
Term limits for any high-level government position are a must, in my opinion. Having people be members of parliament (or senators and congressmen in the US) for decades is a recipe for disaster. I remember coming across a rather interesting idea in a fiction book I read years ago where people were elected to a particular position by the entire population without their knowledge or consent, at which point they would go on to serve for a limited term (I do not remember exactly how long but it may have been something like 10 years) during which all their assets and salary would be held and managed in an independent trust. At the end of their term and concurrently with the next election, the voters would also have to answer the question "Did ***** do an acceptable job?" and whether they were given back their assets and salary would depend on that question. It's definitely and interesting thought, even if it's almost impossible to implement in practice.
As for whether a direct qualified democracy is the best idea...probably not. Quite frankly, I don't think there is a best idea we've come up with yet, it's simply the least prone to abuse, in my opinion. Although it is, by no means, far from incorruptible. Ultimately, for society to work properly people need to work on society constantly. The past decades of populational apathy are the absolute anathema of a working society.
It is not about emotions. Do not think what you'd like to have, but what is best for your people, your family, your children, your grandchildren, etc.
> Term limits for any high-level government position are a must
Not sure if that's a solution. What if a certain person is doing his job so well, that people really want him to continue to have that position? A more algorithmic approach would be better: After 'n' years, in order to remain in power, it requires more votes to remain in power (or each vote counts less). So if a large quantity of people still vote for that person, let him stay. It would be something like a "soft" term limit.
> to answer the question "Did ***** do an acceptable job?" and whether they were given back their assets and salary would depend on that question
That's a good idea. After all these people are servants of the public, not designated aristocrats.
> Ultimately, for society to work properly people need to work on society constantly. The past decades of populational apathy are the absolute anathema of a working society.
Yes. And contrary to others, I don't think this level of apathy is the permanent default. The apathy of today comes from the realization that nothing you vote for really matters, and that corporations and governments will do whatever they want regardless of what the population wants. I think a populace can be quite interested in politics and philosophical questions, if it actually matters and can be manifested. The apathy of today is more like a consequence of a decay, like a Weimar-type era, along with endless amounts of ideological propaganda and indoctrination that doesn't fit well.
Nobody dares to say they hate niggers, but people avoid them. Nobody dares to say that faggotry is just a cycle of degeneracy, but people oppose it.
I agree and I do. I am quite certain that an amicable (or at least neutral) decoupling between different peoples is the best way forward for everyone. Europe and America do not need infinite numbers of Africans or Indians and Africa and India do not need infinite numbers of European or American companies exploiting their resources. No, people should be home and actively work for the betterment of that home. Beyond that, I wish them all the best. I would love it if Africa, for example, would become a developed region firstly because I, in the end, do not want anyone to suffer unnecessarily and secondly because it would mean they have no reason to come to our homes.
"It would be something like a "soft" term limit."
I quite like your idea, it is rather elegant. That being said, term limits would be non-negotiable if they are to work, regardless of how excellent one candidate may be. In the end, however, both ideas can work, I think, but only so long as the populace maintains them. Both are possible but also possible to misuse or corrupt. Eternal vigilance, as cringy as it may sound, is not optional.
"I don't think this level of apathy is the permanent default."
I also do not believe it is. In fact, I've had some success in galvanizing some people around me over the years.
The single best way to do this, although by no means foolproof, was when I mention to them that although they might not be interested in politics, politics is very interested in them.
" The apathy of today comes from the realization that nothing you vote for really matters"
This is absolutely a major factor but I don't believe it is the only one. Something equally damaging, if not even more so, is the rampant ego-centrism and hedonism that most people are preoccupied with. Many of the people around me are so preoccupied with thoughts of satisfying their own urges that they have little capacity for anything more. I can't even begin to count the amount of times of heard statements like "Your health is the most important thing", "Do what you want" or "Do what makes you happy". No! Your health is there to allow you to do more! Do what is right! Do what you must!
Of course, completely ignoring the self is also foolish but people need a balance between personal need, duty and morality.
It is rather depressing at times...
"Nobody dares to say..."
Cowardice is the slow death of both the individual and society. To be cowardly is to give up on your self-respect. To give up on your self-respect is to give up on yourself. To give up on yourself is to die, even if you still breathe.