I desperately want to read classic literature as well as works

>>9225996

You come up with that analysis yourself? It's good stuff.

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Just read

The more you get rid of social media and cut down phone usage the better

You gain intelligence from a war of attrition against ignorance. you spent years letting ignorance win. who cares if you can make up for all the lost ground...the point of reading is to gain knowledge and truth, which is of infinite value you to you

>>9226005
this. also the lit starting guide gets shat on because the books arent great but its a STARTING guide, its a good way to get reading and gain speed. Reading books that are very "obvious" like Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye and L'Estranger help you state the obvious and then take that to tougher texts

I am an undergrad at an ivy majoring in philosophy. I felt really overwhelmed by all my peers being extremely well read and intelligent. Eventually I realized the only difference between me and them is the hours they put in, not a fundamental difference

Once you get an appreciation for literature and feel better about it, start with the greeks.

>>9226019
>Start with the greeks
Good lad

>>9226005

Will do

Could you give me a couple more recs beyond Dubliners? I have a kindle, a bookmark for bookz, and no plans for spring break.

>>9226013

I'd hardly call it an analysis. I just watched it and that's how it came to me. Must've been some good weed

>>9226019

I plan on following this: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y8_RRaZW5X3xwztjZ4p0XeRplqebYwpmuNNpaN_TkgM/pub

Although I fucked it up by taking my university's history of philosophy series out of order.

I think I might try reading the Timaeus over again as that seemed to help my reading speed when reading non-ancient text.

>>9225996
>but I can't escape this nutty situation.

kek

assuming this isn't a joke (there are plenty of people on here who are actually like this if it is), the first question is what do you do for exercise?

If you're a tubby blob of flab chained to your computer chair, you need to get in the habit of getting that body moving. Physical exercise is a really good starting point for developing self-discipline: it improves the body and sharpens the mind simultaneously. The mind has a tendency towards dullness, torpor and lack of initiative when the body is too sedentary. Exercise gets your blood flowing, it removes toxins from your brain, it exposes you to different stimuli and different environments and zaps you out of your neurotic hypnosis. Something like cycling or running would be good for someone like you, a gym membership wouldn't hurt either (but cardio is a better foundation).

Once you develop discipline in one area, it becomes a tool you can generalize to other areas, like reading. If you can get up in the morning and do an hour-long workout every day, managing your time the rest of the day is a piece of cake.

If you just try to change what you're doing while you keep sitting in your room in your chair that you've been stewing in your juices wasting your time in, my prediction is that you won't be able to do it. You're in a rut and you're going to need a little more than mental gymnastics to get out of it.

>>9226087

>Once you develop discipline in one area, it becomes a tool you can generalize to other areas

I agree with this, but fitness isn't a tool that will work for me. In high school I played two varsity sports and I currently lift/cycle. The last time I was out of shape was nearly a decade ago.

Going to the gym is like taking a shower to me, it's totally unstimulating. Is there anything else you could recommend I restructure my life around?

>>9226131
you threw me off with the scoops of peanutbutter stuff

Well, if you want something to restructure your life around, increase your willpower, sharpen up your cognition, then meditation is the ultimate tool. Meditation is a heavy trip though... it does a lot more to your mind than just tune you up and calm you down, so I hesitate to recommend it to strangers on the internet.

You sound like a curious person though: if it interests you (and if you take me as any kind of authority), I can point you to a couple of starter texts. The rest is up to you. Either way, good luck.

>>9226246

>you threw me off with the scoops of peanutbutter stuff

Although I'm fit, I have a problem with binge eating. Once every couple weeks I'll freak out and engorge myself with 10,000+ calories.

>it does a lot more to your mind than just tune you up and calm you down

Are there any downsides?

>it does a lot more to your mind than just tune you up and calm you down

If you still have this thread open, I absolutely want them

I've actually been trying to get into meditation the last couple years, but never lasted more than a few days. Clear direction and instruction would really help me go beyond that.

you just have to get rid of your timewasting, non-stimulating habits. cut down on computer / phone time and stop watching shit youtube clips immediately, they're draining your capacity to think. force yourself to read (or watch films/listen to music if you're able to focus properly). if you can't do it at home, go to a library. turning your life around will be a gradual process but you have to go into it with 100% willpower. that way you'll get a sense of what it's like to lead a stimulating life and you'll never want to go back (short relapses are fine and inevitable)

>>9225996
Its a shit response but just read. Set a goal for a certain amount of pages each day and STICK with it. Build on that as a foundation . I began by reading 25 pages a day and got upwards of 80 by the end of the year. I havent gone a day without reading just as a discipline. Read shot novels by author who arent too complicated. Start with slaughter house five or the old man and the sea and work youre way from there. Youll finish those in no time and feel progress being made. Youre clearly very perceptive and if you can maintain discipline and focus, the growth you can accomplish will surprise even you. Since you seem sincere and humble, i wish you the best of luck anon.

>>9227749
Different anon here
>Are there any downsides?
There's a giant one, but it depends on the person. Some are able to meditate and they become more relaxed and selfcontrolled, others find a brutal void inside of them and start to feel alien to their own ego, their own self..

>>9227821

>cut down on computer / phone time and stop watching shit youtube clips immediately,

I've made it a couple weeks without them, but I relapse like a junkie every time I need something to comfort me.

Do you have any music recs? A few albums I could fire up when I'm feeling bad.

>>9227838

>if you can maintain discipline and focus

This seems to be the point of contingency

>I began by reading 25 pages a day

How do I stick with it long enough to make it a habit? If I read every day for a month it would become second nature, but doing that is pathetically difficult for me.

Do you have any recommendations for addictively good novels?

>>9227853

>a brutal void inside of them and start to feel alien to their own ego, their own self

I've experienced pot-induced detachment a couple times and thought it was pleasant. Is that at all similar?

>>9227893
I haven't had that pot experience, so I can't compare

>>9225996
>but I can't escape this nutty situation.


Ayyyy

Youll likely never change, but your habits might

Just make reading a part of your schedule

>>9227878
>Do you have any music recs?
listen to js bach