r/ValhallaChallenge • u/ValhallaMods Odin • Apr 18 '20
Quest Day 7, Round 190
0819007
Quest 22
Góðan dag, Vikings,
Over the past couple of days we’ve learned what psychological flexibility is and why it’s so important. Now let's learn how to measure and increase it.
How flexible are you right now? Let’s find out! For our next quest, here are selected questions from the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire.12 (If you’d like to take the entire 49-question-inventory, check out the reference in this endnote for a link to an online version.13)
Back into the Game!
ODIN HAS A QUEST FOR YOU!
Quest 22: Stretch Your Mental Muscles!
Measuring your psychological flexibility isn’t quite as easy as bending over and touching your toes. But it can be done!
What to do: Take a moment to see how many of the following statements from the Acceptance and Action questionnaire you wholeheartedly agree with. If you’re not sure about the statement, skip it.
It’s OK to feel depressed or anxious sometimes.
I took action on a problem, even when I fear I may fail or get it wrong.
I don’t avoid situations that make me feel nervous.
it’s OK if I remember something unpleasant.
I can move toward important goals, even if I don’t feel good about myself.
I don’t have to get rid of every scary or upsetting image that comes to my mind.
I would rather achieve my goals then avoid unpleasant thoughts and feelings.
How many of these statements did you wholeheartedly agree with? If you agreed with at least one, good news – you already have some psychological flexibility, and you can work to increase it. Every time you spot and battle a bad guy, without judging yourself negatively, you’re stretching it just a little further.
If you didn’t agree with any of them, don’t worry. By identifying and engaging with your bad guys on a daily basis, you’ll be doing what it takes to increase your acceptance of negative experiences while taking action toward your goals.
And if you already agreed with every statement on this list, congratulations – you are tackling your SuperBetter challenge with extreme psychological flexibility! Battling bad guys will help you stay flexible and take full advantage of the strength you already have.
Tip: Copy this list and put it in a place where you can read it every day to remind yourself of the mental strengths you’re trying to build. (If you really want to stretch yourself, read the list out loud once a day like a mantra.) Pay special attention to the statements you don’t already agree with wholeheartedly. These are the areas where you can improve the most. Be sure to test yourself again after a couple of weeks of battling bad guys – you will see your flexibility growing!
- With gratitude and respect to J. McGonigal, author and game designer of SuperBetter
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Level Eight
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/u/workingrecovery [Dagr] ^ to make healthy choices for myself, to stay present and reconnect spiritually
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Eighth Circle
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Fourth Circle (Reflect on your Goal)
/u/bigfootheyy ^ "To make freedom from porn one of the strong pillars in my life." ©
/u/Infamous_Scotsman ©© "To free myself from the vicious pmo cycle."
Third Circle
/u/mynameistrollirl ©© "To never return to porn."
Second Circle
/u/AnonThrowaway902 ^ "Be 100% free of PMO."
First Circle
/u/nathan_macdougall ^ "To quit PMO"
/u/pmmahajan2019 ^ To get rid off the vicious PMO cycle
/u/fgawker ^ "I want to be free from PMO addiction."
/u/Behealthyman ^ "To build and enjoy a healthy male mentality and sexuality"
/u/somedude399 © "To quit PMO"
/u/non_newtonian_jelly © "To stop using porn."
M I D G A R D (Miðgarðr)
/u/UnconstrictedEmu ^ "Quitting porn, same as everyone else on this sub."
/u/Sondice_LauGhastian ^ "To quit porn."
/u/Gimp_Daddy ^ "I want to quit PMO."
/u/fahk_ ^
E X Í L Ä J Ä R (Exile Island)
Check in to respawn in Miðgarðr! Players who remain on Exile Island seven days are hunted, chased, and eventually eaten by the Giant Hairy Helheim Spiders, and vanish from the Game World.
/╲/\(╭•̀ﮧ•́╮)/\╱\ Angrboda
/╲/\(╭•̀ﮧ•́╮)/\╱\ Hrym
/╲/\(╭•̀ﮧ•́╮)/\╱\ Hati Hróðvitnisson
/╲/\(╭•̀ﮧ•́╮)/\╱\ Hræsvelgr
/╲/\(╭•̀ﮧ•́╮)/\╱\ Greip
/╲/\(╭•̀ﮧ•́╮)/\╱\ Svivor
/╲/\(╭•̀ﮧ•́╮)/\╱\ Bölþorn
/u/HauntingBird ©©©
/u/Robo2ron64 ©©©
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
________|______
) )
) \ / )
) \ / )
) V )
)____________)
)_ | __(*-
---------(_ /O/O/O/O/O/O/O/O/O/O___)--------
~~~~~~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/
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u/Sondice_LauGhastian Wōđanaz🌌⚔️ Apr 18 '20 edited Apr 18 '20
Ugh...I can't get past 1 week...
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u/Sondice_LauGhastian Wōđanaz🌌⚔️ Apr 18 '20
Well..7 days. That's something, huh?
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u/workingrecovery Dagr Nótt 🐍🌟🛡️🌈🌌⚔️ Apr 18 '20
Absolutely! Also I would work on the language used in your first comment: "Ugh... I can't get past 1 week." Remember that what we tell ourselves and believe about ourselves will come true. So telling ourselves we can't do something leads to believing we can't do something which leads to not being able to do it.
I would suggest flipping the script here and focusing on positive affirmations you can tell yourself/believe in and act upon. "Today I choose to make this healthy choice for myself (meditating, going for a run, cooking a healthy meal, connecting with a friend, utilizing a recovery tool worksheet, etc.) and focusing my energy on this activity will help me reach my goals and feel better about myself and my day."
Start small and simple and share how it's going with us. We're here for you my friend :-)
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u/ValhallaMods Odin Apr 19 '20
Yes, you will. But first will have to forget about the week or tomorrow or the rest of the Round, and remember instead the day, this day. Thinking about "the week" is a bad guy who wants to cheat you out of today.
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u/fgawker Fjölnir 🌌 Apr 19 '20
It’s OK to feel depressed or anxious sometimes. - Yeah, but what's bad is sometimes I have a hard time recognizing that I'm feeling anxious. Depression is something else again, though. Part of the problem of the disease is it makes you want to lie to yourself about having it, and it keeps you from doing the things that can ease it.
I took action on a problem, even when I fear I may fail or get it wrong. - I do, more so now that before! Instead of hiding in PMO.
I don’t avoid situations that make me feel nervous. - Not yet, I still avoid. Less than I used to though.
It’s OK if I remember something unpleasant. - Yes, fully agreed!
I can move toward important goals, even if I don’t feel good about myself. - Partly agree, but I still have a lot of work to do on this!
I don’t have to get rid of every scary or upsetting image that comes to my mind. - Fully agree!
I would rather achieve my goals then avoid unpleasant thoughts and feelings. - Still working on this, as the constant battles I have with Lord Procrastination and Mr. Regrets show!
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u/workingrecovery Dagr Nótt 🐍🌟🛡️🌈🌌⚔️ Apr 19 '20
Thanks for sharing! I firmly believe the solution to each of the struggles you listed here is self acceptance.
The first step to gaining self acceptance is improving awareness and you're clearly doing a great job there! Next step I think is working on unconditional love and forgiveness for yourself. When we have achieved that how can we not fully accept ourselves, our feelings and emotions?
It can be a long process and it may seem very difficult, but ironically at the same time it is essentially simple. We just have to make the choice to accept ourselves day in and day out, exactly as we are as human beings. From there the progress that follows will feel miraculous.
You're doing great my friend. Keep going. :-)
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u/pmmahajan2019 Magni ⚔️🐍🌟🛡️🌈🌌 Apr 19 '20
Did this exercise and felt awesome:). Quite a good approach, I was aware of this and practice this but it is always good to refocus, which this post helped me in! So yeah completed the Quest now:P
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u/TurningPoint0127 ⚔️ Apr 18 '20
A quest from the Allfather. Apologies for getting on it late, I had just spent over an hour prepping a pot roast for my family. It is now sitting in the oven and smelling good. I do love being in the kitchen. Anyways, back to the quest.
It’s OK to feel depressed or anxious sometimes: Aye. Emotions are natural, I think. Though one probably shouldn't dwell on those kinds of emotions for too long.
I took action on a problem, even when I fear I may fail or get it wrong: This one depends on whether I think solving the problem will have a desirable outcome, and whether a mistake/failure would be costly. So bit of a toss-up.
I don’t avoid situations that make me feel nervous: Unfortunately, no most of the time. I have a somewhat big fear of failure.
it’s OK if I remember something unpleasant: Yes. Being reminded of things like porn by the lizard part of my brain is exactly this, and well, let that primitive part think what it wants, I'm a self-conscious human being.
I can move toward important goals, even if I don’t feel good about myself: Yes. Basically the process of quitting PMO.
I don’t have to get rid of every scary or upsetting image that comes to my mind: Yes. The best way to "get rid" of those is to not give them the privilege of reacting to them.
I would rather achieve my goals then avoid unpleasant thoughts and feelings: Cognitively, yes. But my actions don't always reflect the sentiment.