Mar 19, 2023
How was your 2022?
Here's mine in a nutshell.
Emotions and relationships.
Getting to travel twice with family was the highlight of the year. First, traveling to my mother's birth country and staying in a resort with my mother, sister, and niece were fantastic. Then, going to Las Vegas with my mother, sister, and older brother was beautiful and has created memories I won't forget.
I'm still not the brother/son/uncle/nephew who calls and looks for family regularly-same goes for friends. Often I'm busy in my world. Some days I'm okay with that; others, I'm not.
Frustrations at times with co-workers and my living situation came about. As a result, I've thought of changing my job and apartment. But I'm usually comfortable where I'm currently and not dissatisfied. Of course, there's pressure to be more and do more, but I haven't reached the breaking point yet, and I'm having a fun time in my life.
Travel.
I was fortunate enough to have traveled four times. First, a day trip to Philadelphia for an All Elite Wrestling show in April. Wynwood, Miami, Florida, in May, attending two dancehall parties. Then in June to the Dominican Republic with family to celebrate my niece's high school graduation. Finally Las Vegas in September again with family to celebrate my birthday.
Content creation and publishing.
I've released 30 podcast episodes this year and posted 67 pieces of content on YouTube and 66 on Instagram. Forty-eight posts on the blog and 32 on Tik Tok. I also regularly posted on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook stories.
Less than during the pandemic(as I had more time at home). Maybe I overly relied on reviews, as there were 10 of those kinds of posts. Primarily movies and a T.V. show. Event videos on the podcast feed were new such as B.R.T. and the Star Wars Exhibit. So were favorite quotes from a book instead of the 'biggest takeaways' from the past. An excellent way to post content before finishing an entire book. Also, two hand-drawn story strips were new as well.
I also changed the name of the podcast and blog from 'Improve and Have Fun' to 'Paul Has Fun,' moving away from self-help and talking about whatever—genuinely becoming a self-expression podcast/vlog/channel. But, again, re-affirming that I would do this whether I got paid or not.
Sex workers and porn.
There were 31 occasions where I'd seen a sex worker in 2022. Money spent doing so averaged $7905.00; this included purchasing porn as well. I also masturbated to porn 81 times. June was the month I did so the most (11 times), with most other months averaging seven. There were six sex workers I'd see multiple times, along with new ones. There were two terrible occasions; I left without finishing and paying what was agreed. The rest of the prostitutes were good-to-great. I still feel this is cheaper than having a girlfriend, a wife, dealing with a divorce, paying child support, or having children. All these numbers are up from 2021.
Prep was the prescription I used most this year. I also started using erection pills, and they did the job. PMO'ing(Porn Masturbation Orgasm) all these years, my erection went soft while doing the act.
There was a point I was getting pain around my left lower back area. I thought it was prep. But it was a combination of a Vitamin D supplement of 5000 I.U. and prep. Once I cut the Vitamin D, the pain stopped. I remember hearing Dr. John McDougall talking about the dangers of taking Vitamin D supplements of 1,000 I.U.s or more.
Prostitution has been and will always be around. If there is a desire and funds for the transaction, I can have it whenever.
Even with the variety, this gets old after a while. Later in 2022, I started alternating between getting a legit massage one week and seeing a sex worker the other to break the monotony and save a little money.
Diet and physical.
I have maintained a vegan and gluten-free diet in recent years. Mostly out of fear of heart disease. When I indulged in animal foods, I would beat myself up, which would cause me to slip into bad habits such as PMO and overeating. The fear of heart disease came from my dad having several heart attacks and a stroke at the end of his life. In 2022, I discovered Dr. Natasha Campbell-Mcbride's book 'Put Your Heart in Your Mouth.' These points piqued my interest:
- A high cholesterol count(in a blood test)is okay. It can mean that your body is fighting an infection and, in doing so, producing more cholesterol.
- Eating organ meats and drinking bone broth is incredibly healthy.
- A fatty diet helps with cravings and deters criminal activity.
- Homemade everyday products, like deodorants containing aluminum and fluoride toothpaste, genuinely hurt us. In addition, detergents and fabric softeners contain hazardous chemicals which aren't good for our health.
This outlook changed my eating habits and the use of these products. Since reading this book, I have made my own mouthwash and detergent. In addition, for years, I've used aluminum-free deodorant and fluoride-free toothpaste. Body wash and dishwashing soap I use are free of parabens and phthalates.
I started regularly eating meat, cheese, butter, and eggs. The weakness I would occasionally feel in my joints went away. My eating window was reduced from several hours to less than two. The downside to this diet is weight gain. During my strict vegan days, I weight between 137-143 lbs. Now it's between 149-153 lbs. Because of the weight gain, I've gone back and forth between the animal and vegan diets.
Throughout the year, I've maintained going to the gym regularly, fasting 16-24 hours between meals daily, swimming and dancing weekly. At the tail end of the year, I started running a few days of the week for 10 minutes at a time as part of my morning routine.
I also feel more confident in my dancing as learning steps is becoming less complicated and more enjoyable.
Significant influences.
In 2022, I discovered anti-woke content creators. The road was previously paved by listening to Alex Jones for years and finding the red pill/MGTOW movement later. Youtubers Nerdrotic and Geeks and Gamers, I enjoy their content and contrarian view of popular entertainment. Sometimes they complain about everything, but I'm glad for the dissenting point of view. Their ideas inspired me and my content.
Coach Greg Adams, Grace Randolph, and John Campea were influences as well.
This year I started reading Robin Sharma's book 'The Everyday Hero Manifesto,' and it helped me be more forgiving to myself. I also started listening to more self-help podcasts after taking an extended break, and it has reinforced in me that I am rich(not monetarily) in life and have an excellent existence. Also, what people present on social media is not 100% real, and I shouldn't compare myself. Finally, the people/celebrities we look up to are gifted, but very much like us-they are going through similar hurts, pains, and struggles.
Big Lessons from 2022.
The 'Die with Zero' concept. In July, James Altucher published a podcast where he interviewed author Bill Perkins about his book 'Die With Zero.' Mr. Perkins talks about the memories/great times with friends and family as the thing we take to our deathbeds, not our possessions. Also, how we spend so much of our lives accumulating and in the latter half giving it away. I remember going to work and telling co-workers about these ideas. I have yet to read the book, but I intend to.
Improving my Spanish. Beginning in 2021, I decided to improve the primary language I grew up with, Spanish. First, I would read the local flyers in Espanol. Then, in 2022 I read my first book in my parents' language, the 'Four Agreements.' After that, I started reading Ray Dalio's 'Principles' and still going through it.
My morning routine gives me discipline. So let me develop a night routine. One of my favorite books from the last few years was Robin Sharma's '5 AM Club.' Many other self-help podcasts I listened to discuss a morning routine and how it can make your day successful(by your standards). Hence, I developed my morning routine: prayer, meditation, yoga, daily affirmations, and jumping on a rebounder, which takes about 35 minutes. It puts me in an excellent mood for the day. But I've never had a night routine. One of the evening habits I'm developing is simply going to bed earlier, which helps me make better decisions during the day and grows my confidence.
My continuing struggles.
A consistent diet that keeps me healthy and strong.
Less watching and masturbating to porn.
Seeing fewer sex workers.
A night routine as good as my morning routine.
Invest more money and start building something for retirement.
Make new younger friends while keeping my older friends.
Communicate/visit more with family.
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