Reboot for next career path
It's an interesting contradiction: I'm a scientist, an experimental physicist, yet I don't "live like a scientist." I don't apply the scientific method—digging for the root cause and solving issues—to my daily life or personal problems. As a scientist, I should be optimizing my life to improve productivity and quality of life. The primary issues I need to address are my physical and mental health.
Before I continue, I want to mention that a friend inspired me to write daily (I'm still working on it tho.), no matter how good or bad the writing is. This blog should be a continuous record of what I'm doing. I think of it as a "balance sheet" for my life—not just for personal finance, but for my daily existence. (It may not be a perfect analogy, but I'm accepting it to push myself to write.)
This post is an overview of a pattern I've noticed: I always say I need to change, but never actually do. I think the trigger point was my recent annual health check. I realized I haven't been persistent in improving myself and instead just criticize my own performance. This leads to a painful cycle where I give up on my habits and lose the desire to improve. As a result, it's become very difficult for me to work effectively.
The Catalyst: Declining Health
In recent months, I realized I've had diarrhea, and it wasn't just a single event. It has persisted for days, weeks, and even months. This finally made me realize that I have a serious problem with my lifestyle. It's unhealthy, harmful, and drastically affects my work efficiency.
The problems don't stop there: my skin (especially my face) has inflammation, I'm walking with plantar fasciitis, and my annual body check showed several "red numbers" (which indicate a problem).
It's not just affecting my body, but also my mind. I've started procrastinating, I'm addicted to alcohol, and I can't follow through on what I really want to do. For example, I said at the beginning that I'm a scientist and should live with a scientific (or perhaps, "ordered") mindset, but I'm not.
Considering I started with a good foundation—I used to exercise daily as a child—it feels quite shameful (though I know I shouldn't judge myself, I can't help it). I am now aware that I need to take action to save my life. This is a serious issue with the highest priority. I must learn how to live healthily to reach my goals. Therefore, changing my lifestyle is an essential and urgent task.
Before diving into the specific methods, it's important to address mindset. Everything starts from the right mindset; it's the core that influences action and provides the power to maintain a habit.
Habits I Want to Change
From the famous book Atomic Habits, one important idea is that we need to be aware of our habits. We can't just "delete" an old habit; we need to "replace" it with a new one. We tend not to leave a time slot empty; we always fill it with something. Therefore, awareness is the first step. The next steps are to find the cue (the "hook event") and try to replace the old habit with a new one to achieve the desired goal.
Here are three habits I would like to cut and one I would like to add.
Habits I Would Like to Reduce and Replace
1. Drinking/Eating Sweets and Snacks
This is definitely hard to change. I really want that boba afternoon tea at the office, or a drink or dessert after lunch. It makes me feel happy.
- Replacement: To change this, I'm trying to drink "sugar-free" tea and Americanos (black coffee) instead. For sweets, I don't have a perfect method, but I'm replacing processed foods with whole, fresh foods. I know it's hard, but just doing my best to reduce sugar and salt in my daily diet is a great start. When I want snacks, it's a bit easier for me to chew gum or eat healthier snacks instead of unhealthy ones (high fat, etc.).
2. Video Games
I still don't have a great solution for this. Even after I try to quit for several months, I still go back and play again. I don't really know why I can't stop.
- Replacement: I think the best way might be to remove all the games. As soon as I feel the urge to play, I need to start doing something else. I don't have a good replacement for this yet.
Habit to Add to My Routine
1. Exercising
I've said I want to exercise daily, but it's hard. Work often occupies the time I scheduled for it, and I'll tell myself to let it go because I have so much else to do.
To counter this, I joined a virtual group where people post their activities online. This has really helped improve my wellness and consistency. As my momentum has grown, my performance has improved. I even solved my foot issue (plantar fasciitis) because I started exercising daily! The community is really important; it affects what you focus on. The hardest part now is simply continuing to maintain the habit.
In Conclusion
It feels a bit weird to write a "conclusion" for this kind of article, but I want to say this won't be the first or last time I talk about my lifestyle. This post is like a snapshot—a "balance sheet" for my life, as I mentioned earlier.
So, did I achieve the goal I mentioned at the beginning of solving my problems? I think I've solved some, but I've noticed that improvement isn't a one-day event. It's a marathon that requires persistent, continuous work on the same things. That's how you get better and better.
First, just do it. Second, do it the right way.