September 2017

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Content Warning: Discussion of weight loss.

We discuss on Monday how losing weight is more than just a side quest – today we’re going to go into detail about how to level up any area of your life.  To do that, we’re going to talk about the five stages of change, also known as the transtheoretical model of behavior change.  The transtheoretical model was developed by James Prochaska of the University of Rhode island, and it describes a road map by which any individual can make a positive change in their life (sometimes without even realizing it!)

By understanding this process, we can better engineer and plan the positive changes we want to see in our lives, and execute those plans with greater success!  Since we were already talking about weight loss on Monday, I’m going to continue to refer to that as an example here, however you can use this method with any positive change or habit you’d like to establish in your life.

Pre-Contemplation

In the pro-contemplative stage, you’re not intending to change your life, and you’re probably not even thinking about making any specific positive change.  You may be vaguely aware that a change should be made, but it’s such an insignificant thought that you don’t even dwell on it.  In the weight loss example, this is where you might be feeling a little overweight, and you might have some idea of the benefits you might see from losing weight.  However, you have no actually desire to lose weight right now, and no intention of doing so any time soon.

Contemplation

In the contemplation stage, you’ve accepted the notion that you’re going to start to make a positive change in your life sometime soon.  The cause could be just a general acquisition of knowledge of the pros of this change (I’ll be at much lower risk of heart disease if I lose some weight,) or there could also be a catalyzing event (oh wow, my overweight dad just had a heart attack and my doctor said I’m at risk if I don’t lose weight myself!)

Now, sometime soon could still be a ways off.  Some people hang out in the contemplation stage for several months!

Preparation

In the preparation stage, you are on the verge of making the positive change you want to see in your life.  The change is imminent, but you haven’t quite started yet.  In the case of weight loss, this may be gathering healthy food recipes and using them to lay out a meal plan for your week, or looking into local gym membership fees and setting aside some money in your budget for it.

This can be the most important stage in the five stages of change when it comes to insuring your success.  Research shows that those who prepare the most thoroughly have the greatest chance of success.

Action

This is it!  You’ve made the leap!  This is where you begin to follow your new food plan, start your new exercise regimen, and begin to log your meals in your calorie counter app!  The action stage typically refers to the first six months of a new habit or routine in your life.  The action stage is where you learn techniques to keep up your new habit, and develop coping mechanisms.  For weight loss, this could include positive support from friends, finding workout buddies, planning your meals out for the week in advance (and shopping accordingly,) or getting rid of obvious pitfalls (maybe cut back on trips to the mall if you always binge on food court pizza while you’re there.)

The action stage is tricky, because it’s easy to get fired up about your new lifestyle, which is great, but it’s also the stage at which it’s easiest to relapse (which we’ll talk about in a minute.)

Maintenance

Maintenance refers to the stage after the first six months of a new habit or behavior pattern in your life.  

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Secret technique: I just burn everything.

SO! Fun story: I first started writing out a long-ass blog post for this.  I got about halfway through, then went back and deleted it all, because if you’re super stressed, you don’t have time to read a long-ass blog post.

So, long story short: Stress bad, stress management good, here’s what I do, not all techniques work for everyone but these may help you:

Lift heavy stuff.

Pretty stereotypical for me, I guess, but lifting heavy weights to me is a little like going to church.  Nothing else matters there, I just throw everything I have at whatever piece of metal is in front of me until I’m spent.  Feels great *(until the next day when the soreness kicks in.)

Go hiking.

If lifting weights is going to church, going hiking for me is like prayer.  I’m not a religious person, but getting out in and communing with nature is probably about as close as I get.  It’s like meditation, but for when I don’t feel like sitting still (and might want to see a bear or a chipmunk or something.)

Meditation.

I’m going to be honest, this one doesn’t always work.  Sometimes I can sit, and breathe, and do everything I’m supposed to do, and my stressful stuff still just overwhelms me.  Sometimes, though, taking that quiet ten minutes is exactly what I need. If you’ve never meditated before but your interested in starting, check out my beginner’s guide to meditation.

Get Loud

Holy crap I love this one.  I go for a drive (doesn’t matter where,) put on loud, angry music, and scream along.  It’s awesome.  =D  Not advised for usage when you have fussy neighbors.

Realize you can’t change what isn’t in front of you.

Here’s a big one, and it’s more of a mindset.  Like meditation, this doesn’t always work, but sometimes the two put together, will.  The fact is, if the thing stressing you out isn’t immediately within your “reach,” there’s nothing you can do about it.  As much as it sucks, it’s true.  So, the more you focus on it, the more you’re just wasting your time and stressing yourself more.  Put out the fires your hose can reach, try not to concern yourself with the other ones.

Climb mountains, don’t carry them.

This is one that hit me today when I found this quote by Najwa Zebian, “These mountains you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.”  Your stressful situations are your mountains.  Climb them, surpass them, but don’t carry them with you.  Dump the weight of the past, the present is usually stressful enough.

Run

I didn’t used to like running, much.  Since I’ve gotten older and forced myself do to it, I’ve found it growing on me.  There’s something zen-like that hits you while you’re out pounding pavement completely unlike lifting things up and putting them down.  They’re like two different kinds of therapy for me.  Maybe for you it’s running, or biking, or the elliptical, or rock climbing.  Find something that just taxes you at a slow, steady rate, where you can zone out and just empty.

And that’s it! Short, simple, straightforward.  This is the stuff that works for me, maybe it will work for you, too.  I hope it does.  If not, then at least maybe I distracted you from whatever’s bothering you for 5-10 minutes, eh?

Thanks for reading.  New character on Monday!

Live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

The Best Dan Wallace

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Talion and Celebrimbor are about as different as two people can be (without one of them being an Uruk.)  Talion is a relatively lowborn human ranger of Gondor.  Celebrimbor, an elite elven artisan.  They are, however, united by two things: The pain of loss, and the desire to repay the atrocities visited upon them.  These commonalities unite the pair into a powerful fusion of soldier and wraith, unlike anything else seen in middle-earth.  Their quest for vengeance against Sauron and his minions turn them, almost as a side-effect, into a powerful force for good.

The Enemy of my Enemy

Having a common enemy is a common but powerful uniting cause between strangers.  It’s been used by politicians, demagogues, and inspiring leaders since the dawn of time.  In this case, however, it is the beginning of an intimate partnership.  The two literally share one body.  At the outset of their journey, they don’t realize the depth of this commitment, but eventually their very thoughts and memories start bleeding into one another.  That is insanely personal.

Having a common enemy to unite against can be a good motivator, but in doing so, you need to be aware of what you’re committing to with your ally.  I don’t think Talion or Celebrimbor would do anything differently if they could go back again, but that’s more through luck and the fact that they are both objectively good people.  When teaming up with someone else to defeat a common foe, you need to also be mindful of who you’re associating yourself with.  Is the cost of the partnership worth the prize, if you are victorious?

In the case of the ranger and the elf-lord, the common enemy was just the beginning of a great partnership, where the two became true comrades.  If you pick your allies carefully, you may find that someone who was a stranger to you, may become an incredible friend.  Just go into any partnership with both eyes open.

Complementary Skills

Part of the reason that Celebrimbor and Talion work so well together is that their skills are so complementary.  Talion provides Celebrimbor with a body, as well as knowledge of combat, tactics, and Uruks that Celebrimbor would not have.  On the other hand, Celebrimbor grants Talion superhuman abilities, knowledge well beyond that of your average ranger of Gondor, and a window into the past that proves invaluable as they recover his memories.

Any good partnership should involved complementary skills, in addition to common interests.  Teaming up with someone should create a team whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts, in ideal circumstances.  If you can create amazing products, you need to find someone who can sell them if you want to run a business.  If you’re a great programmer and you want to make a game, you probably need to find an artist, as well as maybe a designer and producer.  You should pick partners whose strengths make up for your weaknesses, and vice versa.

Team Effort

I once heard that marriages are most successful when relationship duties are split 50/50, with each party trying to actually put in 60%.  Though Talion and Celebrimbor aren’t married, they’re pretty damn close.  Being stuck with a person for days, weeks, months, or years on end can be difficult.  Part of the secret to their great working relationship is their willingness to go above and beyond for the other.

In any given partnership or group environment, you never want to feel like you’re the “dead weight.”  We’ve all been in a situation where we feel like we’re putting more effort in than someone else.  The fact is, you can’t control the amount of effort someone else puts into any given situation.  All you can do is focus on your own individual effort.  Personally, I try to one-up the other person I’m working with, not in a bad way or a way that I’m expecting them to keep up with me, but just going at it with the mindset of, “The person I’m working with deserve 110% of my effort.”

Now, if you put in this level of work and your partner does not, of course it may be worth having a conversation with them about it.  I find, however, that if you’re putting in 110% of your own effort, others notice and subconsciously step their own game up accordingly.  If they don’t, then it’s worth opening a dialogue.  If they still don’t, then maybe it’s time to look for a new group, partner, or situation.  Partnerships work best when both people are working at their best.  If it’s an issue that can be solved, then solve it if you’re able, but don’t stick around forever if you’re feeling resentful.  Life is not worth that kind of negativity.

In the end, Talion and Celebrimbor have a fantastic partnership that sees them through thick and thin, in the face of Mordor’s fiercest generals, monsters, and foes.  From the trailer for Shadow of War, Talion and Celebrimbor seem to separate at some point, which is kind of upsetting, but I’m hoping that part of the story involves seeking the wraith out once more, to achieve total victory over Sauron together.  I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

That’s it for Talion!  I’ll see you again on Monday with a new blog post!  Until then, as always, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace

Ps. Did you know I’ve started a daily vlog?  Check it out!  You’ll get cool behind-the-scenes looks at some BaGC stuff occasionally, and all kinds of other cool stuff, too!

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As a ranger of Gondor, Talion was already formidable in his own right.  However, gaining the wraith abilities from his merging with Celebrimbor elevated his skills to truly terrifying levels.  His quest of vengeance for his family drives him to cut an unrelenting swath through his uruk foes.  Let’s take a look at how we might begin to emulate the skills of this fearsome fighter.

The Blade of Gondor

Talion tends to favor one-handed sword techniques, which leave his other hand free for performing wraith abilities, grapples, and unarmed strikes.  As usual, for European-style sword arts, I refer you to studies of HEMA, particularly the longsword, and sword and buckler styles.  Though the longsword is more commonly wielded with two hands, it can be wielded with one hand as well (akin to Talion’s style.)  Sword and buckler features a small shield held in the off hand, with which many “wraith” style techniques may be accomplished (which we’ll get to in a bit.)

In either case, I refer you to the HEMA Alliance web page to find a HEMA club near you.  They’re growing all the time, and it’s really awesome to watch.  HEMA practitioners tend to be a great bunch, so don’t be shy about visiting your local club if you’ve got one!

Elven Archery

The elves tend to favor beautifully crafted longbows, and the bow that Celebrimbor uses is no exception.  Archery is an ancient art, practiced on every populated continent in the world in some form or another.  If you’re looking to get involved in archery, you’ve got a couple options.  First, you can see if there are any local ranges around you that offer archery (a quick Google search should accomplish this.)  Failing that, you can stop in at a local sporting goods store and ask around. Frequently they know of where you can go, locally, to learn (plus they’re a great source for equipment!)  Finally, you could just begin your research online, with any of the following pages:

Into to Archery – Archery 360

Mission 101 – Mission Archery

Archery for Beginners – The Modern Archer

Wraith Abilities

Unfortunately, teleportation, health draining, and head explosions are a bit outside of our capabilities as human beings.  However, we do still have some options from the Wraith skill tree available to us, even in our mortal forms.  Let’s take a look at a few, shall we?

Elven Swiftness

Discounting the fancy glowy wraith visual effects, elven swiftness is really just a parkout landing roll straight into a full sprint.  Carrying the momentum from the landing into the sprint allows you to potentially move a bit faster for the first few seconds of the sprint, just like the elven swiftness ability.

If you aren’t sure how to correctly execute a parkour roll, check out this excellent roll tutorial from Ryan Doyle, probably my favorite one on YouTube.

Wraith Stun

Wraith stun is, in essence, a stunning, one-handed strike.  Yes, you could say the “wraith” bit adds a certain bit of magic flair, but the reality is you’re just hitting someone in a manner that leaves them disoriented.  To execute such a move in real life, you need to know the best places to strike someone in order to “stun” them, or disorient them as much as possible.  I found this great little image guide online for good spots to strike in order to stun or heavily damage an opponent.  Now, obviously I’m not advocating for violence if it’s avoidable, but if you ever find yourself in a self defense situation, these can be very handy to know.

Vault Stun

The vault stun is, effectively, a turn vault over an enemy, coupled with some method of stunning them.  Now obviously performing a turn vault over a living person would be a little difficult, but with some early “persuasion” (a solid shot to the midsection, perhaps,) it’s not impossible.  Obviously, if you manage to perform the turn vault correctly, the back of your opponent’s head will be wide open, giving you the perfect opportunity for a “wraith stun” strike.

For an excellent tutorial on how to properly perform a turn vault, check out this video from The Tapp Brothers!

Persuasion

Obviously, telepathically mind control is a bit outside our abilities (thank goodness for that, right?) but the skills of persuasion are not.  Getting someone to do what you want them to do is usually less a matter of forcing them to do it, and more a matter of getting them to want to do the same thing.  This is the beginning of persuasion.

I’ve got some recommended reading for you, if this subject interests you.  I’ve read the following books, and can vouch for their quality.  Additionally, they’re all Amazon referral links, so if you purchase the books through the links below, you’ll help support the blog!

How to Win Friends and Influence People By Dale Carnegie

“For more than sixty years the rock-solid, time-tested advice in this book has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives.