u/roccenz

You know, there's so many people that struggle with getting in shape or looking good, but getting in shape is actually very simple. It's basically three things. Train hard, eat clean and recover well. Sleep well. That's it. It's not rocket science. You do those three things consistently and then you give it time. Give it one year, two years, three years, five years, ten years. Eventually this just becomes your way of living life.

And I think that's what most people get wrong. They want the exterior look, but they don't want the lifestyle that comes with that look. Or maybe they think they don't want it, because they've never been consistent enough for that lifestyle to actually become normal to them.

Because if you want to look good year around, year after year, you can't constantly be going on diets. You can't crash diet for summer, reach 10% body fat and then go back to living exactly how you lived before. You have to build the inner qualities in yourself that naturally produce that exterior. You have to build a lifestyle.

Eating clean should just be part of who you are and how you live. You shouldn't have to wake up every morning and fight yourself not to eat bullshit. Once you've lived this way long enough, you don't really want to eat like that anymore. You want nutritious food. You want food that sits well in your stomach, food that gives you energy, food that you know your body reacts well to. You don't constantly want sugar, cakes, donuts and all that stuff. Maybe you eat a dessert once in a while, who cares? But that's not your baseline. Your baseline is eating clean.

Same thing with training. You shouldn't have to force yourself to work out for the rest of your life. Training becomes a part of you. You enjoy pushing yourself. You enjoy competing with yourself to a degree. You enjoy seeing what your body is capable of. You should enjoy using your body. You should enjoy pushing this temple you've been given and seeing how strong, athletic and capable you can make it.

And then recovery is part of that lifestyle too. You sleep properly. You have a sleep schedule. You understand that if you're training hard, you also have to recover. Again, it's not something you're doing for twelve weeks because you want abs for summer. It's just how you live.

That's why I think there's a big difference between two people who might have the exact same exterior at one particular moment.

Let's say one guy is getting ready for summer. He crash diets, trains hard for a few months, loses the weight and eventually gets to 10% body fat. Kudos to him, he got in shape. He accomplished his goal. But that doesn't necessarily mean he has developed the inner qualities that will keep him there.

Then you have another guy who is also 10% body fat, but he barely even thinks about being 10% body fat. He has been training for years. He eats clean because that's what he likes eating. He doesn't want to put bullshit into his body. He trains hard because he genuinely enjoys training. He sleeps well because that's part of his routine. He's not really "dieting." He's just living.

From the outside these two people might look similar. But internally they're completely different.

The first person has achieved the exterior without necessarily building the foundation underneath it. So when summer is over and he has reached his destination, what happens? Maybe he goes back up again. Maybe he gets fat again, starts dirty bulking, stops training as consistently, starts eating badly again. Then next summer comes around and he has to get himself in shape all over again. There's inconsistency in the inner qualities, so naturally there's going to be inconsistency in the exterior results.

The other person doesn't really have an end date. There is no point where he reaches his physique and says, alright, I'm done now. Because what would he be done with? This is how he lives. He's going to train next week. He's going to eat good food tomorrow. He's going to sleep tonight. He's probably going to be doing the same thing five or ten years from now.

And that's why I think most people who stay in shape for years don't actually care as much about the exterior as people think they do. Obviously they probably like looking good. Everyone does. But that's not what keeps them going. They care about the lifestyle. The exterior is the byproduct of how they live.

It's easy, but it's also hard for most people to do. And that's the strange thing about it. In the beginning it can be hard because you're trying to change your habits. But once you've actually lived this way consistently for years, it becomes easy because you don't know anything else. You don't want anything else. Eating clean is part of you. Training is part of you. Taking care of your body is part of you. Sleeping and recovering properly is part of your daily routine. It becomes weird to you to do anything opposite of this.

I think that's something we get wrong in general today. We look too much at the exterior of people and not enough at the internal qualities that produced what we're looking at. We see a great physique and think, "I want that." But what you're looking at is just the final visible result of thousands of days of somebody living a certain way.

So don't make your entire goal getting to 10% body fat or looking good for Instagram or looking good for other people. Build the inner qualities. Build a way of living that you actually want to live. Eat well. Train hard. Recover. Sleep. Take care of your body and give it time.

Eventually the exterior just becomes a reflection of what's going on inside.

I’m not an experienced fiction reader. In fact, The Count of Monte Cristo is only the second really big novel I’ve finished, so I’m looking at it from the perspective of someone who isn’t used to reading 1,000+ page classics.

I have to say, though, I thoroughly enjoyed parts of this book. The beginning, with Edmond Dantès and everything that happens to him, completely pulled me in. I was invested in his story, his transformation, and where his journey was going. Then, toward the end, when everything the Count has been planning finally starts coming together and his revenge unfolds, the book grabbed me again. Those were easily my favorite parts.

The middle was where I struggled.

There are so many characters, families, names, relationships and different storylines that at times I felt like the story was going all over the place. Some of these people I simply never became that invested in. There were individual chapters I found boring, and even stretches of several chapters where I had to push myself to continue. I kept wondering when we were going to get back to the story I actually cared about.

But I also think you have to remember that this book was written around 180 years ago. We live in a completely different world now. In 2026, we’re accustomed to everything happening quickly. We want the dopamine hit, we want the story to move, and we want to know where something is going. Long tangents can feel frustrating because our instinct is basically: get to the point.

The Count of Monte Cristo comes from another world. It reflects an era where storytelling could be much slower and more expansive. Dumas could spend enormous amounts of time introducing people, building relationships and setting pieces into position before eventually showing you why they mattered.

And when those pieces finally start coming together, you understand why so much of it was there.

Personally, if I were writing a revenge story like this today, I would make it much faster-paced. I think you could shorten the book considerably while preserving the parts of the story that I found most compelling. But at the same time, doing that would probably make it something fundamentally different from The Count of Monte Cristo.

So despite getting bored at times, I’m genuinely glad I finished it. The ending rewarded me for sticking with it, and I finally got to experience the complete story rather than just knowing The Count of Monte Cristo as this famous classic about revenge.

I’m also proud of myself for finishing roughly 1,200 pages, especially as someone who doesn’t normally read much fiction. I actually read it digitally on my computer, so I never had this enormous physical book sitting in front of me reminding me how much was left. Maybe that helped.

Overall, I wouldn’t say I loved every part of The Count of Monte Cristo. I loved the beginning. I struggled with parts of the middle. Then I became invested all over again toward the end. But when I finally finished it, I felt that the journey had been worth taking.

And if you’re not normally a reader of huge classic novels and you manage to get through this monster of a book too: kudos to you. I applaud you.

Overall, I really enjoyed this season. For me, the survival isn't even the most interesting part. It's watching people make decisions when they're sleep deprived, hungry, thirsty and mentally exhausted. That's when people's real character starts to show. You can't help but admire the people who manage to stay honorable and keep their integrity despite everything they're going through. The chaos, the drama and all the different personalities made the season entertaining, and there were some funny moments too.

Abby

Abby was a good survivalist. From day one you could tell she had the determination to go all the way no matter how difficult things got. She was mentally strong and competitive. Where I think she struggled was socially. She started plotting too early before she really knew the people on her team. In a game like this you have to build trust first before you start making moves. She also didn't really speak up with authority unless someone asked for her opinion. There were a few moments that made me question her character as well, like taking the bow and going back on her word with Alpha. That came across as shady. She was willing to do what it took to win. I think she redeemed herself a bit by giving Leiya her shoes back at the end. My grades: Survival 7/10, Character 6/10. Overall: Strong competitor, weaker socially.

Hallie

Hallie was one of the most naturally athletic person on the show. Only 20 years old and in incredible shape, but because she was so lean she didn't have much body fat to survive on. She emptied the tank in both competitions and I think that caught up with her. I actually think she could have been a strong teammate later on if she had stayed longer. At camp though, we didn't really get to see her contribute much. My grades: Survival 5/10, Character 7/10. Overall: Huge potential but her body worked against her.

Leiya

I think Leiya had more value than people gave her credit for. She came up with ideas for the shelter and getting the fire going, so she definitely had some survival instincts. The problem was she looked overwhelmed. She was clumsy, stressed and socially anxious, and there wasn't really a strong leader in that camp to settle everyone down. Physically she couldn't really keep up, but I still think she had qualities that the team could have used better. She also brought the team spirit down alot, and was too insecure. My grades: Survival 6/10, Physical 4/10, Character 5/10. Overall: Better than people give her credit for.

Maddy

Maddy talked a big game and had good social skills, but I felt like she talked more than she actually showed throughout most of the season. She stepped up in the final challenge with the navigation and kept a winner's mentality, but we never really saw her doing much survival work around camp. And why didn't any women at Alpha speak up to Ben? He didn't have a veto - they couldn't manage to cooporate as a team with him because of lack of communication and roles. They started to come out of their shell once Ben left, but still..

I also questioned her loyalty when she and Nikki voted Leiya out right before the finish. She chose the best chance of winning over finishing with the team. I understand why she did it, but it's still something I judge. My grades: Overall 7/10, Character 5/10. Overall: Strong socially, but ruthless when it mattered.

Nikki

I don't think Nikki brought much when it came to survival skills, but she played an important role in keeping morale up. She always tried to keep people positive and encouraged everyone to keep going. She talked a lot about integrity, but kicking Leiya out right before the finish made me question that. I understand wanting to win, but loyalty matters too. My grades: Survival 4/10, Character 6/10. Overall: Strong mentality, questionable loyalty.

Sarah

Sarah had a good heart, but she talked a lot and seemed to get on people's nerves. She definitely worked hard at times, but overall she became more of a liability than an asset. She never really found a place where she fit into either camp. My grades: Survival 5/10, Character 6/10. Overall: Good intentions, but struggled socially.

Ben

I actually think Ben got a pretty rough edit. He naturally stepped into the leadership role, but he kept switching between being the leader and just another member of the group. His biggest problem wasn't that he wanted to lead, it was that he lacked the social awareness to bring everyone with him. The women clearly stopped listening to him because they didn't feel heard. Leadership only works if people actually want to follow you. My grades: Survival 6/10, Character 5/10. Overall: Wanted to lead, but never really earned it.

Braxton

Braxton looked like someone who could physically outlast the challenge. I thought he was a capable survivalist. What I didn't like was his character. He plotted a lot, wasn't very loyal and made a few decisions that rubbed me the wrong way. Best swimmer on the show. My grades: Survival 5/10, Character 5/10. Overall: Capable, but hard to trust.

Brett

Brett was probably the most useful guy on Charlie. He clearly had valuable outdoor skills and wasn't afraid to work. At the same time, he came across as reckless and not someone you could fully trust. He had good qualities, but loyalty wasn't really one of them. My grades: Survival 6/10, Character 5/10. Overall: Hard worker, questionable character.

Pharaoh

For me, Pharaoh had the best character on the show. His integrity got tested a few times, but he owned it and redeemed himself. He seemed like someone with a genuine moral compass. The one thing I questioned was Marshall leaving. I think Pharaoh could have tried harder to convince him to stay. If I were him, I would've said, "Listen man, you've already made it almost four weeks. You're doing this for your family, right? You're going to see them soon. Stick it out and let's keep Team Bravo strong." Maybe Marshall still leaves, but I would've liked to see Pharaoh at least try. The fact that he didn't makes me wonder if he was okay with Marshall leaving. My grades: Survival 8/10, Character 8/10. Overall: Probably my favorite person on the show.

Wes

Wes was just stuck in his own ways. He tried to lead, but he wasn't really a jungle guy, and the rest of the team wasn't strong enough to naturally follow him either. That created constant clashes. He also showed aggressive behavior a few times, which made things worse instead of bringing the team together. My grades: Survival 5/10. Overall: Strong personality, but not an effective leader.

Those are just my opinions, but I think what made this season interesting wasn't who caught the most fish or built the best shelter. It was seeing how different people handled pressure. Some people became more selfish, some stayed loyal, some folded mentally, and a few managed to keep their character all the way through. That's what I'll remember most from this season. Also, the finishing challenge didn't really let the "best team" win. The best team should always win in survival games, Abby and Pharaoh was def. stronger survivalist than team Alpha imo.

To succeed in trading, first of all you have to know your setup.

You have to know exactly what you trade, and you have to accept that your setup is not there every day.

Some days the chart just looks clean. Price structure makes sense. Your pattern recognition picks up your setup almost immediately because everything lines up the way you've seen it before. Those are your days. Those are the days you trade.

But there are also days where the chart just looks weird. Price doesn't move cleanly, structure is messy, and your setup isn't really there. You can spend hours trying to convince yourself that something is forming, but deep down you know it isn't the type of day your system was built for.

You have to acknowledge both kinds of days.

The good days are just as important as the days where you decide not to trade.

That is part of your system too.

Your system isn't only your entries. It's also your behavior.

It's the lot size you've already decided to use. It's the maximum number of trades you'll take. It's your stop loss. Your take profit. Your trading hours. Your maximum daily loss. It's how you'll behave once you're in a trade.

Those decisions should already be made before you click Buy or Sell.

Once you're in the trade, let it play out according to the plan you already made.

If your system says your stop loss goes there, leave it there. If your plan is to take partial profits at your first target, do it. Take what the market gives you.

Trying to catch the entire move is difficult because none of us knows exactly where price will reverse. It might keep going, or it might reverse immediately. You can have an idea of where it may go, but you can never know for certain.

That's why I prefer building a system and sticking to it.

At the end of the day, you can only control two things: when you decide to participate, and how you behave when you do.

Some days your setup is there. Some days it isn't.

Trading is a process. One day won't change your career. But if you keep showing up, learn from your mistakes, correct them, and keep refining your own system, those small improvements compound over time. In time you will be better at the craft than you are right now. You will know your system and behaviour in the market so well that trading feels like a natural part of your day. It doesn't have to take hours away from your life, but you can fit it into your schedule.

Your edge isn't something someone else can give you.

Your edge is you. It's your behaviour and your ability to follow the system you've built for yourself.

Every time I rewatch Seasons 1 and 2, I end up feeling like Tommy's story was leading somewhere completely different. He tells Grace he wants to leave parts of that life behind and become legitimate. Later, after he's with Lizzie at the canal, he talks about using his money for charities and says he once promised someone he'd change the world. Those scenes always stay with me because they show there was another Tommy underneath everything. That's the one I kept hoping would win. Maybe if Grace had lived, things would've gone differently. Maybe the battle wasn't supposed to be about building a bigger empire, but about becoming the man he was always capable of becoming.

What made me admire Tommy was never how ruthless he became. It was the warmth he had in the beginning. Look at Danny Whizz-Bang. Tommy never stopped seeing his friend underneath the trauma. There was real brotherhood there. With John, you see it in that family meeting. Everyone laughs when John says he wants to marry Lizzie. Tommy laughs too. Even calls her a whote. Then John finally says what's really bothering him. He tells Thomas directly in his face that he needs someone. Thomas sees his younger brothers pain and helplessness.. Suddenly Tommy sees his little brother isn't talking about Lizzie anymore, he's talking about how lost he feels trying to raise four children on his own. Tommy's whole expression changes. He takes him seriously now and finds a way forward. He wants to help his younger brother. With Michael, he doesn't want him dragged into that life because he respects Polly and wants to protect her son from becoming another ruthless Shelby. Even when Michael joins the family business, you can still see Tommy trying to guide him rather than simply use him. I fancy the scene where Michael turns 18 and gives him the watch. And with Polly, there was always this quiet understanding between them. They could argue harder than anyone, but underneath it was trust, loyalty and love. Tommy listened to her because her opinion mattered to him. I loved their relation, especially early on.

Then there's Grace. I honestly think that's the heart of the whole show. The lovestory that captivated so many fans. People remember the gangsters, the suits and the one-liners, but what kept so many of us emotionally invested was the love story. Around Grace, Tommy wasn't pretending. You saw him smile differently. You saw him relax. You saw him imagine a future that wasn't just another fight. One of my favourite lines he said to Grace: «I promise no guns in the house, and Charles will never see one». To me, that's what made his character so special. For all his intelligence, ambition and strength, there was also a man who loved deeply. He had so much depth, warmth and charisma. He actually treated people as equals with humility and respect untill you showed him otherwise.. I actually think that's where his greatest qualities came from. He wanted to lift his family out of the circumstances they were in. He wanted Arthur, John, Ada and Polly to have a better life than the one they'd been given. He carried the weight of everyone because he loved them. That's why his victories meant something in those early seasons. They weren't just for him.

That's why I sometimes wish the story had gone the other way. Keep the same discipline, courage, composure, leadership and ambition, but let the love win instead of the trauma. Imagine Tommy becoming known as the man who rebuilt Birmingham, looked after veterans because he understood them better than anyone, kept his family together instead of them drifting apart, and used everything he had to give other people a better life. I honestly think that would've been an even greater legacy. Millions of people already want to be like Tommy Shelby, and I understand why. I just think the Tommy worth becoming isn't the one who slowly loses himself and becomes more ruthless and dark. It's the one we caught glimpses of in the early seasons, the man whose strength came from how deeply he cared, and who could've shown that the strongest people aren't the ones who become colder over time, but the ones who hold onto their humanity no matter what life throws at them.

In an alternative universe that’s how the story of Thomas Shelby plays out in my mind. A man worth modelling your life after and not just a ruthless gangster. We all cheered for him because we saw some of that potential in him.

I've been completely off caffeine for six months now. No coffee, no decaf, no energy drinks, not even chocolate. One thing I've learned is that we give chemicals way too much credit. Before quitting, I thought caffeine was responsible for a lot of my anxiety, restlessness, and dissatisfaction. After quitting, I realized something uncomfortable: many of those things were still there. Why? Because they weren't coming from caffeine. They were coming from my life. From problems I hadn't solved yet. From questions I hadn't answered. From obstacles I was avoiding. It's easy to point at a substance and say, "That's the reason I feel this way." Sometimes it is part of the picture. But often it's not the whole picture. I recently saw someone mention Cristiano Ronaldo as an example of a high achiever who drinks caffeine. But Ronaldo isn't Ronaldo because of caffeine. If he quit tomorrow, he'd still be disciplined, driven, ambitious, and obsessed with improvement. That's who he is. The caffeine didn't build the man. The same applies to the rest of us. Don't hand your power over to something as simple as a chemical.

Another thing I've noticed is how easy it is to replace caffeine addiction with optimization addiction. We quit caffeine because we want to become the best version of ourselves. Then we start chasing perfection. No caffeine. No alcohol. No sugar. No mistakes. Everything has to be optimized. But optimized for what? What's the finish line? You're not a machine preparing for a performance. You're a human being living a life. Good habits matter, but don't tie your value to them. If you have a coffee one day, a drink with friends, or eat something unhealthy, it doesn't erase who you are. It doesn't mean you've failed. It doesn't mean you've ruined months of progress. Some days you indulge. Some days you celebrate. Some days you simply live. That's part of being human. Life doesn't suddenly become a walk through roses after quitting caffeine. You still have to face yourself. You still have to build habits. You still have to solve your problems.

One thing I still miss sometimes is the ritual. Sitting down with a hot coffee or an energy drink and feeling that immediate sense of focus. That little ceremony before reading, writing, studying, or doing deep work. Caffeine can absolutely be a useful tool. I don't think it's black and white. The difference is that without caffeine, motivation is no longer handed to you upfront. When I sit down to read now, it often feels boring and uninspiring for the first 20 minutes. But if the topic genuinely interests me, something happens. I become immersed. The motivation appears after I begin, not before. The enjoyment comes from the work itself rather than from a stimulant. And that's one of the most rewarding parts of being caffeine-free. The dopamine comes from the book, the learning, the thinking, the creating.. not from a molecule. It's harder. Sometimes much harder. But when the spark finally arrives, it feels like something I created myself. At the same time, I don't think caffeine is evil. Used intentionally, maybe once a week for a focused work session or a reflective morning, it can be a tool. The mistake is believing that the tool is the source of your power. Your ability to focus, create, think, and grow belongs to you. The caffeine may amplify it, but it didn't create it. Don't hand over your power to something external.

Sometimes I think about all the beauty in the world that no one will ever see.

Not just a little of it.

Most of it.

Maybe an eagle is gliding high above the mountains as the sun rises. The valleys are still covered in mist. The rivers catch the morning light and glow like silver. The world below is completely silent.

For a few moments, everything is perfect.

The eagle sees it.

Nobody else does.

Or maybe somewhere deep in a jungle, a jaguar is resting on a branch high above the forest floor. The air is warm. The jungle hums with life. You can hear insects in the distance. Birds calling to one another. Leaves moving softly in the wind.

Then the sun begins to set.

Golden light pours through the canopy.

The entire jungle glows.

For a brief moment, it feels as if the forest itself is alive in a way that is impossible to describe. You can feel it's heartbeat.

The jaguar sees it.

Nobody else does.

No photograph is taken.

No painting is made.

No story is told.

The moment arrives and leaves as quietly as it came.

Yet it happened.

The same with a flower blooming somewhere no one will ever walk. It opens itself to the sun. It becomes everything it was meant to be. Then one day it fades away.

Sometimes when I think about things like that, I just sit with it for a while.

Because a part of me feels that beauty deserves a witness.

That something so beautiful should be seen.

And yet another part of me wonders if that thought only belongs to us.

The flower never knew it was alone.

The eagle never cared who was watching.

The jungle never asked to be remembered.

Still, I can't help but think about all those moments that appeared in full perfection and disappeared forever.

The sunrises.

The sunsets.

The flowers.

The hidden valleys.

The views from above the clouds.

All of it happening, all the time.

Seen by almost no one.

And somehow there is something beautiful about that too.