# Slay Dragon Before Reorganizing Closet

I wasted a third of my life battling alcoholism and poor social skills and
anxiety and burnout and The Internet.

All the while, I trifled with optimizations: better diet, less commute, more
muscle, less loneliness, clean home, more money, etc.

I lost myself in side-quests to avoid dragons.

When dragons destroy your life, ignore trifles. Slay dragons.

## Find Your Dragon

Dragons lurk in broad daylight. They proudly park themselves on the roads to
your best futures.

Dragons sit and eat and laze. Some grow so large that we mistake them for
mountains in our mental landscape.

To find dragons, ask yourself pointed questions:

- What will you regret?
- What holds you back?
- What do you avoid?
- What drains your energy?
- What saps your time?
- What are you afraid of losing?
- Who are you becoming?

## Slay Your Dragon

Breakups suck. Sobriety sucks. Uncertainty sucks. Dragons are scary.

Slaying a dragon is simple yet painful. Shortcuts are futile. You must fight it
the hard way.

But you're not alone. Billions of other people fight dragons too. Advice is
commonplace, but dragons are simple creatures. Collective wisdom is
indespensible.

Here are common dragons and timeless strategies:

|                |                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| depression     | [get therapy](https://www.betterhelp.com), talk to a psychiatrist, exercise daily, quit alcohol                                                                                    |
| work           | develop in-demand skills, hunt for jobs, hustle on unglamorous side-projects, live frugally                                                                                        |
| social skills  | read [HTWFAIP](https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034/ref=sr_1_1), [copy therapists](https://www.betterhelp.com), develop curiosity, attend meetups |
| addiction      | flush the stuff, go to rehab, [get a counselor](https://www.betterhelp.com), find new friends                                                                                      |
| friends/family | change your phone number, move cities, meet people, start anew                                                                                                                     |
| body health    | sleep hygenically, exercise daily, avoid processed foods, quit alcohol/nicotine                                                                                                    |
| distractions   | set [parental self-controls](/parental-self-controls), find a [phone home](/phone-home), sell your TV and game consoles                                                            |

Feel free to [email me](mailto:hello@taylor.town) if you need advice/support for
slaying dragons. We're all in this together.