Live Out of the Box

Characters’ academic setting: High School
Synopsis: Saito Kayano has a crush on Kamijo Yuichi but just as she was about to confess to him, newcomer, infamous bully and so called prince of attraction Edogawa Takeru comes along and changes Kayano’s life for the worse. Now she faces the possibility of actually living with the Devil as Takeru’s father, the school principal becomes engaged to Kayano’s mom.

It took a while to get used to Mistsuba Takanashi’s punkish artwork and the dialogue was a bit stilted and awkward at the beginning. It didn’t take long though before the story pulled me and I found myself devouring every page of The Devil Does Exist (guiltily forgetting my to-do list). What I like about this volume is that its story moves in a strong gripping pace and has one central plot throughout so it isn’t episodic. The sequence of events moves fast and gets resolved pretty quickly yet just leaving enough unfinished business that leaves the reader hungry for the next issue.

I just love how Takeru’s hairstyle changes everyday. In contrast to most manga settings, this is the first I’ve seen of high school students not restricted to wearing the prescribed school uniforms. This is also my first taste of Takanashi Mitsuba’s work though I read a review that her later work Crimson Hero is better.

The Devil Does Exist seemed like a cross between Hana Yori Dango (the bully attracted to the female protagonist) and Kare Kano (the convergence of two families except they don’t swap partners). It maintains the perfect balance between teen angst love without going over the top, humor and a little hard edgy quality stamped among its pages.

Heroes have often been born from unlikely mold. From four ordinary children entering a wardrobe, two hobbits carrying an object of great evil, to the emerging of a certain orphan with a scar –these literary figures have proved one thing. Heroes are made not born.

It is then the task given, destined to you that ultimately changes you. Great tasks beget great heroes. It is this very essence that allows a person to strive to become more than what he already is, to go beyond his boundaries. Joseph Campbell said that a hero is someone who has done something beyond the normal range of achievement. And what greater achievement to create a heroic figure than that of saving a world? This is The Quest few have been chosen to embark on. And one of them is Ethan Feld.

Ethan was one of those boys who calls himself a failure at the baseball plate. But when his father is abducted and the Four Worlds are threatened by an ancient cunning figure, he is called upon to stop the end of the world. And he does this by playing baseball.

No doubt, Summerland would have fit right into the typical recipe of an archetypal quest –get the chosen one, chosen one gathers band of companions, chosen one and crew encounter the bad guy, defeat him and save the world. Where if not for this significant element –baseball. Ethan and his group (ranging from a tiny giant to an even tinier Indian) slug through the Worlds, overcoming obstacles with their bats and mitts. Yet Summerland is more than just a fantasy tale about this game. It is a big Tree of stories whose multitude of branches embrace the myths of all ages. This novel is sprinkled with mythical allusions and archetypes who soon evolved into characters each memorable and unique in their own way. Chabon has created a rich tapestry of mythology that stands on its own. By the end of the story as Ethan and his motley crew struggle to save the Big Tree of Life, they realized they also gained something equally precious along the way –that of finding true strength within themselves. 

How many opportunities have been lost due to the giving in of postponing tasks till the last minute? Besides opportunities, there’s your lost dreams, ambitions and almost every important to-do just because you caved in to doing something you knew you shouldn’t do?

I used to be a procrastinator and sometimes I still am. Life wasn’t pretty if you’re often happy go lucky. There would have been so many things you could have achieved if you’ve only exercised some will or have gotten hold of some techniques that could have helped you overcome it.

My friend, Reggie awakened me once again to the sad reality of procrastination with his post on it. He, along with millions of other procrastinators (myself included and perhaps the reader too) are suffering from this elusive hard-to-cure disease.

Luckily, there are some articles that would help you kick procrastination to oblivion. I have found the following most helpful and I’ve used most of the techniques they mentioned. They work.

Procrastination: Learning to Cope by Frank J. Bruno -this is a very useful article from his book on using psychology to combat procrastination. It’s stated in simple terms and its techniques can be applied easily.

Overcoming Procrastination by Steve Pavlina – this is one of the best articles for coping with this menace of productivity in society. Lots of helpful methods plus the famous Timeboxing Method.

Psychology + Behavior Modification = Unbeatable

This is what I often believe. With a back-up of your psychological info (and let’s not forget the common workings of the human mind), behavior modification would be a lot easier to get through than just ploughing along a commitment to merely change the way you are without knowing the cues that prompt that nasty behavior in the first place.

With these in mind, I’ve made up a plan from this neat psychology self-help chapter that I’ve found to combat my recent unproductive slump. The chapter is called Managing Difficult Behavior (judging from my previous post on New Year’s Resolutions Destroyed –’nuff said). It contains a thorough explaination behind relapses and how to prevent them. You could say below is just a summary of it.

1. Cue Exposure

a. Take risky situations and arrange them from low risk to high risk.

Example:

To combat chronic couch potato viewing, watch your least favorite shows for 15 minutes and switch off the T.V. Gradually progress from least favorite to most favorite shows and shave off 15 minutes until it becomes 2 minutes. A timespan of one month should do it for a start. When an important task comes up, you ought to wean yourself away from the T.V. or tape the show or buy a DVD copy of it and watch it next time. A high priority task should not be replaced or shoved aside just because you have to watch a show the minute it is aired.

b. Write self-instructions that will guide you through this.

Example:

These are the self-instructions I’ve written on a card to prevent surfing procrastination:

1.) Switch off the monitor button.

2.) Look at your to-do list schedule and ask yourself how it will be affected if you surf. Remember the contents of the website aren’t going to go away but the time for your tasks will.

3.) Visualize that you have already procrastinated and write your thoughts on how you would react on it.

Case scenario

inner voice filled with utter remorse: Why me? Why can’t I be more disciplined? Now I would have to cram tomorrow….If I hadn’t been carried away, this wouldn’t have happened.

Gives you such a guilt trip doesn’t it? This would definetely give you a wake up call.

4.) Immediately disconnect from the internet and exit all the windows.

2. Write values or instructions exclusively for the risky situations that will govern your decisions.

Here’s mine whenever I tend to overdo anime marathons and I find myself seeing the pale rays of sunlight piercing the inky sky:

1.) Tell yourself, “The DVDs are not going to run away. I can always watch them next time.”

2.) Don’t think. Make one little step towards the right decision. (Note: I have this very high need for closure so once I begin a small step towards a task I must complete it. So for example, my one little step is push the stop button. Naturally, my finger automatically presses EJECT then to the next action which is taking out the DVD and so on until I complete the action. I think this is called autochaining? This could also be a good behavior strategy if you want to abstain from certain things that is, if you also have a high need of closure. )

3. Prepare in advance for a lapse. One way is through a Reminder Card.

Here’s my reminder card copied from the chapter of Managing Difficult Behavior:

“Slips do occur. They make us feel guilty, that’s normal. But don’t let these feelings of failure snowball right now into feelings of hopeless despair so that you continue to go back to sleep after you wake up. One slip doesn’t make a total failure. Stay calm. Learn from this experience. Learn your weaknesses and how to overcome them. Remember why you are abstaining. Recommit yourself. At this time, do this: get out of bed. Exercise or atone for a wrong or do something good. You’ll feel better.”

4. Substitute an acceptable but incomplete action in place of the bad habit. E.g. push the OFF button in the T.V. remote control as opposed to continuing in watching the show. Practice new response 5-10 mins. everyday for at least a week. Mentally rehearse how and when you can use the new response.

Do #4 when:

a. You catch yourself doing the old habit.

b. You feel the urge to do the old habit.

c. You enter a situation where the old habit frequently occurs.

d. You realize you are doing another habit that often precedes the bad habit.

5. Keep daily records of progress.

I’ve now started to keep a daily log. It’s better you analyze your behavior from yesterday at the beginning of the day so you would keep yourself checked. This also makes you more aware of what mistakes you would most likely make and prevent them.