Day 32/90. Today's been hard so far, and yesterday wasn't a very good day. I still see potential for it to get better. However I do have a lot of urges I've noticed today and I need to be very careful with that. The plan is to play video games for a little bit, cook a bit, and go for a walk and hopefully some tv/reading tonight!
I can’t say that I have eliminated as much “dopamine seeking” internet use as I’d like to but things that I have done over the years are; 1) I stopped reading news sites: the news is a constant source of anger and anxiety for me so I just mostly stopped reading the news. 2) I quit Facebook. After a while I had to start a new account for business purposes but on here I don’t actually have any friends, so no timeline to speak of. 3) I deleted the Instagram app. Although they don’t allow nudes, IG is a constant source of hot pictures and has led me down the PMO path many times before. Now the app is gone from my phone, so is the reflex to check in on it. 4) Deleted any P related accounts that I had. 5) Stopped watching TV. This happened several years ago, I just lost interest. 6) Turned off ALL notifications on my phone: no sounds when a message arrives, no red dots on the app icons. Unless it’s an actual phone call, nothing can make my phone buzz, ring or have things pop up on the screen. This is huge! I am still watching a lot of YouTube (but nothing sexual), some Netflix and I listen to podcasts about stuff that interests me. I still check my phone more often than I’d like to but I definitely am in a better place than before when it comes to avoiding PMO and staying off the “dopamine treadmill”.
I don't think of you as a joke. I think of porn as an incredibly difficult enemy with incredibly powerful strings it can pull to suck us back in. It's not more powerful than US, but it is a worthy adversary and not a thing to be taken lightly. Most men don't even TRY to escape from porn. Which means you are in a small minority just by TRYING to escape from the life of mediocrity most porn-users are doomed to. Any progress you make AT ALL puts you WAY above the average person. The fact that you're still trying is a testament to your strength as a human being. I think of you as brave. I think of you as tenacious. I think of you as powerful. Remember this frustration. Remember the pain. Remember that porn is like an enemy that is OBSESSED with ruining your life. It's out to kill you, steal your joy away, and destroy all the possibilities of what you can accomplish. Let your frustration turn to rage against this evil enemy. He hates you. He wants to kill you. But YOU are stronger. YOU are holding all the cards. You are not a joke. You are a man in battle. You just got knocked down by your enemy. I know, it's happened so many times before. But no matter how many times it happens you CAN get back up and deal another blow to porn. And each time you do that he gets weaker. If you choose to keep fighting he'll die before you do. Get up. Channel that frustration into your FOOT and squash porn like a bug! (I have to reset my counter as well so....if we ARE jokes then at least we can be jokes together, eh?)
Quick check in Day 22/90 Still crushing this challenge! Hope everyone had a good day. Stick with it, Don’t give up!
Day 7/30 No PM (June) Day 500 at attempting this challenge Day 179 weigh training (M, W, F) Lifestyle: No caffeine, no alcohol and reduced desserts
Hey@Terry, When you have time try this. Everytime you get urges or see something triggering and you feel the urge to watch porn or research explicit content. Just give yourself a minute or 2 just to focus and listen to what the urges are. Instead of trying to keep yourself busy Just take of a minute or two to become mindful of the urge then you decide whats next. I use that technique to access my emotions since am studying self awareness and am required to be mindful of any emotions. Trying to understand what caused them and how to react to them... Infact I use evernote(note taking app on my phone) to write down and understand what exactly was happening, the thoughts I had or people or what I watched to trigger certain emotions in me. When you feel free and got some time on you. Give it a try and see whether it will you