My first NoFap success story

Hi everyone,

Yesterday was my 40th day without porn or masturbation. I had tried to post an update as soon as the counter struck 30 days, but for some reason it never made it past the moderators; I assume that something went wrong with the approval workflow.
Hopefully this one will be visible to the community.

Without further ado, here is a short list of tips and tricks that will help you in your reboot:

• A problem shared is a problem halved: if you haven't got one, find yourself an accountability partner (AP) in the relevant forum section. I had tried to quit more times than I could count, only to fail every attempt within a week or two. This is THE most important step you can take towards a successful reboot. A big shout out goes to @Mattroman for checking in with me daily and providing support in the form of thoughtful questions and much-needed encouragement!
• A hero is one who knows how to hang on one minute longer: urges are compelling. They feel like your only choice is to give in to them, or they will haunt you non-stop for the rest of your life. In reality, most will go away in a matter of minutes if you don't entertain them. To hold on during those challenging moments, you need to find one or more simple activities that allow you to surf or kill the urges: deep breathing, meditation and body weight exercises are all effective ways to make it through the toughest urges, but this is not an exhaustive list: just find what works best for you (for instance, my girlfriend finds paint-by-numbers relaxing, while I'd rather tie a noose around my neck than doing that!). Another key point is that you should stay away from the Internet until you are completely in the clear.
• 99% is difficult, 100% is a breeze: in my third week, I somehow convinced myself that it wouldn't be a big deal if I checked on my favourite pornstars' latest updates by browsing with an image blocker. While I did not see anything, the video descriptions were extremely explicit and made my urges stronger and more frequent for a good 4-5 days. Do yourself a favour and don't try to negotiate with your addiction: you will always get scammed and wonder why you initiated in the first place.

In terms of benefits:

• I sleep better
• My libido is stronger than before (girlfriend approves)
• My eyes look brighter and livelier than before
• Fewer, less severe acne outbreaks
• Slightly improved working memory, although a lot needs to happen still
• Generally more contented and less moody
• Lessened social anxiety, but I believe that there is still room for improvement

I aim to update this thread at the 60- and 90-days mark, and then possibly afterwards.
I'd like everyone to know that this is a hard challenge, but one that is definitely worth taking on.
Do not delay.
Do it now.