Greetings

Hello,

As a university student, I feel that self-control is a pivotal part of my growth. I am here today because I want to relearn what is feels like to delay gratification and ultimately control my impulses. I plan to be more task-focused, solving my problems in an objective way rather than adhering to my emotions. I have a girlfriend whom I have been dating for 3 years now and is very dear to me; I feel it is important that I only experience orgasm naturally. By binding myself to an external source (this community), I hope to increase my motivation in achieving this particular goal. I look forward to interacting with this community throughout my progression.

Here's to living life daily,
Riagbel

 

I consider myself a "self-help junkie" and have been thinking about variables that lead to my PM activities. There is a high probability of encountering highly sexualized content in social media, making it a major variable.

I started engaging in PM activities through social media; I was curious as a teenager to see what all the fuss was about. Logically, I am gaining more for myself than I am losing when I minimize social media exposure. I simply become more productive without it. I noticed (for myself) that paying too much attention to social media led to PM activities. I consider social media as a potential trigger that sets off the dominoes that lead to PM. By minimizing my exposure to oversexualized content, I lessen the probability of relapsing.

I know that there is no "one solution" to this problem, that is why I use fundamental truths as much as I can to get to the root causes of my excessive PM activities. This means that to efficiently beat PM, I may need to change more than one aspect my life for the better. Beating this "enemy" not only makes you stronger with self-control, but makes you a better, well-rounded person. That is why uniting against ourselves can be such an admirable goal, because it simply is.

Here's to progress,
Riagbel

 

It's officially been 3 days so far, and I definitely find myself more productive. I can't tell for certain, as there are more than one way to trigger PM, but by getting rid of social media apps I'm exposed to less sexualized content. Not only that, but my attention is on things I hope to improve on rather than endlessly browsing and refreshing the media. With my mindset on the right path, I will continuously remind myself why I am pursuing this goal. Not only do I improve, but my relationships do as well.

Here's to simplicity,
Riagbel

 

It's officially been 8 days.

Impulse control is doing okay, but the challenge is definitely getting harder. I started my gym membership a few days ago and have been adjusting to it. So far I'm following my goal in productivity (besides binging Netflix), but I can definitely improve by restricting my episodes.

Here's to resilience,
Riagbel

 

Looking back, I feel a lot better about myself now that I have this streak going on.

I re-installed my social media apps and have been going to the gym regularly since the start of May. I don't have that impulse to constantly look at my phone whenever I'm in public, or whenever I get bored. I'm starting to look around me more; impulse control is definitely improving! Time to get started on other goals.

Here's to progress,
Riagbel

 

I've relapsed.

Around the 21-day mark, the impulse was too hard to ignore. I caved in and have been disappointed in myself; I was scared to visit this site again. With help from my girlfriend, I encouraged myself to keep going despite failing once. PM is not to be underestimated.

Lesson learned.