HOW DO I SERIOUSLY GIVE UP GAMING

[NetNinja]

I went to see a bunch of Childhood buddies I haven't seen in 25 years the other day and dear lord I wouldn't recognize them if they were standing next to me.
They were all fat like me!
Hell We all have great sets of titties! I was like damn dude I thought my titties were big!

Stop Playing now! Get your a$$ to Mars! Arrgggggg!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Erik Heyl]

I do (or rather did, can't now as the computer is dead and I'm on a crap 8 year old macbook pro), Steam. The nice thing is, there's nothing physical, so I don't feel the urge to play. I'll put on Skyrim once in a while at the end of the day but it's not a thing for me. Even skipped the Steam summer sale this year. And I fI ever DO want a particular game I just wat till it's $7. With enough discipline, you can still build your business and enjoy a hobby like gaming.

 

[GuestUser113]

 

[Angus]

I'm searching a fun videogame but everything seems boring as hell.
Any suggestions?
I like fps.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Ryllban]

Buy the book: 30 days of discipline by Victor Pride.

I bought it today and the book is the real deal!

 

[pickeringmt]

Hey man, breaking stuff like this can be really difficult.

Here are 2 things I did to change the course of my life:

1 - Sit down and write a statement about who you want to be - but write it in the present tense

One line of this for me is "I do not waste time. I do not waste this life I have been given". Write this statement, and write it at least 3 times a day by hand. It will change a little almost every time you write it, and will become more meaningful. This literally rewires your brain to adhere to this statement, as it is in human nature to be consistent with what we say. If you want proof, read Influence - actually, just read this book anyway.
​

2 - You have to replace the old habit with a new one.

If you do not fill this void it will fill itself, which ends up being worse than the original issue in a lot of cases. If you are wasting a ton of time on games, start wasting a ton of time on Keyword research, or reading, or building websites - whatever space you want to be in. Better yet, Go HERE and subscribe to get the most incredible goal setting tool you will ever find - for free (and the site belongs to a member of this forum as well). Make these things your new obsession.
​

These 2 things alone will help you get passed this - I speak from experience.

Oh yeah, and keep in mind that this is a process. You will still feel that urge for a while. Just keep pushing forward. I have quit a lot of crap in my life. This stuff works.
Good luck, hope this helps!

 

[DaRK9]

Buy the book: 30 days of discipline by Victor Pride.

I bought it today and the book is the real deal!

This. I have both of his books. Straight forward, blunt and to the point. No frills, excuses or some lame guru patting you on the back coaxing you into believing its not your fault.

My 30 days have turned into 3 months so far.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[InLikeFlint]

But probably because I started making money gaming (World of Warcraft botting)

Hahahaha this is great because I remember 'way back when' I used to do this too. Funny thing is you can apply a lot of business strategies and principles to that game and I made a decent chunk of change from it, I also really enjoyed it for whatever reason. Not saying everyone should do this, but at a younger age I was able to turn a hobby into a mixture of business and pleasure and have since made the full transition to only doing business stuff. I consider it to be an advanced and complex "lemonade stand" so-to-speak.

To the OP:

Gaming is great and it is very hard to get over it. I was once a dedicated WoW player and would be on it for hours at a time even though I knew there were better things I could be doing. Quitting flat out is going to be really difficult because chances are it is already a huge part of your life. I would begin by cutting back and scheduling your day - make short blocks of time where you can take a break and game for a while but also have a lot of time spent working/exercising/etc. Eventually shorten the times when you are accustomed to playing less and ultimately cut them out entirely. After my WoW phase I had a CoD phase and now I am down to just playing NHL/FIFA/NBA when my buddies come over.

In terms of resisting the urge on your computer I would recommend getting a Macbook like you said and then putting the gaming computer in a completely separate room (or even better floor) of your living space to resist temptation. Create two separate areas, one for play and one for work and make sure not to cross them over. The physical divide will play a crucial role in mentally separating your business from your gaming.

Best of luck!

 

[pickeringmt]

Ryllban said: ↑
Buy the book: 30 days of discipline by Victor Pride.
I bought it today and the book is the real deal!
This. I have both of his books. Straight forward, blunt and to the point. No frills, excuses or some lame guru patting you on the back coaxing you into believing its not your fault.
My 30 days have turned into 3 months so far.

Just bought this thanks to you guys - looks awesome

 

[DaRK9]

Just bought this thanks to you guys - looks awesome

It seemed simple at first, but the shit works. I know I am 100% more motivated and get more done in a day now.

Hope it helps!

Edit: I have an odd feeling that Victor has an account here...

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[pickeringmt]

I have an odd feeling that Victor has an account here..

Man I was pondering the same thing.....

 

[LaughingMan]

You just stop playing them, that's it, just pure will power, their is no other way. The reason that some games e.g world of warcraft, are so addicting is because they take advantage of man's will to power. This is obvious in all the levelling up, armour upgrades, better items ect...The problem is that this actually reduces your will to power in other areas of your life.

 

[LaughingMan]

Man I was pondering the same thing.....

He's the reason i came to this forum in the first place. I read his article on things every 18 yr old shud kno

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kung Fu Steve]

I have read through most of the posts here, watched the videos and looked at different ideas everyone has to "kick the habit" but here's the truth:

You don't eliminate addictions, you can only replace them.

What people don't understand is that these video games are fulfilling your human needs.

1.) Every time you sit down to play you know that you are going to avoid pain and gain pleasure.

2.) You know that something exciting is going to happen so there's a sense of variety.

3.) You probably feel important because you're good at them.

4.) You probably feel some love and connection also -- maybe just in the sense that you're taking time for yourself some "alone time" -- or maybe it's because your team needs you.

5.) Of course you're feeling like you're growing because you're getting better, you're getting to a higher level, unlocking a new weapon, whatever.

6.) And maybe you even feel that you're contributing to a team, a person, a community.

Any time something meets 3 or more of these needs on a high level it becomes an addiction...

Let me ask you this: out of these, how intensely do you feel them when gaming? Are you sure you'll avoid pain and gain pleasure? (1-10), something new and exciting (1-10), importance/significance (1-10), connection? (1-10), growth? (1-10), contribution? (1-10)

The funny thing is it doesn't have to meet these needs very high before it becomes an addiction... but if you're rating these 7 and above across the board then you're not going to "just delete them and stop playing"

The moment you stop this behavior, you'll start something else (if not just go right back to it). This is why people stop smoking... and start eating... or they stop eating... and start drinking... The problem is if you stop gaming without confronting the real problem you'll find some other behavior to meet all of your needs. And if you don't find something that meets your needs you'll go a couple of days and then go right back to the old pattern.

There's really only 2 things we ever want to change: how we feel, and how we behave.

The reason you are gaming is to change a feeling. What is that feeling? What would you call it? Boredom? Stress? Sadness? All of these?

So this behavior or "pattern" is triggered by something -- what is it?

I can't see you. I'm not in front of you to play with your brain so you'll have to be your own coach for a second and tell yourself the truth.

In the moment you decide to turn the games on, what is going on? You are doing 3 things. You're holding your body in a certain way, breathing a certain way (physiology), next you're focusing on something specifically, and finally you're using specific language whether out loud or in your head ("I'll just play one game" or "I guess I'll go this")

This is called your triad.

So the first step is recognizing the triad (or "pattern") while it's happening.

The second step is to interrupt the pattern by doing something completely off the wall. Whether it's screaming and then running outside, or saying something really out loud, or dropping to the floor and doing 100 pushups...

The third step is to condition a NEW pattern. A new focus, a new physiology, and new words.

So the moment the pattern starts, you recognize it, interrupt it, and do the new behavior.

If you follow the steps you can break the pattern instantly but there's one last warning:

You must condition the new response. You've been playing video games for a LONG time I'm sure. So the moment you go back to gaming (because you will) -- don't see it as failure -- see it as "oh shoot, I have to condition the new behavior now".

Feel free to hit me up. I'll do whatever I can to help.

 

[Mattie]

Technically what people do miss about video games is there is life lessons in the stories. Also on the screen if you're playing the right games you are learning how to get through obstacles, and face your giants. Finally get off the game and apply it to your life. lol The hidden opportunities are every where. You just have to go seek them out like you do on the video game. The character on the screen takes action. He's not playing a video game. He's battling his way through life and killing all his negative behaviors, beliefs, habits, and eliminating all the negative people through his life. Metaphorically speaking!

 

[Feer]

Inspired by this thread and some thinking, I uninstalled the game I was playing daily and I've been sober for two days now

It was alarming to notice I spent 51 hours last week on that game, it was not good even though it eased my anxiety in a new town.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[jockinbox]

Hey
Most of you said to uninstall the games which is an awesome idea.
Something that worked for me was treating my life like a video game. I used to play WoW (world of warcraft) & basically you play endlessly because you want to
1) level up
2) raise gold
3) talk to friends

You can easily just translate this to real life
1) instead of leveling up = try reading or learning a new skill (you are leveling up in real life kind of LOL) maybe even master a skill you already have
2) raise gold = try making money in real life (obvious correlation)
3) talk to friends = socialize with your friends & their friends. Everyone on this earth knows something you don't..the more folks you talk to the smarter you are.

Start thinking about things your life and yourself as a character in a game. If you look up to certain people compare them to bosses in game. You can make your own story and self motivate yourself.

hope this helps other than the typical uninstall answer man

 

[royalflush]

I used to have a 1Tb HDD FULL OF STEAM GAMES. As soon as I finished MJ's book, I formatted the entire thing. I still have my gaming PC, but I haven't used it for games ever since.

I had spent so much time trying to be the best at this game or that game. So pointless. In the end, I'm playing a virtual world sitting my a$$ in a chair cutting off my circulation -- bringing me to my next point...

Sitting is the new smoking of the 21st century. I actually have an infographic for you all:

Get off your a$$, and go (re)invent something useful for the people of this world. If an electromagnetic wave were to hit earth right now, and destroy every electronic system in existence, your video game accomplishments, and TV knowledge mean even less than they already do right now. Stop being a useless sack of meat, bones, and 60% water, and BE PRODUCTIVE.

What the heck man, that's scary shit. I sit down more than 15 hours every day.

Your infographic is an eye opener for me. I had no idea 'sitting' affected my body that much. That explains some of my health problems.

 

[Angus]

loved the post, steve
it's funny because i always had an addictive personality, always have to channel all my energies on a single thing, i literally become obsessed, ocd like
it was pro card gaming for some time, then almost pro videogaming, then diet and nutrition, then entrepreneurship. all my energies are channeled towards bodybuilding now and i spend far less time hustling these days. also, i've got all in check for bodybuilding, i just have to wait, but i'm still kinda ocd.
have to start focusing on making money again

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[DaRK9]

What the heck man, that's scary shit. I sit down more than 15 hours every day.

Your infographic is an eye opener for me. I had no idea 'sitting' affected my body that much. That explains some of my health problems.

Yeah, I've been wanting a stand up desk for a while now. That info just made me want it faster.

Some ideas to make your own.
http://www.vissbiz.com/diy-standing...r-office/diy-standing-desk-with-style-corner/

 

[D11FYY]

Simple sell all your gaming equipment use it to set up a business or at least invest it in a holiday get yourself away from a screen!
Hopefully you should actually give the gaming equipment off to kids in need and in poverty and help work with them for a week or two then you will realize there is more to life than gaming.
Seeing a smile on a kids face who has nothing is true gratefulness. Nothing would be more fulfilling.

If you want anything badly enough you will do it. No excuses

 

[royalflush]

Yeah, I've been wanting a stand up desk for a while now. That info just made me want it faster.

Some ideas to make your own.
http://www.vissbiz.com/diy-standing...r-office/diy-standing-desk-with-style-corner/

Check this out also: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/889675794/storkstand-the-most-affordable-mobile-standing-des

Someone invented a way to convert any office chair into a stand desk using a piece of tray.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[DaRK9]

Check this out also: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/889675794/storkstand-the-most-affordable-mobile-standing-des

Someone invented a way to convert any office chair into a stand desk using a piece of tray.

That's pretty awesome. I like the little phone slot too.

 

[Brentnal]

Hi guys.. I have a real big problem. I can't do anything or finish anything unless I quit games. I know it's not a serious condition that I have, but it does get in the way with a lot of things that I do on my computer because I get way to distracted. I end up playing 1 game then another then another......again and again. It's really just frustrating at the end of it all. I realize I haven'y gotten anything done at all. And minutes of gaming have become hours and it's really depressing.

I'm not trying to limit myself to a few hours a week/day/month, but I'm trying to quit for good. I know there are those out there that play games and are successful, but I really just want to get gaming out of my life.

If you guys are wondering whether I have a gaming console or a pc, I have a pc. That's why it gets in the way so much because since I'm using my computer to play games, I can't seperate it and I end up gaming because I see it on my desktop.

I want to thank everyone and anyone who helps me overcome this. There are many things that I can do in my life and I don't want it to rot away because I simply couldn't resist my urge. Any ideas and tips would be super helpful.

Thank you again.

Oh man i had this problem to, i still have it a bit. What you gotta do is get rid of all those games and consoles as fast as you can and after that replace it with good habits like for example reading books or sporting. After a few weeks you will realize life is much better without gaming and you will be much happier.

But WATCH OUT after somethime you may want to play again and you will say to yourself only this time, but that one time can grow into many more times, so really watch out. Make goals focus on that don't think about gaming.
Think of gaming like this: This will get me nowhere in life,my goals will bring me freedom nice cars,nice houses. Use that as you're fuel.

 

[MrShah]

First you'll need is to make up your mind. They say it takes 21days to make or break a habit. For the next 21days completely avoid gaming or heck stop using your deskstop system. Start inculcating other habits for example reading, socializing, joining a gym or simply spending more time outdoors. I too had a similar phase as your going through back in high school, totally over it mate. PM me your progress

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[FastlaneTiger]

It's time to delete Bad Company 2 and League of Legends from my computer, they took more than 2000 hours of my life.
I'm very addicted to these games, but it's time to change.
R.I.P. my gaming life.

 

[Waisec]

First you'll need is to make up your mind. They say it takes 21days to make or break a habit. For the next 21days completely avoid gaming or heck stop using your deskstop system. Start inculcating other habits for example reading, socializing, joining a gym or simply spending more time outdoors. I too had a similar phase as your going through back in high school, totally over it mate. PM me your progress

The 21-day habit thing is a myth, it simply isn't true. The time for something to become a habit depends on the difficulty of your new habit and varies from person to person. Could be just a couple of weeks or it could be half a year or more. A better study was done on this, I don't have the time to look up the link right now, but the average time for something to become a habit is 66 days.

Video game addiction has several reasons, a few great lengthy posts here already pointed those out. Me personally, I love playing video games. I don't have an addictive personality, but since I'm so great at them, I obviously like playing them. Give me any FPS, give me 2 weeks tops, and you'll cry, ragequit and ban me from the server for 'cheating'.

Since it took up so much of my time, I tried uninstalling them. Didn't work, friends wanted to do a lan party and bam, was downloading games right back. I figured I had to change my way of thinking instead. So, I faced my mortality and realized that I will die someday. That someday might be tomorrow, 2 weeks from now or 20 years from now and I can't keep living like this ignoring it. My vision is to have a successful business and video games have no part in that and I really don't want to look back at my life seeing that I wasted so many hours on virtual achievements. This kind of thinking gave me a sense of urgency.

Every day that I wake up I have just one primary goal, that will help me make more money or move me closer towards my vision that I get started on first thing in the morning. When I complete that or realize I've worked enough hours on it, I will move on to other smaller goals I've written down the previous night. Those smaller goals are also mostly related to my work, but also to do with diet and exercise, reading certain books for X pages, spending time with friends/family and also getting enough sleep.

The result of this is that because I have set video games on the BOTTOM of my priority list, I rarely have time to play them. Right now, I might be able to play them once or twice a week and each session is maybe 30 minutes if that, and it's getting less and less.

 

[Brentnal]

The problem with gamers is that they game because they have noting else to do that they enjoy as much as gaming, the key is to find a alternative that gives around the same level of enjoyment of course that alternative must be productive otherwise just to it on sheer willpower.

Throw/sell it all away make a daily planning everyday and stick to it make it a habit and you will do it automaticly. Every evening you will be satisfied with you're productivity.

I've been here bro, i haven't had any vacation for 7 months so i gamed for 4 whole days now i deleted all my games time to get back to action.

Accept the fact that life is not about gaming, looking at a screen for hours is not human it is robotic there is a whole world out there for you.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Brentnal]

It's time to delete Bad Company 2 and League of Legends from my computer, they took more than 2000 hours of my life.
I'm very addicted to these games, but it's time to change.
R.I.P. my gaming life.

Did you do it? I must say never install it again though because it will all start again, playing hours upon hours.
At a time i was installing and straight after the instalation i deleted the games again because i felt bad.
That could go on for weeks, also when you wake up you want to play games and after a few hours you don't want to anymore and the whole day you have a bad feeling.

Instead when you wake up make you're daily planning and start right away maybe go do some running to have a good feeling for the rest of the day.

 

[FastlaneTiger]

Did you do it? I must say never install it again though because it will all start again, playing hours upon hours.
At a time i was installing and straight after the instalation i deleted the games again because i felt bad.
That could go on for weeks, also when you wake up you want to play games and after a few hours you don't want to anymore and the whole day you have a bad feeling.

Instead when you wake up make you're daily planning and start right away maybe go do some running to have a good feeling for the rest of the day.

Well I've deleted 'em like a month ago and reinstalled it 2-3 days ago, but then I realized why I deleted them: I couldn't focus on anything else, and I became lazy.

EDIT: Yea, my computer is "clean" again