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I will stop playing video games, watch porn, etc for 1 month.

Charnell

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So I can see not playing games all day but porn...... porn only takes 2 minutes 38 seconds...... not like it's a huge interference. lmao :jawdrop:
Big shot with his big stamina over here!
 
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csalvato

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Talking from experience, going from hours of a bad habit to suddenly ZERO is not the way to go if your goal is to get rid of this habit for good. Try reducing first. Unless your goal is only to test your discipline.

I've always had the reverse experience. When I try to ween myself off, it never works out. I must just be a cold-turkey-or-bust kind of guy.
 

John D.

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My tip: Make reading your 'default mode' whenever you feel bored. Connect the feeling of boredom as a trigger to picking up a book.

To make this easier buy/download a shitload of books on your tablet/phone and carry it around with you wherever you are.

Obviously you also have to vanquish every single app/game/whatever that could be a source of instant gratification. You're not doing yourself any good getting tempted by them all day.

Waiting at the doctor? Pull out your phone. Big line at the DMV? Don't even think about it -- just read one page.

Soon it will become a habit + it will deepen your attention span and concentration levels.

'The Shallows' by Nicholas Carr is a great, albeit lengthy read for this.
 

Pink Sheep

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So I can see not playing games all day but porn...... porn only takes 2 minutes 38 seconds...... not like it's a huge interference. lmao :jawdrop:

You misunderstand the challenge. Its not about saving time, its about removing instant gratification. And all the people shouting sell your xbox also miss the idea. If everything goes well i wont really have the urge to touch my xbox, its just a hobby and habit, not an impulsive addiction.
 
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Tourmaline

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Giving up video games and porn at once? Goodluck to you.

I'd pick just one, and once you've broken that habit, pick the other.

I will say though, it's like being an addict of anything. You're never really an ex-addict. You either must abstain 100%, or you will probably find yourself getting sucked in at least from time to time.

shakes fist at dopamine responses
 

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So I can see not playing games all day but porn...... porn only takes 2 minutes 38 seconds...... not like it's a huge interference. lmao :jawdrop:

Some people are addicted and masturbate all day. No joke.
You misunderstand the challenge. Its not about saving time, its about removing instant gratification. And all the people shouting sell your xbox also miss the idea. If everything goes well i wont really have the urge to touch my xbox, its just a hobby and habit, not an impulsive addiction.

Nobody's missing the idea. We're trying to help you conquer your bad habits. It's obvious that you don't want to sell your xbox, which is exactly why you should sell it.
 

Pink Sheep

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Nobody's missing the idea. We're trying to help you conquer your bad habits. It's obvious that you don't want to sell your xbox, which is exactly why you should sell it.
I dont want to sell it because i want to use it after the challenge. Im the only one stopping myself from gaming, and im gonna do it for a month without any easy-out tricks or life-hacks, just good prioritizing and work ethic.
Im not overcoming an addiction, just a habbit.
 
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csalvato

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I dont want to sell it because i want to use it after the challenge. Im the only one stopping myself from gaming, and im gonna do it for a month without any easy-out tricks or life-hacks, just good prioritizing and work ethic.
Im not overcoming an addiction, just a habbit.

@drpeppehr Is trying to force you to do something that's not necessary, imo. Try your experiment. If you fail, then evaluate whether or not you need to sell it. Doesn't really sound like you do.
 

drpeppehr

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@drpeppehr Is trying to force you to do something that's not necessary, imo. Try your experiment. If you fail, then evaluate whether or not you need to sell it. Doesn't really sound like you do.

I'm not forcing anyone. From my own experience, I was addicted to fortnite, overwatch, league, and apex legends. I did these challenges where i'd hold back from them and found that it's better to just get it out of the house. I promised myself I'd buy myself the new Xbox One S when I get my first sale... and when I got my first sale, I realized that it was because I couldnt game anymore. I still havent replaced the console and its so much better not having the xbox around. It's all just advice.
 

Pink Sheep

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I think now is a good time as any tfor the first update. Currently on my third day, and in stead of sitting on my a$$ i have been working long hours on a renovation project the last 2 days. Bought a new domain and set up a website, made a really nice supper in stead of just snacking.
So far it has been very nice, but a bit tired from all the extra work.

I did fail my social media part yesterday. By pure habit i checked my facebook feed on my phone while i was cooking supper, but caught myself in the habit, and hopefully it wont happen as easilly anymore :)
 
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I really enjoy playing video games, and usually play a few hours a day. I know many of you will think "what a F*cking sidewalker", thats ok, I dont need your blessing.
Anyways, I have never gone cold turkey and removed myself from all instant gratification over a long time. So thats exactly what im gonna do.

For 1 month starting today I will not play any video games, watch any porn, buy takeout for convenience sake.

I will still use my social media to communicate with my friends, but scrolling is failing. Thursdays i play dnd, which i see as more of a social event than me having fun. Its the most interraction i get during the week aside from clients, so ill keep doing that
The purpose isnt to be a monk, but rather remove easy-outs for a while.

The goal of this experiment is to see how my brain reacts to it, and hopefully have some really productive weeks.

If you also want to join, feel free to! Join in the comments and let me know your feelings about it.
i'm with you on this one..
 

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Download the Brain Buddy app and follow their program fully.

It is the most effective system for dopamine rewiring I have found.

Also, I would look at this as a dopamine issue - you have wired your brain to be rewarded with something that doesn't line up with your values.

It isn't you that is addicted - it's your brain. And your brain has ways it works so you just got to get those back on track. You can rewire things though so don't stress it - it is about awareness and putting in the effort needed to fix some bad neural pathways you have built up.

Once again - you just did things in a certain way and your brain got used to it.

It's 100% possible to fix that.
 
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The-J

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I like the idea of dopamine fasting, where you go without the typical pleasurable stuff for a period of time. The idea is to reset the pleasure centers in your brain that have been numbed from years of jerking it and chasing fake goals in video games. So that just means, no TV, no video games, no fiction books, no motivational material, no takeout/fast food/delivery, and definitely no porn (no jerking it or sex at all either!) for a period of time. Work is allowed but preferably abstained from.

Think the Jewish tradition of the Sabbath. No work, no play, all that's allowed is bible study and relaxation with family.

But one month is a long time to just start. Why not start with a weekend, or if that's too easy, a week? OK maybe you're not doing this to reset your pleasure centers.

Are you doing this to break habits? If so, then replace the habit of porn with something else. Jocko would tell you to do burpees instead. Do enough of those and you'll be too tired to jerk off. Replace video games with meaningful progressive exercise, or language study, or socialization with total strangers: something where you can see yourself improve.
 

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I like the idea of dopamine fasting, where you go without the typical pleasurable stuff for a period of time. The idea is to reset the pleasure centers in your brain that have been numbed from years of jerking it and chasing fake goals in video games. So that just means, no TV, no video games, no fiction books, no motivational material, no takeout/fast food/delivery, and definitely no porn (no jerking it or sex at all either!) for a period of time. Work is allowed but preferably abstained from.

Think the Jewish tradition of the Sabbath. No work, no play, all that's allowed is bible study and relaxation with family.

But one month is a long time to just start. Why not start with a weekend, or if that's too easy, a week? OK maybe you're not doing this to reset your pleasure centers.

Are you doing this to break habits? If so, then replace the habit of porn with something else. Jocko would tell you to do burpees instead. Do enough of those and you'll be too tired to jerk off. Replace video games with meaningful progressive exercise, or language study, or socialization with total strangers: something where you can see yourself improve.

For me its an experiment.
I would love to break some habits, and if I get increased dopamine after the experiment that would be interesting. I definetly want to be aware of the change though, and not just become totally addicted.
 

A_Random_Guy

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So that just means, no TV, no video games, no fiction books, no motivational material, no takeout/fast food/delivery, and definitely no porn (no jerking it or sex at all either!) for a period of time. Work is allowed but preferably abstained from.
Are you doing this to break habits?
If you're trying to break your habits, you'll definitively fail. Initially, you will be so determined that you can get rid of every bad habit, that you'll give it your best. In your free hours, you'll watch motivational videos and/or work productively. However, gradually your motivation will keep falling. After some time, you'll burn out and give up.
Earlier people used to think that willpower was imaginary and just a state of mind. However, psychologists found out that willpower is existing and a person has a limited resource of willpower. This is why if you have an important task to do but you hate doing it, and you keep postponing it till the end of the day, chances are that you'll never do it.
If you want to change/form habits, don't try to work on more than 2 habits. If you want to increase your reading hours and stop smoking at the same time, don't get into working out or try to change your porn addiction during that time.
I can assure you that I've been trying to travel to different places, be more socially active, become a regular writer at several online platforms, wake up at 6, eat healthy food, workout and study for 10+hours at the same time. I burnt out within 2 weeks. Now, I only focus on eating healthy food, waking up at 7, working out and studying. The first is taken care of by my mother. So I invest my willpower in the other three. Waking up has almost become a habit. I don't require much willpower for that.
Try something small and once you make it your habit, you'll find that you require much less willpower to keep it going. Then, venture out to change something else.
 
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Pink Sheep

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If you're trying to break your habits, you'll definitively fail. Initially, you will be so determined that you can get rid of every bad habit, that you'll give it your best. In your free hours, you'll watch motivational videos and/or work productively. However, gradually your motivation will keep falling. After some time, you'll burn out and give up.
Earlier people used to think that willpower was imaginary and just a state of mind. However, psychologists found out that willpower is existing and a person has a limited resource of willpower. This is why if you have an important task to do but you hate doing it, and you keep postponing it till the end of the day, chances are that you'll never do it.
If you want to change/form habits, don't try to work on more than 2 habits. If you want to increase your reading hours and stop smoking at the same time, don't get into working out or try to change your porn addiction during that time.
I can assure you that I've been trying to travel to different places, be more socially active, become a regular writer at several online platforms, wake up at 6, eat healthy food, workout and study for 10+hours at the same time. I burnt out within 2 weeks. Now, I only focus on eating healthy food, waking up at 7, working out and studying. The first is taken care of by my mother. So I invest my willpower in the other three. Waking up has almost become a habit. I don't require much willpower for that.
Try something small and once you make it your habit, you'll find that you require much less willpower to keep it going. Then, venture out to change something else.
I forgot where i heard it, but here goes.
The brain has two main bases for decision-making, one driven by your primal wants and needs, and one by your logical brain.
Your primal brain will always pick the easiest outcome, and the logical will steer the course and plan ahead to make something seem more attractive.

In other words, if there is no "easy" plan to push you foreward, youll eat junk food and sleep all day. Your logical brain can plan to become a billionaire, and that can be motivation to work for a while. Baby steps is key though for that progression dopamine
 

A_Random_Guy

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I forgot where i heard it, but here goes.
The brain has two main bases for decision-making, one driven by your primal wants and needs, and one by your logical brain.
Your primal brain will always pick the easiest outcome, and the logical will steer the course and plan ahead to make something seem more attractive.

In other words, if there is no "easy" plan to push you foreward, youll eat junk food and sleep all day. Your logical brain can plan to become a billionaire, and that can be motivation to work for a while. Baby steps is key though for that progression dopamine
I believe it is from the book "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt".
"The mind is divided into parts, like a rider (controlled processes) on an elephant (automatic processes)"

Indeed, if your plan is too difficult to execute, chances are that you'll fail. However, we also see motivational speakers and successful people preaching about aiming "big". For example, I forgot which YouTuber made a video about quitting porn addiction, but he said it is a "state of mind, just forget about it and boom! You overcame your addiction. If you even have the slightest sexual thoughts, work for the next 8hours without rest."
I disagree with this. If it was so simple, there wouldn't be a NoFap community. It is a topic for motivational speakers which brings in a good income.

I also see videos of successful people telling you to stop wasting time and just focus on your work. Give it your all starting from Day 1. If you're preparing for your job, invest 18 hours learning about stuff. If you're preparing to get admitted into a college, just study, study, study for 16 hours, 18 hours, 20hours. Well, most people can't. The reason they watch these videos is that they are depressed with their life. They feel motivated after watching these videos and after a few days of struggling to change themselves, they burn out. Now, unable to meet the standards set by them, or to be precise, set by an individual they respect, they give up. They feel more frustrated. They stop trying to change.

Maybe I should create a thread asking about your opinion on this topic. There is a lot to discuss.
 

Pink Sheep

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1 week has passed!
It has been very productive, but also draining physically.
I hope its my body getting used to more work and not something else.

The hardest has been to stay off facebook. I used to check it impulsively, but now i changed that into website work on pc, and programming and research on mobile during downtimes. I still catch myself in opening the app, but i close it instantly.

No porn is fairly simple with a girlfriend.

Not much more to add. Its going good, but apperently fb addicted.
 
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Pink Sheep

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2 weeks in.
No gaming is easy.
No porn, and no fast food is hard. Funny how things are changing!

No social media is fairly easy now. I do spend some more time browsing for example this forum, talking with other entrepreneurs, just looking for socialising elsewhere. At least its more meaninful than sharing memes and raging at news.

I struggle to find the energy to work all day after my dayjob, but im doing a lot more than i used to. I think proper scheduling and for example using focusmate or other accountability services will solve a lot of my mental restrictions.
 

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3 weeks in.
My habits are starting to disappear i feel like.
I dont have my entire schedule timed out like many efficiency gurus suggest, so I dont spend my extra time as good as i could, but I still think it has been an interesting experiment so far.
1 week to go :)
 

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3 weeks in.
My habits are starting to disappear i feel like.
I dont have my entire schedule timed out like many efficiency gurus suggest, so I dont spend my extra time as good as i could, but I still think it has been an interesting experiment so far.
1 week to go :)

Good job sticking with it this far, keep going!
 
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Try to use the extra time to pick up a physical activity. I really recommend martial arts as it will give you a place to socialice, learn dicipline and work out. If you are into DnD and computer games, I would really advice you to pick up Jui Jitsu as it is a thinking mans game and you will be surprised how many gamers, DnD players, warhammer and magic players are in a class. Try it for 2-3 times a week and you will both feel amazing and your productivity will go WAY up.
 
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Try to use the extra time to pick up a physical activity. I really recommend martial arts as it will give you a place to socialice, learn dicipline and work out. If you are into DnD and computer games, I would really advice you to pick up Jui Jitsu as it is a thinking mans game and you will be surprised how many gamers, DnD players, warhammer and magic players are in a class. Try it for 2-3 times a week and you will both feel amazing and your productivity will go WAY up.
Thanks for the tip :) I think the biggest martial art in my area is karate. I could definetly benefit from working out more anyways.
Currently working on gaining weight after being under-weight all my life!
 

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Thanks for the tip :) I think the biggest martial art in my area is karate. I could definetly benefit from working out more anyways.
Currently working on gaining weight after being under-weight all my life!
Karate is very cool as well. I did Kyokushin Karate for 3 years before I went to the army and absolutly loved it. I actually want to go back since it gives me a great deal of peace with all the dicipline and hard work. You can say it gives you the ability to look people in the eye with confidence. Highly recommended and good luck :)

Edit: With your newfound time you could also do some research in some healthy eating and eat more of it. You will be amazed how good you feel when you give your body the eneryg it needs and thrive on. And when you feel good, you do good and when you do good, good things happens in your life.
 
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You need to get a life, aside from spending your time playing and watching videos.
 

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