AlexTheGrape

Yup sure is! Also it's awesome you're going on that trip to build a water pump for people in Africa.

I'm glad you do! If you keep at it, it'll really pay off.

? Sorry but you'll need to be a bit clearer with your jokes

Thanks! I'm glad you like the idea. I'll make sure to check out your journal to see how it goes Ok here's a somewhat easy one.

My post for yesterday: Post-Detox Day 131 Today has been yet another great day! Most of my day consisted of getting a tour and run-down of how people work in Xero, a global accounting software business that started in New Zealand. It was a wonderful opportunity to see where one can go with a computer science degree, and the possibility to make change despite living in such a small country. I asked plenty of questions, and it certainly paid off. I did most of a regular work out in the morning, and did all my other necessary daily tasks. My social goal was to “Greet every person I sit next to in class warmly/talk in a cheerful way with them.” I did this for the vast majority of the day, and within only five minutes of my lunch time I was the centre of attention and was having a splendid time laughing with my friends and acquaintances. It was a great success! Post-Detox Day 132 I started off today really well with a 2.4km run (+ I always have another 1.2km to run home), which I completed in 10 minutes and 10 seconds. It wasn’t my best, but it was pretty darn good for running before the sun was up! I hadn’t set a social goal yesterday, but I went with the same approach and got similar results; people just loved talking to me since I kept such a positive attitude and had a genuine interest in others. Simply asking a few people how their day is going or asking a related question is a very easy way to start a good conversation. Gratitude journal I am grateful for fast paced music to keep me running with the rhythm. I am grateful for having such great friends that I actually have to cut down on the time I spend messaging them. I am grateful for podcasts. One amazing thing that happened/I did today: Although this may seem a bit rebellious, I’m proud of myself for speaking up against one of my teachers that were pushing a particular stance towards a controversial topic. I’d normally just brush off information I know is biased, but I openly challenged my teacher to speak about the other side of the story that wasn’t being presented. A classmate was appreciative and thankful that I spoke up and contributed my thoughts on the topic, as the apparent bias was the ‘elephant in the room’. Workout/run Done. Meditation Done, although it was rather short. Visualisation Yup. Daily affirmations Done. Reading + taking notes Done! Getting to bed before 9pm I am for once on track for getting into bed before 9! I’ve got another 20 minutes before that time. I could 100% Homework effort NEW! Despite me keeping accountable and moving forward with these habits, I’d like to apply this to my school work. I want to be proud of the work I’ve done at the end of the day, so I’m going to keep myself to put in maximum effort. I’ll report on how I’ve done every day. Daily social goal [Mentioned above] I hadn’t set a social goal yesterday, but I went with the same approach and got similar results; people just loved talking to me since I kept such a positive attitude and had a genuine interest in others. Simply asking a few people how their day is going or asking a related question is a very easy way to start a good conversation. Social goal for tomorrow: Take on a leadership role in group conversation – e.g. ask the questions people answer to. I want to do this at least twice tomorrow. Less than 15 minutes of Youtube Yup No procrastination before studying Minimal procrastination, but I could probably do with using less music whilst studying, it can be distracting. What I could have done to make my day better: I could have got to sleep earlier. Nuff said! What I will do differently tomorrow: I’m going to make sure to get all my to-do’s completed that I’ve left to do at a later time; they’ve been piling up recently. Photo Stream From my run this morning. I had my other hand full with a torch, so I put that in the foreground to keep things a little less… dark. Photography lineup I took this one on Friday; looks like a door to somewhere metaphorically bright

Post-Detox Day 130 Today has been another good day in general, but not so in terms of studying done. My job interview in the morning went well, and I think I’m in a good position to make it through to the next stage of the process. I spent a surprising amount of the day messaging and using snapchat, which isn’t a good development. I’ll let it slide today, but I need to make sure that doesn’t happen again in future, especially if I know I have tasks that need doing. I did my 2.4km run this morning, and beat my previous time… by 2 seconds! It’s not a big jump but if I can keep beating my record then I’ll be making awesome progress. Gratitude journal I am grateful for ‘By Design’ by WRLD, it’s been my favourite song for running. I am grateful for my calculator. Life would be much harder without that sort of technology. I am grateful for Facebook as I can connect with people I’d otherwise forget. One amazing thing that happened/I did today: Funnily enough, the first 2/3 of my run was actually enjoyable, despite it being difficult to keep up the fast pace I do. I think having music I like makes a big difference. Workout/run Done. Meditation Done! Visualisation Yup. Daily affirmations Done. Reading + taking notes I read a little, not the standard 20 mins though. Getting to bed before 9pm It’s 9pm right now, so I should be able to get in bed within the next 5 mins. Thankfulness message/letter I’m removing this one as it’s not essential, but I still have a daily reminder on my phone to do this so I can if I have time. Daily social goal “It’ll be to just talk to strangers again. 2 Is good.” I technically did this, but I didn’t initiate conversation and it wasn’t casual, so I wouldn’t say I’ve done it. Social goal for tomorrow: Greet every person I sit next to in class warmly/talk in a cheerful way with them. Python programming Nope. Since the programming competition is over and I won’t need to do any python until next year, I’ll remove it here for now, and I’ll probably just try coding once a week minimum. Less than 15 minutes of Youtube Yup No procrastination before studying Nope. I did plenty of procrastination today, not enough studying. What I could have done to make my day better: I could have had more sleep and made sure to minimise procrastinating. What I will do differently tomorrow: In future (not tomorrow) I’ll make sure to go somewhere else to study if the library is closed (it was closed today). Photo Stream I forgot to take one on my morning run, but luckily I had another run to the river! Thought I might also start making these a bit more interesting by doing something funny with my free hand Photography lineup Here's one of Auckland University where I did my programming competition yesterday.

Welcome back to the community @MmmWatermelon! There's no shame in asking for support from the community, that's what we're here for. I relapsed twice whilst trying to complete the 90 day detox, but I've made it through and it's been some 128 days since I finished the detox. Just letting you know it's completely possible to pull through despite adversity and initial resistance. Best of luck for you completing the detox!

Not every day will be your best, so don't be too hard on yourself if things don't turn out right; just pick up where you left off. Haha I liked the entropy joke:D

Post-Detox Day 129 Today has been a wonderful! I competed in a team at the NZPC (New Zealand Programming Contest) and came 10th place out of 38 teams nationally. I know my team could have gotten at least 3rd or 2nd if we were able to figure out what our most complex program had difficulty with (it correctly answered what we gave it, but didn’t correctly answer all the judge’s data). Anyhow it was a good experience and I’m pleased with my team’s result. Gratitude journal I am grateful for having the resources to learn programming and compete in a programming competition. I am grateful for paper being so cheap. I am grateful for the abundant technology in this day and age. One amazing thing that happened/I did today: Today on the train to the city I talked to a girl my age for what must have been 50 minutes or so. It was certainly interesting to get to know another person’s ‘life story’ and meeting somebody I’d otherwise have never known. It’s great to have a bit more social experience dealing with strangers under my belt, and if I keep this mentality in mind later on it’ll be much easier to socialise with new people. Workout/run I had a full work out this morning. I didn’t beat my best of 45 push ups in a row, but I hope to beat my 2.4k record tomorrow morning! Meditation Done! Visualisation Done, finally! Daily affirmations Not done yet, I forgot to bring the sheet (with them on it) with me. Reading + taking notes Nope. Getting to bed before 9pm (Not possible today, I got home at 9:50!) Thankfulness message/letter Done. I’m having second thoughts on this one though; it’s helpful but not actually essential. Daily social goal “I’m going to get to know two strangers tomorrow, and maybe more if I feel up to it. I’d like to exercise the idea that every stranger is a friend that just hasn’t been met yet.” I started conversations with multiple strangers today (2-3) and one of them was a very long conversation indeed! Social goal for tomorrow: It’ll be to just talk to strangers again. 2 Is good. Python programming Yup, at the competition, I planned coding and coded for 5 hours! Less than 15 minutes of Youtube Yup No procrastination before studying -- (didn’t study today) What I could have done to make my day better: I could have made sure to get to sleep on time yesterday; it was my afternoon off but I could still have gotten to bed one time. What I will do differently tomorrow: I’m going to make sure all my alarms are on tomorrow, I think some of them aren’t on. Photo Stream Didn’t run today, so not streaming. Photography lineup Here’s another one from my photography outing to Lake Wainamu a few months ago.

Post-Detox Day 127 I didn’t post when I should have, and I’m not happy about that level of commitment. I have been busy, but five minutes to write a quick post is completely possible. Regardless, yesterday I did very well in general. I completed a full 2.4k run in the morning, meditated, didn’t visualise (again…), and did a ton of python! I still need to work on getting back to studying quicker though; I have a habit of ceasing to work after eating dinner. Anyhow I’m doing fine at the moment. Post-Detox Day 128 Today has been another good day at school, and I had a nice relaxing afternoon. I’ve given myself permission to have Friday afternoons off, and it feels good to not feel guilty to take a break from studying. This may seem a bit strange, but I have a tendency to ‘max-out’ all the time I have to study and do other necessary activities, even during weekend hours. This leaves me with no dedicated time to relax, and now I have some time to look forward to so that every day isn’t a grind. Tomorrow I’ll be back to study mode though. :P I’ve also noticed that a reason I’ve been putting off visualisation is that I may be perceived simply as a ‘weirdo’ for looking at pictures (my visualisation goals) and closing my eyes whilst on the bus. I can address this by either doing visualisation at home or emphasizing the use of consistent visualisation. My gain of doing visualisation is much greater than the instantaneous notice of others. Either way, I’ll be keeping myself accountable for acting on this in the next week. I’ll be off to a programming competition tomorrow, have heaps of studying I’ve got planned, and have a job interview on Sunday, so my weekend will be pretty packed! Gratitude journal I am grateful for my amazing tutor teacher who has guided me these past 3 years. I am grateful for having a heater in my room. I am grateful for having no current conflicts or grudges with anybody. One amazing thing that happened/I did today: Coming home to my rural house, I saw beautiful views of green hills and a couple of rainbows. I’m aware that such sights are rare, and the general scenery even rarer elsewhere in the world. I’m grateful for the wonderful sights, it was a great way to finish the school week. Workout/run Had my once a week break. Meditation Done. Visualisation Skipped… I’ll certainly get onto it tomorrow though! Daily affirmations Done. Reading + taking notes Yup. Getting to bed before 9pm Nope. Thankfulness message/letter Skipped. Daily social goal None was set today. Social goal for tomorrow: I’m going to get to know two strangers tomorrow, and maybe more if I feel up to it. I’d like to exercise the idea that every stranger is a friend that just hasn’t been met yet. Python programming Not today. Less than 15 minutes of Youtube -- (free afternoon) No procrastination before studying -- (free afternoon) What I could have done to make my day better: I could have possibly did more organisation of what homework I want to get done this weekend, but in general I think I’ve done fairly well with today with paying attention during class and checking off to-do’s during school breaks. What I will do differently tomorrow: I’m going to do two meditation and two visualisation sessions tomorrow; I think it could help with keeping a clear head throughout the day so I’ll need to try it. Photo Stream Here’s one from my run yesterday! Photography lineup Here’s another one from my time in Australia a few months ago. This one’s a favourite of mine.

Taking initiative to move your life forward is a bold step that will pay off if you keep committed to finish the detox. I've relapsed twice whilst trying to finish the 90 day detox, but I made it through in the end. Despite relapse, it's always possible to push through to where you want to be. All the best for making it to the other side of the detox, we're here to support you the whole way!

Welcome to the community! I can relate a lot to being competitive and having video games around at an early age, perhaps you might be able to learn a little from my journal (if you've got the time to read that much!) Best of luck for your journey, and welcome again to the forum

Hi Laney, welcome back! I hope you stay with us long enough to make it through the detox again if that's your intention; but regardless of whether you succeed or not, there's no shame in sticking around to receive and give support. I've stuck around after my multiple relapses, and came through successfully; I still stick around to develop myself further and help others quitting gaming. I'm glad you're back, and I hope to hear how you're doing soon!

Hi Tom! Good on you for starting a journal, it'll really help with getting support from other members and keeping you accountable. If you get started on an instrument or creating electronic music, you'll not only create positive experiences for yourself, but also skills that you can develop further and apply elsewhere in your life. All the best for your detox!

It's wonderful to see you still pushing yourself socially by dressing up and going to the city! I see that you mention (quite boldly) "It's time to whoop my ass back in shape!". Doing these huge outgoing adventures may be really helpful if you've got the time, but if you're trying to create permanent change that changes the way you normally interact with people, I'd recommend just setting small goals and working on them daily. All the best for whatever you decide, either way you're really breaking through glass ceilings already!

Post-Detox Day 126 I'm doing another short post - this afternoon has been busy! Today's classes have been a combination of fun, pressuring (a test), and interesting, as I'm getting into some interesting topics such as human evolution in biology. I had fencing this afternoon and gave it my best, and to top it off had a wonderful dinner with my classmates to farewell our tutor teacher who has been with most of us for at least 5 years. I had a full work out this morning, did some meditation, forgot visualisation again, gave genuine thanks, read and took notes last night. I've done pretty well with my habits, but I didn't make/have the time to do python programming. I suppose I could have squeezed 20 minutes in somewhere, but I've been filling everything from lunch times to after school with other activities... Thanks, but I can't figure out what you mean by 'the semi'. I'm guessing it might be to do with 'thanks for reading, reader!'(?).

Post-Detox Day 125 Today has been another great one; I kept myself relatively busy in school, and I well exceeded my social goal. A highlight is I’m now in position to help raise awareness about video game addiction and my story quitting games, as I’ll be on national television to share my story within a few months. I was busy with other general activities but didn’t get much homework done this afternoon though. In terms of my habits I’ve done pretty well; I exercised in the morning, did my meditation (forgot visualisation though), sent a thank-you letter, read and took lots of notes last night, and generally did these necessary tasks. I now need to work on getting into my study in spite of major setbacks and distractions like I experienced today. I’ll need to cut this one short, I need to get up early again to work out. Thanks for reading, reader!

Thanks for the advice Cam. I've made sure to remove the commitments that haven't been worthwhile. On the other hand I can't be assured that people here on the forum will be supportive of me working toward my goals, but I know that I need some accountability and I'm not going to be discouraged by the people here. I currently don't go around telling people I'm on some sort of journey by quitting games or anything, and that works for the better. I don't receive recognition for what I'm doing until I show results (e.g. I've had positive comments on my physical appearance, but I haven't been telling people that I've been working out). Thank you for that video, it's very relevant to what I was feeling. I'll keep in mind that other's can't see my motives or where I'm heading, just what I'm doing now.

Hi Alex, welcome to the community! Thanks for sharing your story, it seems like you're off to a flying start by making those major moves to reinvent your life. I also find that going to study at a public library can be very helpful for productivity; I hope that goes well for you.

That's really understandable, and in your case it's probably best not to have it public. Personally I find the accountability more important than anything for posting online, the encouragement is only needed when I'm having troubling times (e.g. my previous relapses). Thanks for your input, I'll take that into consideration for recommending this type of thing to people in future.

Post-Detox Day 124 Today has been amazing, largely because I kept to everything I scheduled. I had a work out to start off my day, did well focusing in school, and kicked off my afternoon well by going for a run. I got sufficient homework done this afternoon, although I could have squeezed in more if I spent less time watching the news. Gratitude journal I am grateful for the surprise milkshake I was given this afternoon. I am grateful for having wonderful views during my run this afternoon. I am grateful for having the freedom to do what I wish with my time. One amazing thing I did today: This afternoon I went for a run despite having already done my needed exercise, and it was quite enjoyable despite me pushing myself to sprint at some points. Getting outside and feeling the wind in my face is starting to be a positive thing I’ve been focusing on, and it’s getting easier to get out and running. Workout/run Done! Meditation Done. Visualisation Done, although it was halfway through the day. Daily affirmations Done. Reading + taking notes Done and done! Getting to bed before 9pm I did much better yesterday than the night before, but I’m going to do better today. I’m only 10 minutes behind schedule right now, as opposed to 20 yesterday by the time I wrote this. Thankfulness message/letter NEW! A few months ago I tried a proven helpful daily activity of thanking one person for something, sincerely, every day. I’ve done this the past couple of days, and I’d like to add it here to keep myself going at it consistently. It only takes a couple of minutes a day, doesn’t cost me anything, and can make someone else’s day whilst enhancing my use of gratitude. Daily social goal “I want to make sure I take on leadership opportunities whenever I can, even if it’s just something small like answering a question to the floor in class.” I spoke up more in class today which was good, but there were a couple of times I could have helped out my class more. All in all I’ve done well for this one. Social goal for tomorrow: I’m going to have a proper conversation with two acquaintances. Python programming Nope. I’ve written it in red in my planner now, it’s high priority for tomorrow. Less than 15 minutes of Youtube I had about 15 minutes, probably less. No procrastination before studying I did really well with this one, I now need to get better at getting back to work quicker after significant disruptions. What I could have done to make my day better: I’ve done pretty well today, but I suppose I could have gotten back to work quicker after dinner and spoke to more people. What I will do differently tomorrow: I’m going to assign in-school tasks I want to do to certain time periods, that way I won’t leave it to do later. Photo Stream On my run today I went on a sea-view outing, so I took a photo of an Island. I took it whilst my phone was strapped to my arm (like a lot of my river photos) so it’s not the best Photography lineup Here’s one from my time in Australia a few months ago!

Welcome to the forum @Math_00! Respawn is definitely a good read and practical tool, so if you finish it you'll be well on your way to changing your habits for the better. Despite the initial difficulty of getting to know new people, it becomes easier and a lot more enjoyable, so don't be afraid to say hi to someone new.

Hi JSmith, welcome to the community! You have a long history with gaming, but in the same way it'll be a massive turnaround to see yourself succeeding at last. Thanks for sharing your story, it takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there on the internet. You've made the right choice to start taking things seriously and working out what your values are. Journaling is also a very helpful tool for keeping on track. Kudos to your for starting this journey. All the best for whatever you choose to do, whether it be just a month away from gaming or the whole 90 day detox.

Thanks for checking out my journal. You have a good point, as that post just took me half an hour to write. In a way it isn't necessary to be writing so much, but I still find it helpful to reflect on my day and try to do better the next. Having my long list of daily habits keeps me accountable for developing myself, and so I think it's worth it. What goals here do you find? I didn't think they're able to be found here other than the visualisation posts I added. What makes you think goals shouldn't be posted here? I'm just curious as I've had second thoughts about publicly posting those sorts of things. Thanks again for commenting, I appreciate it

My post for yesterday: Post-Detox Day 123 Today has been a successful study day, despite getting up later than I should have. I saw a movie with my old school friends (Star Trek) in the evening, and unfortunately we missed a bus and so was late. I strangely felt there was a growing gap in maturity, as I might be 'outpacing' my friends with all my self-development activities. All in all it was a good day, but it certainly didn't do anything good for my sleep to get back home at 11pm. Post for today: Post-Detox Day 124 Today has been a very mixed bag in many ways. I identified a source of my stresses and insecurities regarding my future life, what it meant to be me, and the path I'm taking in life (i.e. it being different to my peers). It was a difficult experience to delve into these topics, but by talking it through with a family member I could get another opinion on it and I'm now much better off with my sources of stress addressed (no rhyme intended). I didn't start my morning routine upon waking up, and it spelled chaos for my studying routine as I ended up watching videos and procrastinating. To be fair I haven't given myself much down time recently and I didn't get much sleep, but I've now identified that it's crucial to keep a consistent schedule in the morning if I want a planned day to work. Also not meditating in the morning resulted in me feeling sluggish, which would normally have been removed if I'd have 'emptied my thoughts'. All in all it was a good day since I got some mentally troubling issues sorted, and learned a lesson. Gratitude journal I am grateful for having amazing friends that go out of their way to see how I'm doing. I am grateful for the opportunity to be on national television soon. I am grateful for my capability and attitude to learn from my mistakes. One amazing thing I did today: I prepared for studying (and inadvertently cheered myself up) with a run this afternoon; I enjoyed it despite it being an intense 2.4km run. I couldn't help but smile seeing the city in the distance whilst running through a field, and I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the run. I celebrated a successful run by dancing to 'Party' by Tokyo Machine, and I am thinking I'm finally starting to enjoy running. Workout/run Yup. Meditation Yup. Visualisation Yup. I think it worked well today. Daily affirmations Yup. Also worked well today. Reading + taking notes I read, but didn’t take notes. Getting to bed before 9pm Not a chance, I got home at 11pm. On the bright side I’ve set up a series of alarms that are gentle and have actually worked today, I’m only off schedule by 20 minutes at the moment (much better than previous attempts) but I’ll try and get it done on time tomorrow. Daily social goal It was to simply be confident in everything I do. I think this has helped with my run, but otherwise I forgot to apply it. Social goal for tomorrow: I want to make sure I take on leadership opportunities whenever I can, even if it’s just something small like answering a question to the floor in class. Python programming Nope. Less than 15 minutes of Youtube Nope. No procrastination before studying Certainly a no. What I could have done to make my day better: I could have stuck to my morning schedule; that would have made a huge difference. What I will do differently tomorrow: I will make sure to do a full workout as part of my morning schedule (and do it all on time) Photo Stream I ran by a stream today but didn’t take a photo, so I’ll add one that I took on Friday morning. Photography lineup Another photo I took near Lake Wainamu a few months ago. ­­­­