NEW VIDEO: The EASIEST Way to Stop Gaming
Vlad
-
Posts
252 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Vlad
-
-
???
what? Is it because this site reminds you of accountability? -
Tux, great respect for No Screen days! I'd do them myself, but for now at my hands-on level I need a computer of some sort to make money.
As for psychopaths, I'm pretty sure some of them could get a kick out of playing My Little Pony), but the same goes for any nonviolent activity.
I totally agree with your point on lower income families and TV. I'm a law abiding citizen by all means, but when I pass by cheap housing and see people watching TV I dream of starting a charity fund. The fund would only need money for nice heavy aluminum baseball bats. Charity workers would kick doors in and smash TV sets right in front of the watchers liberating them so they can make money and better their living standards. I feel bad seeing them stuck and unhappy. But that's just my crazy utopia or dystopia. In real life I totally respect other people's free will and would never do such a thing. Plus that would increase competition for all the good things in life, and that's a conflict of interests right there, bro.
Best of luck on your journey.
-
1
-
-
Steven, awesome to have you back. You're a true cowboy in a sense that you keep getting back on the horse every time you fall. Great persistence! Always pays. Your relapses were probably due to you not having enough instruments.
I suggest you use an NLP technique Tony Robbins called "the Dickens process" in reference to A Christmas Carol. In short it means that you have to vividly imagine all the costs and losses you have had, still have and are going to have due to gaming and after that imagine a truly beatiful alternative for the future.
Think about your past. What have you missed? What could you have done and gained if it wasn't for your addiction? What could your life be like, but isn't? Think about your present. What gaming is costing you in the present? How do you like it? Imagine yourself in 10 years if you keep on gaming. What are you like? How do you feel? What do you have? Is it the best you can do? Where do you live? Who do you have around you? What are your further perspectives like? In my case honest answers to questions like that were very painful and left me bitter, that's how I got pain associated with gaming. After that you have to imagine a very pleasant future without gaming. A future so nice it makes your heart race and your mouth water. Repeat until you absolutely need that better alternative future.
I found it hard to stay determined while I had second thoughts about the course I wanted. So, rinse and repeat that process until it makes a deep groove in your mind.
Sorry, didn't mean to sound like an all-knowing platypus. I just found this technique useful and effective, and hoped you'd like it as well. My name a Borat, I like)
May the force be with you, bro)
-
Day 9
The day was ok. I got some work done but then got carried away by a new practical marketing course. Good thing is that I seriously expect it to be fruitful and will bring me extra cash, but skipping from task to task shows my lack of "discipreen".)) Also the amount of money I'm spending on business courses lately is becoming more than ridiculous. I'd say even reckless, but that kind of practical learning seems to pay out for me when I work on it diligently.
I took my girlfriend out and stuck to salads myself, which I'm a little proud of. My usual diet doesn't have much greenery in it. I understand that veggies are good and healthy but I get my food cooked and delivered to me every two days, so I'm too lazy to bother going to stores and buying extra veggies and fruits. Also because I get five daily meals delivered I have an incentive not to eat out much, as in such a case I would have to throw food away.
I'm happy that I keep losing fat, but after my morning weigh-in anouncement my girl asked me not to go below 220 lbs. As I often do, I told her: "Obey,woman!". I tell her that in a cheerful tone and am generally very good caring to her, so she's always happy to hear that. My next two psychological milestones are 220 lbs and next 214 lbs, the latter would be my maximum shipping weight if I chose to be a marine. It's just a mental trick because I have no interest in killing people that have done me no harm on someone's demand for little pay, plus the college benefits are irrelevant at this point in my life.
Last night before nodding off I had a funny dream: I could see myself in third person sitting in my living room playing a video game. Then I realized that it was a dream, I thought to myself: "WTF?! What kind of dream is that? Where are the chicks, bro?" Then it was lights out and I went to sleep.)))
Another thing I'm not sure about is my girl's unproductive chatter. I hate when she complains about her job as a real estate saleswoman: her dumb as a doorknob new colleagues, inconvenient timetable that has her travel to different neighborhoods etc. I have a hard time getting her to tell me what she wants instead of being unhappy with the present state.
I guess I get irritated by that behaior just because it mirrors my difficulties with being crystal clear with my own goals and wants. I do agree that we only can see good and bad traits in people that we have to some extent ourselves, otherwise we would have no reference to check against. So I guess I'd better work on myself first and become an inspiration for my girlfriend. That would be a nice thing to do, plus she is an inspiration for me weight wise, since she's got visible abs and I don't. And I want them badly.) And she's a constant reminder that its absolutely possible, because she wasn't always like that. So becoming more successful will be an expression of my gratitude for her.
Cheers) and tables)))
-
Awesome, Chris! Very well done.
I also undrestand your interest in gardening. I'm not into flowers or edibles, but I love Virginia Creeper. It's such a nice plant for covering up fences! I planted it by the fences around my businesses myself. Planting was interesting itself and it's such a pleasure seeing it grow. But these plants are tricky - the seem to grow only when I'm not paying any attention to them. Shy plants, I guess.
-
Bob, awesome progress!
I think triggering oneself is pure masochism, i'm glad that you're determined not to test your will power on purpose.
Keep on pushing, you're doing great.
-
ENTRY #49:
Sleep deprivation makes happy.
Sleep deprivation makes inadequate, just ask fighter pilots. From my own experience I tend to agree that sleep deprivation is in many ways similar to being under influence.
Props for bouncing back and having staying power. Thank you for returning to the community and best of luck on your journey.
-
Day 8
Today I was very unproductive. I went to bed late, slept for 3.5 hours forced myself to finish my morning tasks as I had deadlines and by 2 pm I was legitimately useless. I don't know if I'm becoming more sensitive to sleep deficit or if I'm expriencing a full-blown withdrawal. My head is foggy, I'm restless, have a hard time focusing and feel a little apathetic. It somewhat reminds me of the time I quit caffeine after a period of abusing coffee and energy drinks. It got much better after the first 3-4 days with caffeine. Why did it kick in on day 8 and how long will the symptoms last?
I look forward to working well tomorrow, even better that on weekends I don't get distracted by calls and questions on routine opearions. I intend to get myself toghether and will start tomorrow with a workout. Plus I've got a dealine, I've got to get stuff done before 7 pm, as I promised to take my girlfriend out tomorrow night.
Funny note, that my girlfriend was oblivious that I had a console, and only saw it when I was preparing to sell it. I've kept my gaming on the down low from almost everyone since high school, as it was frowned upon by my family while I was growing up. And today I found that it to be another sign of addiction. So, yeah, I had all the reasons to break gaming off.
Peace)
-
@Skaliq I totally can relate and I sympathize with you.
I want to share a concept that has certainly worked for me, see if it works for you. We humans are hard-wired for survival, that's why we are strongly triggered by scarcity. It's well-indicated by sales tactics like limited editions, one-time offers and old-as-time history of profiteering on real and perceived shortages.
I also miss a few games. If I think that they are gone from my own little world then it's no less than a tiny catastrophe. But I understand that those games are abundant and ever-present in the real world, and technically I could buy more copies of the game that I could store if I decided to. I just decide to pick real life over games. So I feel better.
Imagine a huge tip truck filled with DVDs or other information storage media with the games you miss on them. So this truck has been bringing you those things and dumping them right in front of your house leaving humongous piles every single day for the last 2 weeks. You managed to dispose of maybe 10% but the remainder start to resemble an artificial mountain. You asked the truck driver, when were they going to stop? He told you that he didn't know exactly, but he had been booked for this route for at least another month. How do you feel when you imagine those constantly growing piles of games? Do those games start to feel a little like advertising spam trying to clutter your mail and email boxes?
Please share your thoughts on the concept and the effect if you do the abovementioned imagination exercise.
I admire your will power and cheer for your progress.
-
Congrats on good results! You're definitely progressing very well.
Be careful not to push yourself too hard on weightlifting, so you feel more enthusiastic to return to the gym. Consistency is way more important than occasional super efforts.
Thank you for systematical posts, that keeps the pace for all community members.
-
@Mettermrck thank you for your support. It's one of the things that helps me stay afloat)
-
@giblets great podcast, you're a natural and awesome accent btw!
-
Day 7 - update
I hope you find this update at least funny if not relatable. So, as promised I got rid of all my gaming items today, including selling my old xbox 360 console.
I didn't know a person could get so emotionally attached to a plastic box. I felt uneasy about taking pics of it and making a sale ad, so I procrastinated a little. Thanks to you fine GameQuitters I stumbbled upon the idea of deleting all profiles and achievements to ease into it. I was a little surprized that it did work well to an extent.
So I mastered all my strength
and created the ad to gain momentum. But than I was taken aback by the competition . Those things sell for peanuts these days! 
I turned red with anger and than green with greed. Logically I understood that I bought all those things a long time ago, so accounting-wise it's all profit given full depreciation and economically speaking the profit is even greater as all that stuff were liabilities eating up time, space and focus. So after some rigorous analysis, internal bargaining and a short session of self-pity I mastered even more strength and set the price at the estimated market rate of $70 for everything.Later today I got a bid at $45... with delivery
. I had an urge to tell the buyer that I would rather throw the console out of my apartment window on the 10th floor than it drive to him for 50 minutes for $45 . Well, luckily I knew better. I was really determined to keep my promise so after a little back and forth we made a deal at $55. When I started packing all my xbox stuff, I was struck by grief. I mean WTF?!!! I knew that video games have been some part of my life for a long time, but I genuinely felt as if I was breaking up with a girl that I liked much, but didn't see my future with. All that over a plastic box, for real??! After I had done packing, I suddenly felt like my living room had lost a member of its furniture family. While I was driving I felt like shedding tears over it
.So, yeah, I deliverd the stuff and got paid. I felt liberated but also somewhat lonely. The area I was in reminded me of a girl that I used to have some sort of friends with benefits thing going about two years ago. She had also tried to call me a month ago to wish me happy birthday when I was abroad on vacation. So, I called her up - in the course of our small talk she asked why was I around? I was ashamed to tell her that I drove all the way to sell my old xbox, but still told her the truth. I explained that I needed it out of my home today. So, we chatted for a while on the phone while I drove home. It made me feel much more centered. I didn't stop by as I had other arrangements for the night.
I'm sure that this will be one those idiotic experiences that I will tell people laughing my ass of in the future. For now I feel proud because it sunk into my brain that the die is cast and that I'm not just taking a piss about quitting gaming forever.
A useful concept I thought to myself on the way home was that there is really no need to worry as game consoles are abundant and cheap. So, if I suddenly have to I can buy so many of them that I can build myself a huge sofa out of those things.
So, there you have it. My story of getting rid of my last gaming stuff.
-
Add +1 Charisma for squatting bro) Good stuff
-
I feel you. Keep in mind it's only temporary.
Working out really helps, in times like that I just do some weightlifting or calisthenics and hormones kick in to raise my mood above the sea level. Of course i have to drag myself into doing that, but once I get going it's a breeze. I suspect it works for everyone in a similar fashion.
May the force be with you)
-
Day 7
Today was a hard day. From time to time a saying comes to my mind: Entrepreneurs are people that specialize in finding ways to pay for own mistakes. Sales cycle is such a bitch! The cash flow is going to be tight until mid-August, I have to pay rent, salaries, taxes other expenses and there I go pay for some more advertizing.
I'm very hesitant hiring more employees that I need badly as I don't know where to sit them and what to pay them. Without them my operations are slower than I want it to be. I'm almost panicking that some of my clients and partners may think that I'm flaking out on then. I've no idea how did I manage to shove gaming into my schedule - it's overflowing as is. I did crave to relapse today but didn't. Escaping was never the answer. Fortunately, I've burned bridges and have you to be accountable to and keep my face with. As Cam said: Stay in it, stay with it, stay committed. I choose to stay with the fear and pain. In retrospect it will seem a picnic, always does.
Thanks for accountability and will keep you posted. In the meantime, I've got a buttload of work to do. Cheers)))
-
Mind blown! Really 30 km in one trip? You must be a centaur) Respect.
-
Are you fasting for bloodwork?
Great job at setting goals! And respect for your attitude towards health screenings, they make your progress more measurable and therefore much more pleasant.
Godspeed. -
@Mettermrck Bro, you described the feeling just right - I felt lifeless and caged. Sorry, I didn't mean to link the feeling to a number on the scale.
I'm convinced that we were created to be full of energy and vigour. Without blinding distractions we can't help but steer towards our predesigned vitality. So let's keep up with each other, I believe in you and look forward to learning about your amazing journey and I will share mine in return.
-
The move with the cables was absolutely brilliant! I'm proud of you.
-
Sounds like a good plan for a start, I think you will find getting rid of trash and useless stuff liberating and empowering. I sure do. Best of luck on your journey.
-
I feel you about stess-eating, it's a real downer. I work with that by preparing food for the whole day in advance and not having any unhealthy food around me at all. I haven't made random trips to a grocery store for more than two months now. Works like a charm.) Congrats on your progress and godspeed.
-
Day 6
I'm stressed out over how little I manage to get done in business. My mind is all over the place due a large number of challenges, inadequate planning and subpar execution. I demand that quitting addictive behaviors clear my mind.
Though I'm willing to keep my one significant vice - smoking shisha/waterpipe, for now. I'll kick it by the end of the summer. It's funny how my girlfriend is worried that I'm quitting so many things. She says that with that kind of momentum I might as well drop her along the way.))
I felt uneasy about placing an ad selling my console and all related items but still did it after some hesitation. I'm sure that I needed to burn bridges in order to understand the finality of my decision.
I'm elimanating my escapist "emergency exits" to narrow my focus:
- video games
- porn
- political news, talks or thoughts about politics
- general news (things I can't influence)
- giving unsolicited advice to others
- general self-development bubble gum. I consider Cam very spot-on about Just-in-time learning, I will stick to that
I'm glad with my progress on the fitness front. I've always been very athletic prior to my sports knee and forearm injuries, but after those coupled with a very time-consuming career I've let myself go and got fat. At 6'2 and 230 lbs I felt like a sluggish tub of lard planted full-time at a very sedentary and stressful job. After starting my first business I took up powerlifting because of its controlled nature and overall health benefits, progressed well and got down to 205 lbs. But later stress of running a start-up has got to me and I started indulging in passive recreation like gaming, eating junk and Youtube watching. At my heaviest I was 250 lbs but still felt better than during my career years. Now I'm at 230 lbs and moving in the right direction. I expect to get a legitimate six pack (somewhere around 180-190lbs) by the end of this year. I find it funny how I'm happy to have transitioned from being obese to being overweight in BMI terms.
Thank you for support, I will continue my journey and keep you posted.
-
Bob, you're an inspiration for people! Please keep up the good work and keep writing.
Captain Taru's Log: Out of the Fog
in Daily Journals
Posted
@Cam Adair Are you going to Portugal to surf?