NEW VIDEO: I Quit MMOs and THIS Happened
Zakaex
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Posts posted by Zakaex
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Day 34 (February 15, 2016)
Got up to the gym again and had a great game with some pick-up basketball - I can feel myself improving on all aspects of the game through training already. Exercised, did some reading and meditated (with the app Headspace as recommended by others).
Although meditating and the daily reading (minimum 20 minutes) are still taking the time to convert into any tangible results. I am confident that it will be just like the MMORPG's that I used to play: We all start at level 1 with a set of skills. As we use the same abilities over and over again, we accumulate enough experience points and all of a sudden we are at level 2, with new places to go, new skills and new perks to enjoy.
I believe it to be the same in real life, where the only exception is that we do not get to see an experience bar (unless we track down our goals with apps like Coach.me). I may still be at a level in which I cannot fathom much of a difference from yesterday, but eventually, there will be that 'ding.' we are all looking for where all of our persistence and hard work will radiate out to others.
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Day 33 (February 14, 2016)
Returning to my daily routine of hitting the gym, this time after going through consultations with a trainer, I am now going through a less intensive program with appropriate rest days. Though the campus has never been more quiet, I am more inclined to explore more places - surely there is more to the place than it meets the eye.
I have also gotten over the urges of video gaming for now, luckily. After going through some of my basketball drills, I realized how much I have improved; real, tangible improvement. For all its worth all that sweat and hard work have finally translated into some result, and I have never been more motivated to train more in my life.
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Day 32 (February 13, 2016)
Reading week is here in Canada Universities (For mine at least), and while all my housemates have gone back to their home in around few hours, I have the place all to myself. Which is pretty nice, the peace and quiet are just what I needed to catch up on my studies... or is it?
Just this afternoon when the sun started to go down I began to feel it, under the dark, cold night lies something rather frightening in the living room - it's eyes are on me, trying to creep in whenever it gets the opportunity: the thought of reinstalling games!! Ghosts and monsters are the last things I am worried about when I have the entire houses high-speed internet at my disposal. With lighting fast downloading speed significantly decreasing the resistance for me to install games, my mind was fighting against one another consistently.
While battling my urges, I started to visualize what I wanted in the future again - the respect of my peers, a happy and healthy life with the girl of my dreams, etc. All of these allowed me to come eventually back to living the 'stoic' lifestyle I am slowly transforming into, throughout this 90-day detox
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Day 31 (February 12, 2016)
Decided to hang out with friends today to watch the new Deadpool movie, had plenty of fun. I can't help but think that I may be more of an extrovert at heart - the theory is that gaming has been fulfilling that social aspect that I needed in life causing me to shun away from the 'real life.' until the point in which I started considering myself an introvert.
While chilling on the couch today, some of my friends also begun to lure me into joining them in a match of Soul Caliber V, in which my first thoughts are of that I can't obviously, being in a detox and all. Slowly and steadily, however, my brain started to tempt to as well whispering how "It is just one short match, it won't cause you to relapse." to which, strangely enough, I argued with the fact that refraining from even that is staying true to my values of this detox. In the book "Managing Oneself" by Peter F. Drucker he says "Ethics require to ask yourself, what kind of person do I want to see in the mirror in the morning?", if I wish to work with real, persistent and tough people, then I will have to be one myself.
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Day 30 (February 11, 2016)
Finally made it to day thirty! It had been a wild ride so far, especially when it came to uncovering a whole new perspective on the world. I learned more about myself, not only did I feel that I got mentally stronger; procrastinated less, started to read and meditate. But physically as well, working out each day.
I am also glad to say that these results have not only been reflected me internally but externally as well: One of my primary goals of this 90-day detox was to become more social in my day to day life. And so far not only was I able to reunite with my old high school friend in college but managed to get recruited into their basketball intramurals team as well.
Thank you, Cam, Mario (WorkInProgress) and others who are still continually supporting and checking up on my progress. I will keep up the streak till the end and not disappoint.
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Day 29 (February 10, 2016)
Took the day off for recovery today, and went to visit a career adviser. I started to become more and more curious as to where I should start focusing my life ever since gaming has stopped numbing my mind, diverging it from reality.
(What I have been reading turned out to be quite fascinating, and I will make a post about my findings in the forum soon.)
Seen this talk? Adam's a friend, love his stuff on this subject.
This is perfect! Thank you!
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Day 29 (February 10, 2016)
Took the day off for recovery today, and went to visit a career adviser. I started to become more and more curious as to where I should start focusing my life ever since gaming has stopped numbing my mind, diverging it from reality.
(What I have been reading turned out to be quite fascinating, and I will make a post about my findings in the forum soon.)
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Day 28 (February 9, 2016)
Forgot to wrap up the day yesterday with a journal entry, but the memories are still as fresh as I can remember. Started playing an official game of basketball again with a new group of friends (One of them being my old high school teammate), although intramurals are purely for recreational purposes, I still enjoyed being surrounded by hard working, athletic peers.
Since Tip-off starts at 11:30 PM (Yes, at night), I was pumped the whole day. Excited to put my training finally to the test against others who enjoy the sport of basketball as much as I do, and I have never felt more restless for a very long time. Moments like these remind me of how video games have robbed me of all these real-life social gatherings which are all way better than meeting up in a virtual world.
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Day 27 (February 8, 2016)
Mustered up the confidence in asking a group of people to join their pickup ball game. Turns out that there are many things in life if you don't seek and knock, it will almost never come to you. Just like what the Bible wrote - Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
Got fitter, today, read and got smarter today. Although these are just 0.01% improvements to my life, I am motivated and hope these little 0.01%'s can accumulate into big things once I have ingrained these habits into my mind positively.
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Day 26 (February 7, 2016)
Got out to the library today to do some school work, who would have thought that one of them would be so spacious and quiet. Since I used to leave hardly the house, I didn't know if there would be any place on campus to being a better study area than my room. And I have never been so wrong - being surrounded in an environment in which everyone is dedicating and focused on their education really can be infectious as opposed to locking myself in my room knowing that my housemates downstairs are playing video games, which can prove time to time rather distracting.
Also consulted a physician on my body condition, starting tomorrow I am going to begin a less intensive workout session and slowly work myself up from there. Apparently, unlike your career - where the harder and more you work, the more you grow your business. Physical exercise has these 'diminishing returns' and can be counter-productive when we are pushing the limits.
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Day 25 (February 6, 2016)
Despite being stuck at home with the recovery process, I managed to get a lot of productivity through reading and studying self-development videos. I've got to admit most of the time it gets repetitive, but whatever we put in, we get out, so surprisingly I made it through today clean again while having the benefit of strengthening my reading habits.
My new book "How To Win Friends & Influence People" has also just arrived today in a package. Although I don't consider myself anti-social at all, I suppose it can step up my game immensely for fitting into Canadian culture here (Since I am a foreigner who just arrived here for college studies as of late).
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If you feel like you need some recovery, try restorative/yin/deep stretch yoga. I like to go to a yoga class in days between gym workouts and it helps my recovery a lot.
Definitely, thanks for the tip!
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Day 24 (February 5, 2016)
Slept at 11 pm determined to get up early for a good breakfast and kill another workout - turned out getting real pumped and excited for some reason and could not sleep, woke up at 4 am midnight and struggled to get some shut eye.
Turns out I have already overtrained myself, too much HIIT workouts without appropriate recovery (body has not yet adapted). And having trouble to sleep is just one of the most noticeable symptoms from overtraining; my sympathetic nervous system is over-stimulated hence keeping me feeling restless at night. I guess I know more about myself now. Listening to the body is crucial when it comes to following a training program and tailoring it to yourself.
Despite unable to get out more today, I managed to throw in a few self-development live talks, podcasts while I did some foam rolling and stretching - still feeling all the more satisfied making it through the day video games free.
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Day 23 (February 4, 2016)
Made the same mistake last night, somehow unconsciously slept for almost 10 hours (Could be the extra recovery hours needed from HIIT workouts). As the days pass by, and I check off the same 'dailies' to-do's over and over again, I find myself growing with more and more confidence within and feeling less self-conscious. Just today I had the will to join a group of other students on my university campus for a pickup game of basketball.
Small, tangible achievements like these are just all the more motivating for me to keep up the hard work. Most of the that 'work' nowadays are to avoid the tempting smell of fast food simply my housemates keep on ordering in the winter (for they are just too lazy to get out of the house during this season). I understand that they continue to become an obstacle to my growth, but hopefully, as I keep on fighting for a better life I will be accumulating more determined, active friends that I can surround myself with one day!
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Day 22 (February 3, 2016)
Started the day off overslept. Woke up and sluggishly pulled myself into the gym, for some reason, the grind already felt tedious; same shit, different day. After forcing my way through my usual gym workout, I got out wondering what I should do to reward myself - an episode of GoT? A good match of LoL (Biggest lie any League players can tell themselves - usually ends up as a gaming marathon)? Or some fish and chips? And it hit me..
These "rewards" are simply more or less urges to cause me to relapse; I don't need them. Taking breaks are a necessity, but my great grandfather didn't pass away from not being able to play Fallout 4. As the lesson goes in Respawn, there are plenty of other resting activities out there - I ended up watching a few TEDx talks and reading which, was surprisingly just as interesting. From there on out, I began to create extra momentum and finished the day clean of Netflix, video games, and junk food once again!
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Day 21 (February 2, 2016)
Feeling more and more confident every day, largely due to the realization that reality is not as scary as I thought it would be when you start leaving the house and face your fears. I don't even feel myself stuttering at the slightest, able to finally speak with cashiers and gym employees correctly (for once without feeling sick after!). Could also be a side effect of hitting the gym every day too, I guess. Getting better in the sport, I love through repeating the same conditioning drills over and over again (with the proper rest of course).
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Day 20 (February 1, 2016)
Started this month strong by hitting the gym for my scheduled workout, listening to audio books during transit time (walking from classes to classes). Downloaded a new app to aid my meditation technique, as well. Checking off these tasks from my personal Habitica list should build the necessary momentum to steamroll through this month!
In addition to the original "No Video Games" counter on Coach.me app, I have also decided to go through a complete detox phase of my life: no fast food, no Netflix, and no PMO for 90 days. So far so good, like the app says - if you can't measure it, you can't manage it. As for my planning and scheduling, I am currently following Alex Ikonn's "ultimate productivity method" and it seems to work wonders: Not only is it customizable, but the technique is backed up by authors such as Tim Ferris also.
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Today I managed to cut down my Netflix time by around a half, by occupying myself and focusing on reading instead.
Amazing how easy this was hey?
Well, the initial had always been the more appealing choice to make. But in the attempt to strive for a more stoic lifestyle approach during the 90-day detox, I tried visualizing what each option will benefit me in the long run, and that eventually gave me an edge to flip open a book!
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- What is your commitment? No games? No streams? Anything else?
- I abstain from any computer, console, and mobile games (including any source of gaming streams) for 90 days
- How long do you want this challenge to last? By default it is one month, but 90 days is recommended for your detox.
- From January 13, 2016, to April 12, 2016.
- What are your goals?
- I wish to become more active and social in my day to day life while stepping up my GPA in college after the 90-day detox on April 12, 2016.
- Why are you doing this?
- I want to meet new friends outside of a virtual world and achieve my fitness goals
- What is your commitment? No games? No streams? Anything else?
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Day 19 (January 31, 2016)
Today I managed to cut down my Netflix time by around a half, by occupying myself and focusing on reading instead. A significant influence was from watching a couple of videos from Tai Lopez, and he has a good point on always doubling down on ourselves; this is a universally agreed path to success by ones who made it to the top (No billionaire would say no to investing in yourself). However, with the vast majority of books out there it is rather overwhelming to know which would be a good read. Just like going out on a date with someone you just met, you wouldn't ask for he/she to marry you right away - that would be the right question at the wrong time. I am therefore on a search right now for good self-development reads that will benefit me in the long run. -
The question you want to ask is how you manage to be bored so often. It most likely has to down with a lack of intentionality around your schedule.
Yes, that could very well be the case. As an ISFP person, I am never much of a planning type. I should start by making a habit of planning out what I am going to do the night before tomorrow.
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Day 18 (January 30, 2016)
Today I managed to meditate and read as usual for my daily routine. However, as of late I am once again bombarded by urges and cravings to watch TV shows again whenever boredom struck. Netflix is becoming more of a serious issue for me than it is for video games all of a sudden (That or it is something just another replacement to fill the void in my life). Flipping through the Respawn manual again, I have decided from tomorrow on I will begin to select from a wide variety of healthy activities as a replacement, in addition to going out more despite the cold weather.
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Day 17 (January 29, 2016)
Pulled my butt off the house again today, and managed to hit the gym in the afternoon. Though, at such peak hours, it is just packed with people everywhere. Often this would be rather annoying to me, and would have just gone home. Today, however, I have decided to think about it in a different angle again, instead of dreading over how many people there are in the gym, I would use it as motivation to get up earlier, rise and grind it out where I would have complete access to all equipment's. Also, after managing to check off all I had to do for my workout that day I felt accomplished again, knowing that I have won by the hour and now the rest of the day to myself.
Edward's Journal
in Daily Journals
Posted · Edited by Zakaex
Day 35 (February 16, 2016)
Continued with the grind today as per usual. The only issue I would like to figure out so far is whether or not I can slip in more time during the day for my self-development time - reading, watching TED talks, etc. I figured one of my biggest time consumer were the trips to the gym which in hindsight takes around three hours or so of my day out (leaving the house, getting dressed, so on and so forth). But since there are arguments in which the mind and body are somewhat connected, I would be fooling myself to ditch one over the other.
So with exercising out of the equation, the other thing that takes up my time would be procrastination in general - the time wasted on "breaks" that take up an entire hour browsing YouTube for Jimmy Kimmel/Saturday Night Live talks. In the upcoming days, I am going to cut this habit out just to see how it works out.