NEW VIDEO: I Quit MMOs and THIS Happened
wookieshark88
-
Posts
657 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by wookieshark88
-
-
You won't regret it! Welcome!
-
Today was another wonderful farmer's market Friday! My legs have been getting stronger as I keep climbing the stairs at work. I climbed from the first floor to the tenth floor of my building 4 times today. That's 178 steps each time! At 7 inches of rise per step (which is standard for commercial buildings), that's 103.8 feet from floor one to floor ten. Doing this four times means I climbed 415 feet during these four trips, and that doesn't count the times where I just climbed 1 - 3 floors at a time during the day. I'm not sure why, but I felt compelled to do some math in my journal, haha.
I choose to believe that all of that vertical distance somehow justified the cupcake, fish taco, black eyed pea and corn salsa, and Italian ice I had at the farmer's market. I'm sure it did because I came in just under my calorie goal for the day! My baby had a great time there too! She's been getting over her disdain towards strangers which is good.
I'm tired and ready to have quality wife time so I'll leave it at that.
I'm thankful for:
- The farmer's market as always.
- My baby getting more comfortable around people.
- Getting my running in today.
- Reading "Think and Grow Rich". It's actually a whole lot like the Slight Edge. I need to write about the book in my next journal entry.
- Staying faithful to my habits.
- Doing more mentoring at work.
- Having a reasonable boss. Of course one day I won't have a boss, but for now this is good.
- Having a wife who really emphasizes having a high quality marriage.
- My meditation quality has improved slightly for the second day in a row. It's not great, but I'll take improvement no matter how slight!
- The 57 days of freedom I've experienced after severing 25 years in video game purgatory!
-
That's the power of meditation! Even when you're ridiculously unfocused you're learning. Everything isn't always going to go according to plan, amirite?
?I never really thought about it like that. In my mind it was a failure in meditation, but a victory in maintaining good habits. Today's meditation was pretty unfocused as well, but better than yesterday. I wasn't able to do the visualization part of the exercise so I decided to just focus on my breath as best as I could. It seemed like returning to the basics was probably the best course of action. I'm not getting overly frustrated with this, but I feel like I'm not getting the full benefit.
My work day went very well. I received some training that really helped me understand more clearly how to perform my job functions. Also, I was able to help somebody with their work for the first time in this job! Mentoring is my favorite part of work so I was thrilled! Also, it shows that I have mastered some of my basic job functions. I judge my mastery of a subject based on how well I can teach it to a novice.
After work, I attended a get together with some of my old work friends and colleagues. It was fun to catch up with some good people. The best part, of course, is that I got to show off my baby to them! She was pretty comfortable around all the people which is great. My wife and I have put on emphasis on getting her out and socializing because she was crying a lot around strangers. She's made a lot of progress in this area lately.
After hanging out, my baby and I came home and she went right to sleep. It gave me just enough time to get some chores done and be ready to hang out with the wife when she got home. I didn't run today, but I did climb the stairs at work from the first floor to the tenth floor three times today.
I'm thankful for:
- My baby socializing!
- Reading "Think and Grow Rich".
- Having fun hanging out with good people.
- A record low weight! 21 pounds down and 14 to go!
- Helping a coworker with his work.
- Feeling healthier and stronger.
- Getting my external hard drive in the mail today.
- Evenings with the wife.
- Having a strong foundation.
- Reaching for my goals.
-
Damn, I didn't realize that I didn't make a journal entry last night. I was completely absorbed in reading The Alchemist by Paolo Cohelo. That guy is an amazing storyteller! I ended up passing out and went to bed I woke up. No worries about my baby, she was safely in her crib when this happened. Think and Grow Rich is next on my list!
Anyways today was good again. My morning meditation was ridiculously unfocused. I sat through my whole 20 minute session with my eyes closed, but my mind wandered almost the entire time. I certainly enjoyed my quiet time, but it didn't feel like meditation at all. The good thing is that I did manage to be mindful throughout the day which was good.
Work was excellent because I managed to get some work completed! What I do for work right now is in its infancy so things can be difficult to complete as the processes we work to develop. I don't mind though because the job isn't very stressful. This will help me as I start school in a few weeks.
Baby time after work was lots of fun. We didn't go for a walk because I thought it was too hot outside for my baby. There is no part of me that wants to have a cooked baby. We danced and sung and laughed. She had a nice dinner and a much needed bath. Babies get really stinky.
One thing I want to practice in my journal is improving the quality of my writing. I love beautiful writing like the way Paulo Cohelo writes, and it's a great skill to have for many different reasons. If anybody would like to critique my words and provide me with constructive feedback, I'd really appreciate it! My goal is to write in a way that is clear, beautiful, and engaging. Since I write a journal every day, this is the perfect place to practice!
I'm thankful for:
- The keystone habits I have that have been cascading into success in seemingly unrelated areas of my life.
- All of the new people who joined the site.
- Reading the Alchemist. I want to fulfill my Personal Legend!
- Not having to cook tonight! It's delicious pork burrito leftovers tonight!
- Having a wonderful family. It's literally a dream come true.
- Being game free. Life is interesting and fun in a way that I've never experienced in my whole life.
- Having inner peace.
- Having an inner drive.
- Twenty pounds lost, fifteen to go!
- Climbing the stairs from the first story of my work building to the tenth floor for the first time today. I work in a ten story building so I won't be able to climb any higher in one shot. My quads are starting to get some definition!
-
You've come to the right place for all of your game quitting and game quitting accessories, I'll tell you what.
-
I'm ten days behind you, and it feels awesome! I love seeing all the new introductions lately! Also, The Slight Edge is excellent reading!
-
It's always great to have more good company around here. Great to see you aboard!
-
Welcome back! You're not quite back to square one because you have learned a lot since you quit and relapsed. You can draw on those experiences to do even better than ever! It made my day seeing that you're back.
-
Today was good. Work was very slow, but I managed to read a nice chunk of The Alchemist. I have to say that it's a very fun read so far. It's easier reading than the last few book too which is nice. Once I got out of work, I had a whirlwind of activity. I rushed from work to my doctor's office for a routine checkup. From there I rushed home to be with my baby. She was famished so I fed her and fed her and fed her... She's never eaten so much in her life. I thought it would be time to relax once that was done, but her diaper was on crooked and she soaked herself in pee. This meant emergency bath time and sanitation session. Once that was done so was overtired and really upset so I took her out for a walk in the stroller to calm her down. Halfway through the walk my wife got home so she joined me on the walk which was awesome. Once back in the house it was treadmill/sit ups/stretching time. I then hopped in the shower and started dinner once I got out. Dinner is cooking now so I figured I would bang out my journal while I have a spare moment.
I'm thankful for:
- A good check up with the doctor and compliments on the weight loss!
- Taking care of my baby's needs like a boss.
- Getting all my good habits in despite the nonstop activity.
- My cat for taking advantage of my momentary still time to hang out with me.
- Dinner smells good.
- Running was extra fun today for some reason.
- No e cigarettes since I quit.
- Talking to my dad on the phone.
- Learning a little more about online business.
- Feeling great at work in my new and smaller shirt.
-
Today was a day another day of accomplishment. As a family we did laundry, went grocery shopping, went shopping for some birthday parties we're going to, cleaned up the house, cooked lunches for the week, cooked dinner, went for a half hour walk, played a ton of games together, and had fun! It's funny because people don't believe me when I tell them how much I get done every day. They don't know about the slight edge and power of habit. That's basically the keys I use to be as productive as I am.
I'm torn about the book I'm going to read after I finish my current one. I probably still have 10 days or so of reading this one, but I've been thinking about it. Do I want to read an entrepreneur book or a self improvement book? I'm leaning towards self improvement, but I keep going back and forth on it. Either way, it's a great problem to have.
Time to have some relaxation time with my wife and our favorite drink!
I'm thankful for:
- Getting everything done.
- Having great tasting coffee every morning.
- The delicious smells that have filled the house all day.
- Running at my fastest pace yet.
- Tying my record low weight.
- Feeling calm in the much cleaner living room.
- Getting a poster framed that I was planning to get framed for a year. Gotta get the old stuff done to keep in the slight edge!
- My baby ate apricots for the first time. She's eaten everything we've given her so far!
- I'm loving my new shoes. I'll wear a pair of shoes for years until I wear a hole into the sole. Not really sure why I wrote that.
- I wrote my thankfulness list really fast today. Sometimes I have to ponder for a while. It must mean that the things I'm thankful for are on the forefront of my mind where they belong!
-
We're rooting for you, Zane!
-
Today was fun! I met with the guy I met at work, and he was explaining about the world of consulting instead of being an employee. I plan to meet with him again soon to learn more about what he has to say. The wife and I went clothes shopping because we both needed smaller clothes! For dinner we decided to try a new sushi joint that just opened yesterday. That turned out to be a great choice! We got to chat with the owner and enjoy delicious food! I'm quite happy. My baby was also very well behaved and more sociable than usual!
I'm thankful for:
- Smaller clothes!
- Delicious food.
- My new friend.
- Getting lots of chores done.
- Having quality family time.
- My obnoxious neighbors got evicted.
- Being nice and relaxed.
- An interesting meditation session.
- Starting to read the Alchemist.
- Sleeping great for weeks now.
-
Which book did you choose next?
?I chose the Alchemist! I'll get started on it before bed. Reading has been awesome, and I'm going to make it a lifelong habit.
Today marks 50 days of freedom from the prison of compulsive gaming! I feel more sure than ever that I will never touch a video game ever again! My life has been forever changed by finally breaking the quarter of a century old habit of playing video games. I'm so excited to see what life holds in the future! I'm just sitting here right now feeling overwhelmed with relief, happiness, excitement, direction, confidence... Let's just say that I'm living a completely new and better life. I just need to remember to ride the success curve of the slight edge. The small choices that most people will never notice will continue to transform my life. I have good habits that lead to happiness which lead to success. I have found much meaning in my life, and I will be able to survive anything because of that meaning. I know how to make and break habits like I never though possible. I understand the value of vulnerability. Life is my new compulsion. I am a husband and a dad and I love it.
I'm thankful for:
- Being able to celebrate this milestone.
- Being able to celebrate this milestone at the farmer's market!
- The advice, support, and kind words of all who have helped me get this far.
- Having a future that excites me.
- Living life and not a simulation of life.
- Cam and the profound impact he's had on my life. He's definitely one of my heroes.
- The joy that's overwhelming me right now. I feel like I've climbed a mountain.
- Books. I've hopefully only started to discover the wisdom of good books.
- Meditation. I could have never meditated with a brain hooked on video games.
- A new record low weight. 19 pounds down and 16 to go.
- A baby who smiles every time she sees her dad.
- A wife who knows I have her back.
- Getting back into school soon. My next big test in my journey is to build on my success with the added load of school.
-
I was thinking today about what I could offer to the world. Two things that came to mind were eliminating anxiety as a motivator in life and being an involved father. These are two things I have passion for and could positively affect the world. I've been mindful of my life all day (helped greatly by my meditation habit) and these things came to me.
Today was good. I got good feedback at work for what I've done so far. My quality has been good although my quantity hasn't been (my department is slow but has been hiring because of a huge influx of work that's coming). I've been increasing my running very slowly still and hit another record low weight. I wore a shirt I haven't worn in over a year! It was a little tight, but I let that tight feeling be a motivation to fit in it better.
I'm thankful for:
- Starting a new book tomorrow! Yay for great, life improving reads!
- Hanging out with my baby!
- Dinner last night was tasty! I think with a little tweaking, I'll have a keeper recipe!
- Riding the success curve of the slight edge!
- Listening to Pat Flynn's podcast for the first time. I want to keep learning!
- My cat. He meditates with me every morning.
- Learning that happiness is the key to success. Since I learned this, I've made sure to cultivate happiness in my life which makes finding the motivation to be the best I can be so much easier.
- Stronger legs! Running has been quite enjoyable. Again, I take the time to bask in the fun of running in order to create cravings for my next run.
- Having a wonderful wife. It beats the hell out of having a crappy one (I would know).
- Feeling like a champ.
-
I was talking to a guy at work (who doesn't work for my company) who I've seen every day for the last five or so weeks. We got talking about passive income and fulfilling work, and he said he's into this as well and that we should hang out. I've always been leery of these kinds of conversations thinking that they're always some sort of scam. I think I'll do something different, hang out, and see what he has to say. It could be something good. Either way I made a bit of progress towards both of my more difficult goals today.
I'm thankful for:
- Dinner being in the oven. I'm starving!
- The weather was perfect. I got lots of outdoor exercise today.
- Man's Search for Meaning has gotten really good!
- I reached a new record low weight and have passed the halfway mark towards my goal weight! 18 down 17 to go!
- My boss at work is much more reasonable than most of my old bosses.
- Climbing the stairs at work isn't tiring me out like it did a month ago. I can climb 60 steps fairly easily now.
- My mom got the new Dr. Seuss book for my baby.
- I'm excited to learn more about starting a business.
- I'm so tired. It's the satisfying and full day kind of tired.
- My baby rolled over from her back to her belly for the first time today!
-
I wanted to write about tough things for me today. Today was awesome as usual, but I don't want to ever be content to stop improving. There are two areas of my life which I want to really improve on. I said these two items elsewhere in the forums, but I feel it's important to put them in my journal as well.
Firstly, I want to make a few close friends. I want to have a couple of friendships that are deep and meaningful. I have had friendships over the years, but the people who I have been friends with are not the people I would want to connect with on a deeper level. They're great to visit or hang out with, but that's the extent of it. I have a beautiful relationship with my wife, and I always work on developing it to be even better. I just feel like I need to have a few more deep connections in life.
Secondly, I want to seek fulfillment in the way I earn my living. Working for a giant, faceless company has it's benefits. I make good money, I have job security, and I really don't need to work too hard to be above average. The problem is that it seems to just take away a bit of my soul to work for my company. I see the jadedness of so many where I work, and I have also felt that through stretches of my career there. I want to do something that adds value to the lives of people while making enough money to live in a decent home, provide for my family, and travel. I definitely don't care if I become rich or not as long as I'm fulfilled. I am going to school to get my degree which I have dreamed about for years. I should be able to graduate completely debt free thanks to working and going to school. From there, I'd like to try something new. For now, I just want to learn as much as I can about creating a business.
I'm thankful for:
- Having a grand time with my child this evening. I didn't feel like running today so I danced with my child until my heart rate went up and I broke into a sweat.
- I learned much more about my job today than I have been lately. I do want to get really good at my job, but the knowledge seems to be overly guarded.
- I'm going to have tasty pork burritos and come in under my calorie goal for the day.
- I was able to talk about things I want to improve in my life. Even admitting these things online was a bit of a challenge for me.
- Learning to be vulnerable, and knowing there's a difference between guilt and shame. I love all the learning I've been doing.
- I'm on a 45 day meditation streak. It's been a rare thing in my life to stick to a good new habit this long.
- My car. It's been reliable since 2001.
- Learning how people can persevere and find meaning in the hardest of situations. Man's Search for Meaning is another solid read.
- I've been the dad my daughter deserves lately, and I'm dedicated to keeping it up.
- Being in the midst of my third personal renaissance. My journey through life has been trending upwards for my entire adult life. Quitting games has unlocked many more possibilities for me!
-
I don't think she has yet realized the HUGE impact this is going to have (or more like already having) in your life and in your family, but later she will, and I'm sure she'll let you know
?Yeah. A big part of it is that I was always so good at hiding all traces of gaming from her. She definitely sees that I'm doing so much better.
Today went very good. Mondays used to be such a drag, but these days I have much more energy and the right mental foundation. It's almost weird for me to be cheerful first thing in the morning while just about everybody else looks so disheveled.
I forgot to weigh myself this morning, but I'll do it tomorrow morning to see if I reached a new record low. Somehow I doubt it because I indulged in two farmer's markets this weekend. At least I kept my food journaling and exercise habits going. I got a lot of exercise in today and will definitely come in under my calorie goal for the day.
I didn't read as much as I wanted to the last two day, but I still made progress in the book. I usually read for my 30 minute lunch at work, but I was nodding off twenty minutes in and had to spend the rest of lunch getting and drinking coffee.
Meditation was good this morning, and I had some revelations during the day while I was practicing mindfulness.
Of course jounaling here is fantastic. I just wish I had a bit of extra time to comment on other people's journals more. I really enjoy reading everybody's stuff. My baby's needs have to come first though, and I'm proud that my priorities are straight.
I'm thankful for:
- Full, rewarding days.
- Revelations. Not the biblical book. Personal revelations.
- Working on finding a balance between the world of amazing food and being healthy.
- Feeding my baby sweet potato for the first time. Everything was orange by the time we were done.
- Going on a walk with the family. Walking conversations are the best conversations.
- Talking to my parents today. They love hearing the baby babbles on the phone.
- Seeing Cam's shout out to my journal on /r/stopgaming from a few days ago! I felt like a boss. It was very hard to keep my "no commenting at work" rule.
- Mindfully crafting my workout habits. I'm getting stronger, and my legs are feeling good.
- My cats. They can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but they definitely help make a house a home.
- All who take the time to read and/or comment on my words. I'm honored that my words are worth some people's time.
-
Super busy, super awesome day. I'm tired so I'm going to just do the thankfulness list.
I'm thankful for:
- My family. My wife and kid are just top notch.
- My grill. It's one of my favorite possessions.
- The new farmer's market. That place was amazing!
- Coming in under my calorie goal despite spending two hours at an amazing farmer's market.
- Having nice neighbors.
- Sleeping great for the last month.
- Living wholeheartedly.
- Talking to my wife about quitting games. She really didn't really make a big deal out of it. She said she's always proud of me. I'm glad.
- Getting a moment to rest and write this list.
- Not feeling any anxiety for weeks now.
-
I'm almost halfway done with Man's Search for Meaning! It's so easy to keep turning the pages on this one. I'm going to need to line my next book up if I binge read tomorrow!
Today was an extremely productive day. We did three loads of laundry, vacuumed, got groceries, cooked, went on a walk, put together photo albums, and most of all we had fun! I'm beat, but very happy.
I'm thankful for:
- The carnitas burritos that are almost done cooking.
- The exciting new coffee we bought at the food co-op.
- My baby ate carrots for the first time and liked them.
- Bringing out the new stroller so we could be more adventurous on our walk.
- Getting my two minutes of running in.
- A very focused meditation session this morning.
- My family.
- I've gotten my first comments that I look much thinner.
- The calm of the evening. I love evenings.
- My kindle.
-
I really appreciate the thought you put into this! My life will never be the same because of all this new wisdom!
-
A Man's Search for Meaning has been excellent so far. It's quite an intense story, and I really want to see the way the author goes with it. I'm happy I learned about wholehearted living, the slight edge, and habit forming too. This is quite the collection of life skills to learn and start practicing in 43 days. When I think about it like that, it's really no surprise that my life has been on the up and up. I really enjoy discussing the concepts with my therapist too. She's such a treasure trove of life skills and wisdom.
Speaking of my therapist, I was telling her about all the good book I was reading. I told her that the thing that surprised me the most about these books is that they are so complimentary to each other and not contradictory. In the medical world, for example, many professionals have conflicting views about the different areas of medicine. When I was trying out pediatricians for my daughter, each one would tell us different "right ways" to care for her. Eventually we just decided to care for her the way we want. The books, on the other hand, seem to be in agreement in the areas in which they overlap. They mention making right choices, the importance of habits, and wholehearted living in their own ways. My therapist said that it's not really surprising considering that humanity has been working on studying self improvement for thousands of years while medicine as we know it is just a few hundred years old.
I'm thankful for:
- The farmer's market!!! I got some exciting veggies!
- The food trucks at the farmer's market!
- The new stroller my wife got. It was such a nice thing to push around the farmer's market.
- My wife! She already got the food and was waiting patiently for me by the time I got to the farmer's market.
- Seeing nice people I haven't seen for a while at the farmer's market.
- The real maple ice cream with maple brittle at the farmer's market.
- Free samples at the farmer's market!
- The weather was excellent at the farmer's market.
- My baby was so happy to be at the farmer's market.
- I have plan's to go to a new farmer's market on Sunday!
-
Today was a good day. I was less enthusiastic about today that I have been lately, but that's okay. Since getting my habits all set up, I've actually been looking forward to days like today to really see how they make a difference. After all, anybody can do good when it's smooth sailing. Writing my journal entry here is my second to last habit to be completed for the day. I just need to close out my food journal after dinner.
This weekend is going to be awesome! The family and I are going to two farmer's markets! I have never been to one of the markets so it'll be a fun new experience.
I finished up reading Daring Greatly, and I'm happy to have read it. Forming deep and meaningful relationships is important to me, and this book has plenty of tools for doing that. I wasn't as enthusiastic while reading it as I have been with other books, but I feel that I'll be revisiting this one in the future because it definitely has a lot to offer.
Man's Search for Meaning definitely has me intrigued. I've only read the forward and the first few pages, but I feel like it's already becoming a page turner for me. I never mentioned that I'm a bit of a slow reader. I cannot read faster than a slower speaker so having read 3 books already is huge for me! I'm certainly not a dumb person, but if I try to read any faster my brain just won't record the words.
I'm thankful for:
- Starting a new book.
- Upping the intensity of my runs.
- Spending the evening with my baby.
- Feeling stronger and lighter.
- Farmer's markets.
- Learning to dare greatly.
- Having inner peace.
- Deliberately formed habits. I never believed I could do that until recently.
- Knowing the future will be good. This is the polar opposite of anxiety!
- I'm wearing a shirt that didn't fit me two weeks ago!
-
I'm going to make this a quick post because the grill is calling to me!
This was another good day of successful habits.
I met with my therapist today, and I talked to her about how to share with my wife my video game compulsion. It was hugely beneficial.
I'm thankful for:
- A good therapist.
- Riding the success curve.
- Learning how to dare greatly.
- Getting skilled at building habits.
- Another record low weight (17 pounds down and 18 to go).
- My grill.
- Baby babbling with my parents.
- Photo albums.
- Physically feeling stronger and more fit.
- My treadmill for hot days like today.
-
?Thanks!
What episode did you listen to? I listened to the one with Dr. Astro Teller and Dr. Daneille Teller. Currently listening to the one with Jon Favreau now.
Next I would read A Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It's a classic.
?I listened to half of the one with Reid Hoffman.
I'm going to get that book right now!
My Journal - Joe
in Daily Journals
Posted
I always thought that self help books were for losers before I started reading them. Really though, they were written by winners to share their keys to success. Besides finding them helpful, they're fascinating. I used to always wonder how some people seem to live by a set of different set of rules from myself. I'm starting to understand how it works.
I'm ready for bed after a very long and satisfying day.
I'm thankful for: