Medved

Hello again! Spending an excessive amount of time online has been a personal problem for many years, and I've always tried to change while staying in the same environment. Like: I want my life to be exactly like it is, but without youtube, netflix etc. Hasn't worked out that great. Last autumn I: 1. Moved to a school where I studied to become a personal trainer 2. Fell in love with a girl I met there Suddenly, I had no problem abstaining from the online world - because I had things to do that were superior in terms of gratification and meaning. Also, I completely changed my environment. That is how to make behavior change easy. Now though, I'm back in my own apartment, and I'm still studying, but on a distance, and with a lot of personal responsibility. This girl I met is still at the school. The result of all this is that I'm having lots of time by myself. The lure of screens has yet again become a challenge. Starting today I'm going to go on a more formal detox, with some clear rules. Also, I'll reinstall my website blocker (Freedom). Most importantly, I'm going to flesh out a solid plan for what I'm going to do instead. This will include: spanish studies, self-studies related to being a personal trainer, loads of movement and exercise and some more stuff. Crucially, I need something do to during low willpower-moments. Perhaps draw or read. Thanks for your comment, @alvayuso. Even though it hurts to admit, I probably don't have that much interesting going on right now. There's many activities I like, but they're not currently planned out and integrated into my life. That's about to change. Also, I'll have to consider whether I want to completely abstain from internet entertainment in the future (if that's even feasible), or if I'm going to try to keep it in moderation. Books are great, but... yeah. We'll see. Loving-kindness to all of you, Simon

What would it look like if it were easy? That was the thought which led me here - again. I've been a member here before, using a different screen name, when I was struggling to quit video games (a struggle that came to a successful end, three years ago). Having a community to support me and keep me accountable helped tremendously then, and I hope it will this time as well. For so much of my life I've tried to do things by myself, without a group and most importantly, without a mentor or teacher. That is the unnecessarily difficult way of approaching change. Tim Ferriss has made me a big fan of asking the right questions to get better answers, and the answer to the question above - what would it look like if it were easy - is this: a group, a community, teachers and friends. I want to live a brilliant life. That desire is what motivated me - forced me - to face the truth and quit video games. That desire is what made me return here, to finish that project once and for all. The problem: I still spend much time watching gameplay on youtube, and more generally waste much time on pointless internet activities. These things are reflections of something deeper: how uncomfortable I am with boredom and with being alone - truly alone. I want that to change. I think it has to change. I cannot become who I want to be nor live the life I want to live if I continously dull my mind with constant consumerism. To be concrete: I want to complete a traditional 90-day detox, from youtube, netflix, porn and similar acitivites. Not as something temporary, but as a starting point. I hope to be of support to all of you, and that my perspective will be useful. I also hope - and know - that you all will be of help to me; simply knowing that we're in this together and that we all are striving towards a better world inspires me. Thank you in advance, and happy new year! Medved