NEW VIDEO: I Quit MMOs and THIS Happened
The_Creative_Quitter
-
Posts
114 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by The_Creative_Quitter
-
-
3 hours ago, razvan_ung said:
^ absolutely!
Also, nice to see the gratitude stuff. I do the same. I keep a daily journal where I write 5 things that went well each day (often, they are small, just like you said "coffee" - I'll often say "the delicious meal I had at lunch"). It is a small habit that helps me reflect how much good there is every day, outside gaming. Things that I often ignored or took for granted while gaming.
Thank you for that idea! I was wondering how I could vary these journal entries up a little bit. I know there are some ideas posted somewhere but I have to go find them again. Yes! I'm finding that these things I used to think of as mundane are often these little things in life that can be comforting and fulfilling - so much better embracing real life. Have a great day!
-
Dec 18, 2021
Still resisting the tempting thoughts that can creep in. This is definitely a record for me! In the past I would have started playing again. Have to say, making a commitment to do this journal helps even more than I imagined. Praying I stay in developing this NOT-gaming habit and keep spending the time on other things.
3 Things I'm happy for:
-Peaceful moments
-Lemons
-Sleeping in on a Saturday-
2
-
-
38 minutes ago, Marius said:
Just keep your barriers around games up and maybe write down somewhere why you don't want to play anymore. If you have urges you just have to look at that text and see how your brain is emotional and not rational. Emotions fade. Always remember that. Rationality prevails.
Too true Marius! Thank you for the encouragement!
-
1
-
-
23 hours ago, Pochatok said:
Haha I totally feel you! I think that I feel a lot of frustration, quite often, when I am not learing or "succeeding" at things as quickly as I'd like to; it's so much easier to measure progress in video games. Life is much less linear 😠
Omg so true!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess it builds Patience in us to give up the easy progress. No less painful.
-
1
-
-
Dec 17, 2021
3 Things I'm Happy for today:
-Getting ready for Christmas
-Home-brewed Coffee with a friend
-Healthy things
By the way: I had some sudden and more intense thoughts yesterday about "missing those in-game achievements" that only take place during winter. It was weird, coming out of the blue like that. We are susceptible as a people to things like advertising and these other 'treadmills' - I tried reminding myself of that. I have an irrational urge to go complete some stupid little achievement - why??? Once it's done it's like vapor, pointless. Is it worth getting sucked back into the game - especially with now, how I can visibly see my life changing around me in just over a month? I feel GOOD about having quit. Reminding myself: The REAL achievement is if I can make it through Winter without succumbing to this irrational thought.-
2
-
-
1 hour ago, Pochatok said:
Oh yes! I try to limit myself as much as possible in art sometimes too, it really forces you to think more creatively!
Yeah! It's challenging sometimes but once you kind of wrap your head around it... its powerful (limits). I'm starting to see how that applies in many other things besides art.... which kind of clashes with the way our society is, there is such abundance and distractions EVERYwhere - in everything from ways we communicate, to games, to ...well all entertainment. We have the opposite problem of a guy stranded on a desert island haha.
-
1
-
-
Dec 15, 2021
3 Things I'm grateful for:
-Another busy day ahead
-How fresh everything feels after a cold winter rain
-The Realization that sometimes having Limits (such as in art, e.g. limiting use of colors) actually opens up a whole new world.
May you have a productive, happy day.-
2
-
-
5 hours ago, BooksandTrees said:
. I don't like being creative after 8 pm or 7 pm really.
Me neither - I absolutely have to let myself rest at that point, and that big challenge is getting my brain to relax lol.. Great stuff keep going!!
-
1
-
-
13 hours ago, mrmmartin said:
I hope everyone is doing well. Stay safe over the holiday period, have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Merry Christmas! I hope you can resist, keep going!
-
1
-
-
Dec 14, 2021
There's a storm here!
7 Things I'm grateful for today:-Good health, food and a roof
-The excitement of a storm
-Faith in my Creator (I might repeat this one once in a while)
-His forgiveness of me when I completely fail...
-Citrus zest
-Baking
-Those of you who are persevering
-
1
-
-
5 hours ago, Pochatok said:
Haha I went down that path, and it wasn't very fun in the long run- I think that I ended up working myself up into a corner where every single activity that was not "work" (as in, hard effort with not that much fun) became associated with "procrastination". I had to force myself to rest, to read books, to sleep in on weekends...
Not saying that it cannot be beneficial- it was very much for the first few weeks; for me though, in the long run, it simply pushed things out of balance.
Hope you'll be able to balance it better than me! Good luck 🙂
Yes! That's exactly it.
Christmas is coming up here and we are so busy and I can't even let go of work. I will have to force myself to 'be okay' with not working, and enjoy time off without worrying about work in the back of my mind (maybe that's another key to why games are so addictive? They let me <sort of> "rest" without letting the work-anxiety gnaw at my thoughts - I would totally let go. Funny how that works.
Going to schedule in time just to 'nap' .. 'read book' I think. Thanks for mentioning that, just realizing it's a 'thing' helps!-
2
-
-
6 hours ago, Pochatok said:
I find jigsaw puzzles oddly unsatisfying for some reason-
I know what you mean! I need something to occasionally 'clear' my head so the puzzles work. My work is complex enough I guess to make up for the loss of that in gaming --- but the real temptation for me is to get immersed in the game world - which ends up being that sort of escape that sucks up hours ..days, then weeks months years, haha. As for the game industry; yes, very different then - even then it was a huge crunch but at least then ..games were still games, you paid for it once and you owned it. It wasn't yet rigged to be the incredibly greedy thing it is - meant to addict people like gambling. Even the old days in Las Vegas there were regulations on gambling - now that's all changed, the money-people have lost their soul. Maybe I'm saying too much... lol but it is what it is.
Music - I hope to dabble in Mixcraft when I get time, but don't really have specific goals; maybe just to make some music I can use for my own videos and such. Keep going with it and good luck with your Composition!!!-
2
-
-
I've felt that way in the past - maybe this will help a little..? I had to accept life like a series of waves, ups and downs. I mean it was hard to accept the "Down" parts but once I accepted them, it lessened their severity and length. Sometimes its just your body needing more rest and it affects your mind and outlook. So I resolved to really 'sink into' the downs - let myself sleep late, be kinder in my thoughts about myself during those times. The affect it has is stronger "Ups." Well wishes.
-
1
-
-
Dec 12, 2021
Still going - prior commitments kept me from journaling the last couple of days. I suspect these busy times are a blessing - it's the lulls where gaming thoughts 'creep in' that will be the challenge. Maybe I'm in danger of becoming even more of a workaholic in order to avoid the gaming thoughts? Can't worry about it.
3 Things I'm grateful for:-Clarity
-The abililty to problem solve
-Goals to achieve-
1
-
-
4 hours ago, Marius said:
I can understand that. I have some trouble with maintaining friendships in real life, too. Online often has some predefined context which makes it easier to hide weaknesses and display strengths. That way you are more or less cheating your way to social success. It's tempting to let challenges and dangers in real life divert your interests to this digital world. Doing so ultimately makes it only harder though to have success offline as you need practice with offline gatherings. Just eliminate your weaknesses and let the minor and macro aggressions in real life bounce off. Develop a basket of social skills and then become friends with people. Humans are social creatures. We like to live in groups and maybe using object/symbol based language is one of the features that really distinguishes our species from other animals.
You are on an excellent train of thought. Many of these challenges have been brought about by a system of technology that we didn't create nor do we control. It's not a healthy system.
-
1
-
-
4 hours ago, Marius said:
You are right. For me it just hurts to see how much I could have been and what I am now. I would really love to go back in time and live life smarter.
Don't let yourself think that way. You were meant to have learning experiences, that was simply one of them. You have much going now and ahead of you - that's what you need to focus on! Road ahead and all the good things in it.
-
Dec 9, 2021
The detox must be working. Learning to ride the ups and downs, but the last couple of days I've been on a peak as far as creativity. Like my brain is accepting - "Oh, there's no more games, what can I do, how can I push this stuff in my artwork." It's making a difference... I hope I continue to remember all this because if I get to where I want to play the mmos again I will have to kick my own backside. I KNOW it's coming, the withdrawals and longing for nostalgia. Girding myself. Have a great night, to anyone reading this. And keep going.
-
2
-
-
Dec 8, 2021
3 Things I'm Happy for:
-Good conversation
-My gorgeous coffee cup
-Crisp cool winter days-
1
-
-
4 hours ago, Pochatok said:
Ooo, never heard of this before, but looks interesting! I'm simply using Ableton Live + Massive Native Instruments since I could get them fairly cheap a few years ago. I have only produced a couple recordings and a few unfinished compositions using those two, but hope to carve out more time and money for composition in the future. I think that working as a video game composer could be one of my dream jobs haha.
I feel you- I've had to cut out so many triggers too! I have a long web-block list of very specific YouTube searches on Cold Turkey haha. But ultimately, reminding myself of why I want to have a life without gaming and really getting deeper with those thoughts helps me deal best with cravings. What about you?
There's a 14 day trial on the Mixcraft.. I will probably pick it up next year. I have nearly zero music training (just a few basic childhood piano lessons). Haven't used any other DAW's though, so I can't really tell you how it compares. I need to go for whatever is easiest to learn ..
As for blocking...well I don't have Cold Turkey yet but I have the leechblock extension blocking a few sites. So far doing the occasional 3 or 7 pieces of jigsaw puzzle is helping me fulfill the 'reward' center of my brain and acting as a much healthier substitute. It sounds so silly but it's working! I'm actually doing them on the computer as I haven't got room in our place for a real jigsaw puzzle. If you're interested let me know and I'll point you to what I'm using.
I hear you about wanting to do music for games. I used to work in the industry years back - now I work a (boring) day job part of the time but thankfully it lets me work on my dream job (independent artist) at the same time - sounds like you have that same need to do creative work. Going in the industry, you will be -expected- to play a ton of games. It will take up your life (just the truth). One healthier possibility is you could go independent/freelance. Gah I've written a novel here sorry. All for now.
-
2
-
-
6 hours ago, Luny said:
So true! Yesterday I reached out via email to 3 wow gaming friends and told them I was walking away from the game as of yesterday. They all knew I was having having an internal struggle about my time spent in game and they all commended me. Of course I am retired teacher and they are adult men in their 40's (which makes them 20+ years young than myself). But it still felt great to have their friendship and support. At one time or another, they have walked away from gaming as well. I did too while I teaching; my work and my students' needs always came first. Retirement, while glorious in some ways, combined with quarantine gave to way too much time to sit on my ass and game. That's why I am here.
Glad you are here. You aren't alone - I'm in the "older" age groups as well. While I never thought I had an addiction the way some of the younger crowds get it (24/7 etc) I still realized I was using it as a crutch to avoid spending time doing things I should be doing with what spare time I have. We're all human, I think every one of us has that temptation, a need to fill. I'm glad you're here and hope you keep going - I'm not going to stop. Only one month in and I'm already seeing drastic life changes - for the better! That said, it's a process.
Sleep patterns still suck, but working on it. Keep going!!!
-
1
-
-
Dec 7, 2021
3 Things I'm grateful for (on another busy day)
- Cats
- The fact that our bodies often tell us what it really needs
- Silent, peaceful moments-
1
-
-
It's hard to resists those peripheral things (like watching those interviews) - good luck with keeping that in balance! For now I've had to remove all visual and auditory cues to anything related to games ... I'll just be too tempted.
Side note: I am a total noob when it comes to music but was checking out this acoustica mixcraft DAW, just for something to do as a new hobby. Wonder if you've already seen that.. idk if I will stick with it but it looks/sounds fun! Keep going!-
1
-
-
I second the Congratulations -- and yeah, I suppose what's behind the Nostalgia for the games is actually nostalgia for what we first felt at the time, or actually due to how life around us was at the time. We can't re-capture it, the game itself is just an illusory (and in the end, empty) experience... This rings true, I think back even to my first D&D experiences - it was all about my friends having fun, being imaginative together - not really the game itself.
-
1
-
-
3 hours ago, Pochatok said:
Congrats on the one month mark, that's a huge achievement! Hope that you'll be able to keep this pace up for a couple more months hehe 🙂
Thank you! (to both you and Marius!). Ohhhh believe me I have come SO close to wanting to reinstall, just to go complete a couple of stupid achievements. Maybe about 5 times I got close, thoughts creeping in going "just go do it real quick then uninstall" LOL. Thankfully I've been fending those off and reminding myself how crazy that really is. I never thought of myself as a compulsive person... I hope I can keep it up too.
Counting this as my journal. Busy day (Thank God lol).
-
1
-
Creative Quitter's Journal
in Daily Journals
Posted
Yes!!!! Exactly! Especially around the holidays, when everyone is relaxing and having fun... so prone to playing at this time of year - those little excuses "just for the holidays" .." what harm will it do" .. "hey it's Christmas, have some fun, relax" ... and the old gaming friends writing and going "come on, we miss you, it's Christmas, come on in... That's the hardest part, resisting gaming friends... but, there are other ways to be social, without getting sucked back into an endless, fruitless grind. Glad that the blockers are helping!