Mynewresolution wrote on 04 Jul 2022 21:32:
Hey! I found GYE about 3 months ago and posted once before with a plan that I was unable stick to.
Here's what I learned from my failure:
- Instagram is soft porn and I need to understand it in this light. The explore page is quite literally a web browser for all sorts of bad things and it knows that but continues to serve up this content. So for that reason I am limiting myself to LinkedIn as my only social media.
- At night I am most tempted to m/p and this is because I have devices in my room that allow this access. I've made a habit of putting my computer/phone on another level of the house (lock it in your car if you have to). The feelings of loneliness then come on pretty strong but I think they will subside soon. *crosses fingers*
- Video games or really any high dopamine activity make me more impulsive (and less productive) so I've decided to remove all video games from my life and replace that time I'd normally spend writing my thoughts and journaling, listening to music or speaking to close friends/family.
- This goes along with staying up late, but I have a close friend that is a female and we often talk later at night. I think sometimes I want to act on urges from this and need to be more diligent again about not keeping devices in my room.
Mazal Tov, on your second try! The Almighty should help you constantly feel that he's holding your hand and rooting for your success!
You are 100% spot-on about Instagram. One of the worst things we can do to our progress is substitute porn with that explore icon.
You seem to have put a lot of thought into what things/devices/activities trigger you and how to avoid them; that's awesome! A word for the wise, though, try to understand that just removing those things from your life, as important as that is, will not be enough. The absence of these old pastimes will leave a hole that will need to be filled. You need to find other (healthy) things to do instead. Otherwise, you risk sliding back to old habits. (You touch upon this in your third point.) I'd suggest you try to concretize a list of healthy activities you'd enjoy and make a habit of doing them.
All in all, Hatzlacha and
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