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Difficult Personality Traits and Your Reboot

Porn Addiction Recovery / By
Difficult Personality Traits and Your Reboot

If you’re a high-performing, successful individual who struggles with out-of-control behavior with porn or masturbation, you likely have certain character traits that interfere with a successful reboot. I say this after years of working with men in your exact position whom I’ve had to help through these same struggles.

Over the last few weeks, I wrote a series on the importance of building reboot capital in five areas of your life. If you haven’t read those yet, I suggest going back and reading the past six or so posts. They are a vital part of your success in the porn addiction recovery program. Much like a startup needs capital to be successful, you need capital to be successful in your reboot.

In the same way, a new business needs to build capital, they also need to limit liabilities. When it comes to your reboot, liabilities are these difficult personality traits that hold you back. Eliminating these is just as important as building strengths in other areas.

Self-defeating behaviors are ways of thinking and acting that develop into habits over time. They have become part of your subconscious behaviors that you act out automatically. When ending an out-of-control sexual behavior you must change your habits before you can change your lifestyle. A strong set of healthy habits are the building blocks you need to create a strong foundation in your reboot.

Even if you do quit porn and masturbation before addressing your self-defeating habits they’ll continue affecting you after you eliminate your out-of-control behavior. These traits hold you back in each area where you need to build capital: spiritual, mental, emotional, social, and physical. 

I’ll break down a few of the most common traits I’ve noticed in the men I work with over the years. Which of these habits and traits apply to you?

Caretakers

Caretakers care for others and consider their needs to the point that they depend on them. The caretaker’s self-esteem is based on how much he can do for other people. Unfortunately, this keeps him from ever learning how to care for himself, though, because he’s so focused on others. He also uses this habit as a way to shirk responsibility for his poor behavior.

A caretaker always needs someone dependent around them. Their self-worth hinges upon having someone to take care of. If they cannot find someone dependent then they’ll create the problem in someone around them.

At their lowest points, caretakers feel like they’re being used. It seems like everyone around them is taking advantage of their kind and caring natures. However, your behaviors are self-serving and caretakers rely on people depending on them as much as the dependent people rely on the caretaker.

The first step to stop being a caretaker is to develop a sense of self. You won’t need to seek validation or find purpose in caring for others once you have an understanding of yourself. Next, you must let people take responsibility for their actions. Stop trying to play God; allow things to play out without interfering.

People Pleasers

People-pleasing is the next challenging personality trait when it comes to rebooting. People pleasers base their thoughts and actions around making sure to not upset anyone. These men never want to step out of line, rock the boat, or hurt people’s feelings. They fear that upsetting someone will lead to rejection and abandonment. 

People pleasers struggle to build happy, fulfilling relationships because their engagements with others are built on lies. They may not see what they’re doing as lying but dishonesty is the essence of people-pleasing behavior. It’s denying your thoughts, feelings, opinions, and beliefs to avoid problems with those around you.

Over time, men who struggle with people-pleasing behaviors build resentment toward everyone around them. They become angry but never express it because it goes against their people-pleasing tendencies. This is a recipe for disaster, though, and these men eventually reach a breaking point.

Like caretaking, eliminating people-pleasing behavior starts with developing a strong sense of self. As you have a better understanding of who you are you’ll feel less inclined to worry about how others feel about you. You’ll notice less frustration with others and more enjoyable relationships when you stop living to please others.

Martyrs

The traditional definition of a martyr is a person who is killed for their faith or beliefs. In the present-day context, though, a martyr suffers in more of a metaphorical sense. They believe life is supposed to be a struggle and operate accordingly. Nothing can ever be fully enjoyed because there’s always an underlying sense of deep pain.

Life is what you believe it to be so if you believe it’s a struggle then it will become one. This self-sacrificial behavior causes men to sabotage their relationships with others. They’re constantly carrying out these self-defeating actions that hold them back from truly experiencing the joy of life.

The solution to martyrdom is to stop viewing life as a vale of tears. Sure, bad things happen. That’s life. But it’s not something to be torturously endured. It’s something to be enjoyed. Cut the negativity and find some happiness in your life if you want to be successful in your reboot.

Workaholics

Workaholics are one of the most common types of men who join the Porn Reboot program. Men who struggle with workaholism base their self-esteem on their productivity. They put work in front of everything else in their life. It’s difficult for these men to relax because they feel they need to be “on” and performing at all times.

I also notice that workaholics try to compensate for the overwhelming shame caused by their out-of-control behavior through productivity at work. They can’t seem to control their behavior with porn addiction problems, sex, and masturbation so they overcompensate by controlling their work performance. 

However, workaholism is only going to derail your reboot. Basing your self-esteem around your productivity and performance is a short-sighted way to live. You can’t build a fulfilling life when your entire focus is on your career.

You can overcome a workaholic mentality by learning to detach your self-worth from your job. Your job is only one part of your life. Building up reboot capital in other areas of your life will help you separate from your career as the only positive in your life. As you separate from your out-of-control behavior and strengthen these other areas, your work won’t be the only thing to be proud of.

Overcoming Challenging Traits

Overcoming these and other challenging traits is a key part of the reboot process. You may make some progress but won’t move very far if you can’t get a handle on them. The Porn Reboot program involves ridding yourself of these traits with the help of our system.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the process or wondering whether it’s really possible? You’re far from alone. Many men feel they’ll never reach the point of freedom from their negative traits. I was the same way when I First ended my behavior with porn and masturbation, too. But I promise you, brother, it’s possible. You don’t have to do it alone, either; you have brothers waiting to support you each step of the way.

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The Power of Perception in Porn Reboot

Porn Addiction Recovery / By
The Power of Perception in Porn Reboot

Today I want to summarize an interview I recently had with Milan, our Neural Reprogramming Coach here at Porn Reboot. He is an expert at understanding how the brain works, how psychology plays into your reboot, and how to best work with your brain so you can overcome your porn addiction and compulsive sexual behavior.

We talked about the power of perception, specifically perceptual positions. I wasn’t very familiar with this topic before our discussion and I walked away with a ton of new information and insight. Our conversation was so eye-opening that I wanted to bring it here to the blog for you. 

Research shows that you receive an average of 11 million pieces of information at a time from all 5 of your senses. However, your active mind is only capable of perceiving around 124 of these different aspects of your environment at once. It then uses your values, beliefs, and other filters to create a manageable understanding of what’s happening around you.

This singular and biased understanding of the world leads you to act and behave in certain ways. Since you’re only interpreting a minuscule amount of all that’s taking place, though, it’s clear you need to make a serious effort to broaden your perspective.

This is where perceptual positions come into play.

Considering different perceptual positions is important because we don’t perceive reality as it is. Sure, we recognize and decipher incoming information but we can only view it through the first-person perspective. Until you realize and understand there are perspectives outside of your own, you’ll continue operating in a very one-dimensional view of the world.

Perceptual positions free us from this single dimension. They open up different ways of looking at things. This helps you develop a deeper sense of empathy for other people in your life as well as in the world at large. What exactly are perceptual positions and how can they help you in your reboot?

Understanding Perceptual Positions

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes.” That understanding of the world is exactly what perceptual positions refer to. They’re about understanding someone else’s experience as well as your own experience from a different angle. It’s about your ability to change camera angles or tune in to a different radio station if you will. 

There are three main perspectives you can view the world from. 

The first is through your own eyes at how things are happening right now at this moment, fully experiencing life as you see it. 

The second is through the position of “other”, or observing things from someone or something else’s perspective, looking for additional information about the situation or event you may not see from where you’re standing.

The third is through a combination of these two perspectives, taking a sort of “bird’s eye view” of what’s going on and considering a combination of both the first and second person perception.

Each perspective is useful for different reasons during different circumstances and situations. For example, spending most of your time in the first person is necessary for you to live life effectively. But when you find yourself running up against obstacles or feeling stuck, shifting to the second or third forms of perspective will offer deeper insight into what’s going on.

Drawbacks of a Singular Perspective

Living in a single perceptual position puts you at a serious disadvantage. You hold yourself back from so much in the world when you refuse to open yourself to alternative perspectives. Whether it’s the first, second, or third perspective, living in only one of them keeps you from fully engaging with life.

When you operate from the first perspective, you’re only thinking about yourself. People who live only in the first person come across as selfish, have a limited understanding of how others feel, and often lack awareness about the consequences of their actions.

When you operate from the second perspective, you’re thinking too much about other people. Those who live here give away their autonomy. They place too much emphasis on the opinions of others and allow everyone else to dictate and control their lives. 

When you operate from the third perspective, you’re too far removed from the world. Some may think that a blended view of the world should be what you strive for at all times, but it keeps you separated from your personal experience of life. 

How Perceptual Positions Help Your Reboot

Perceptual positions are useful for everyone. Broadening your worldview is never a bad idea. But perceptual positions are especially useful for men who struggle with porn, sex, and masturbation. How are they useful for you in your reboot?

Spending years of your life trapped in a compulsive cycle of porn addiction tends to be a very isolating experience. Most men arrive at the Porn Reboot program defeated and hiding from the people in their lives. They’ve driven themselves fully into one of the three main perspectives and used it to survive up to this point.

But a successful porn addiction recovery program requires you to reframe every aspect of your life, including the perspectives through which you view the world. If you’re stuck in your perception, you likely can’t see the damage you’re doing to others. If you’re stuck in the second perception, you probably don’t realize how much you’ve hurt yourself. If you’re stuck in the third perception, you have all but detached from your circumstances and are just trying to get by.

You must consider each perspective if you want to fully recover from your compulsive behavior. Looking at the situation from each of the three main perspectives provides more clarity than any one of them can offer. Once you have a full picture and understanding of the reality of your behavior you can begin the process of overcoming it.

Exercise to Practice Perceptual Positions

Milan offered a useful exercise for you to practice opening yourself to different perceptual positions. First, start by developing an awareness of the main ways you interact with those around you. Recognize where you operate from primarily. Do you spend most of the time thinking about yourself, about how they view you, or detached from the interaction in some sort of third-person experience? 

Now, regardless of which is your primary perspective, notice things from the first person. Sit with yourself and notice what you’re seeing, feeling, hearing, and thinking. What is going on around you? How are you interpreting the experiences in your immediate surroundings? 

Gather as much information as you can while sitting in the first person.

Then, shift into the second person. Embody someone or something around you and look at your surroundings from this new perspective. Consider how things look from an outside perspective. How are the things you see, feel, and hear different when you’re experiencing them in the second person?

Finally, detach from both the first and second person and instead combine them. Look at all sides of the situation and try to observe them objectively. Ask questions about the circumstances. Notice patterns that exist in each perspective, the beliefs that drive the way you and others interact with the world around you.

This third perspective is where you receive the most knowledge about the truth of a situation. It isn’t biased toward either yourself or others; it looks at situations objectively and draws the most logical conclusions as free from bias as possible.

Incorporating this practice into your daily life will widen your perspective and the lens through which you view the world. It will make you more useful, deepen your sense of empathy, and broaden your understanding of how you interact with people and how they interact with you. Perceptual positions are a powerful way to connect with the world around you!

 

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Self-Esteem for Porn Addiction Recovery

Porn Addiction Recovery / By
Self-Esteem for Porn Addiction Recovery

Self-esteem is something I write and talk a lot about here on the blog and our various other channels.

As men who struggle with a compulsive porn addiction problems, sex, and masturbation, our self-esteem tends to be horribly low when we first decide to quit. We hate ourselves, we’re filled with guilt and shame, we believe we’re weak and pathetic, and more.

Unless you rebuild your self-esteem, you’ll always find yourself struggling to maintain your reboot. You’ll never see yourself as a man who can live a life free of compulsive sexual behavior if you don’t address your self-image and self-esteem. What can you do to work on your poor self-esteem when you first arrive at the porn addiction recovery – reboot program?

What is Self-Esteem?

Self-esteem is the way you feel about yourself. It’s based on your self-image and how you view yourself. For example, if you see yourself as a pathetic, porn-addicted man who can’t overcome his behavior, you’ll have poor self-esteem. However, if you recognize that everyone makes mistakes, has the power to overcome them, and know that you’re working to be a better man, you’ll have a strong sense of self-esteem.

There are a few different aspects that make up your self-esteem. Addressing each of these areas will help you build up your sense of self-esteem and strengthen the way you feel about yourself.

Identity

Humans naturally feel a desire and drive to belong to something. Your identity is made up of two parts: identity within a group and identity within yourself. In terms of a group, your identity is defined by the kind of people you surround yourself with. This includes your family, friends, colleagues, and community. In terms of yourself, your identity involves all of your characteristics, both positive and negative. Reaching self-acceptance is important for cultivating self-esteem.

Competence

Competence is having trust in your ability to do or not do something. It involves an understanding of your capabilities, limitations, and desire to learn new things. You won’t feel very great if you believe you aren’t capable of much. On the other hand, if you believe in your abilities, you’ll have a deeper sense of self-esteem. Men who feel highly competent tend to have higher levels of self-esteem than those who feel incompetent. 

Self-Confidence

Self-confidence is the main feeder of your self-esteem. Your sense of security, both personally and with those around you, contributes heavily to how you feel about yourself. Confident men also have high self-esteem. Building up your self-esteem relies primarily on building up your self-confidence.

Self-Esteem in Extremes

There is an important caveat when it comes to building self-esteem. Going to extremes on either end, whether you have far too much self-esteem or far too little, isn’t a healthy place to be. The most effective approach to self-esteem resides somewhere in a balanced middle point.

For example, some men may have very high self-esteem without realizing that it isn’t grounded in anything. They have an overly inflated sense of self but it isn’t built on anything outside of their perception. Then you have men who tear themselves down any chance they get. These men also carry an unrealistic, extreme view of themselves but on the other end of the spectrum.

Something I notice in high-performing men is their tendency to vacillate between these two spaces. Sometimes they puff themselves up and believe they’re better than others around them. Other times they’re overcome with guilt, shame, and remorse, and believe they will never overcome their behavior or amount to anything.

Typically these extremes of self-esteem stem from coping or compensating. Men who struggle with self-acceptance will swing from one extreme to the other without. They struggle to find a middle ground where they can simply be a small part of the greater whole.

Having self-esteem in extremes is not a helpful way to live. It’s not grounded in reality and it’s built on a false sense of self. You’re neither better than everyone else nor worse than everyone else. You reside somewhere in the middle, a human among other humans, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The Importance of Building Self-Esteem

When you develop healthy self-esteem, you know exactly who you are, where you want to be, and what you want to do. This enables you to make better choices in every area of your life. It informs the direction you need to take so you can most efficiently and enjoyably arrive at your intended destination.

Having a clear idea of these three things allows you to make smarter decisions about who you spend time with and which activities you participate in. When you’re operating from a place of healthy self-esteem, you’ll surround yourself with people who understand you and do things that you like doing or will benefit you.

Part of fulfilling these long-term goals involves getting out of your comfort zone. You won’t be able to get out of your comfort zone if your self-esteem is low, though. This is another reason building self-esteem is so important. When you’re comfortable with yourself, you’re more likely to try new things, meet challenges, face your fears, address your insecurities, and more.

A strong sense of self-esteem is also crucial because it increases your resilience to the judgment or rejection of others. You aren’t concerned about what others think of you when you have a strong sense of self and a clear sense of where you’re going.

How to Start Building Self-Esteem

Now that you know why having a strong sense of self-esteem is so important, I’ll leave you with an exercise to practice building it. You might think it sounds silly but I need you to trust me on this one, brother.

Stand in your bedroom or living room, somewhere you can be on your own. Imagine there’s a circle drawn on the ground in front of you. Looking at that circle, call to mind all of the positive things you want to be, the happy feelings you want to feel, the best memories you can think of, and everything you hope for from life. Put the thought and energy of all those great things into that circle that sits on the floor before you.

Then I want you to physically step into that circle and allow the positive energy and image you created to surround you. Feel those incredible feelings and experiences merge with you. When you step into this circle you’re stepping into the new version of yourself. You may not feel it fully yet but you will notice a shift in your mental energy and well-being.

Once you practice this exercise at home you can begin bringing it with you anywhere you go. Imagine that circle is always right in front of you and you can step into it at any time. Then you can step out of it a stronger, more confident version of yourself.

I know, it might sound a bit woo-woo or out there. I want you to try it, though, without judgment. Once you do, head over to the Porn Reboot Facebook group and tell us about your experience with it. Let us know what your experience was and read about some of our other brothers’ experiences with the exercise. It’s a great first step toward building self-esteem as you begin incorporating other aspects of the Porn Reboot program.

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7 Skills To Master When Dating During Your Reboot

Porn Addiction Recovery / By
7 Skills To Master When Dating During Your Reboot

Learning to how to quit porn addiction, sex, and masturbation isn’t easy. It’s a big challenge after struggling with your behavior for years. But there’s something that might be an even greater challenge: dating during your reboot.

Years of porn addiction problem destroy your humanity and affect how you view women. It keeps you from building true, authentic, intimate relationships with the women you date. Learning to have healthy relationships after overcoming compulsive behaviors with porn addiction problems, sex, and masturbation can be difficult.

However, I’ve got some skills that you can master while dating during your reboot. These will get you on the right track as you start getting back out into the dating world. Take time to implement each of these skills into your life and I guarantee it will make a noticeable difference.

1. Starting and maintaining interesting conversations

Lots of men don’t know how to hold interesting conversations. We are logical creatures and can keep things very surface level. We don’t need to dive too deep into our conversations with other men because we don’t find it necessary. Shooting the breeze is good enough for us.

However, conversing with women is different. You can’t take the bad habits you have from conversing with other men (speaking too fast, keeping things too surface level, talking about yourself too much, etc.) and expect a woman to be interested. Talking to her in this way is a massive turn-off and she won’t want to stick around.

You must learn to have interesting conversations by asking the right questions, listening, and  framing things in a funny way. You don’t have to be hilarious or exceptionally intelligent to have an interesting conversation. All you need to do is show some general interest in things outside yourself. Ask her questions about things that interest her and dig into her answers.

2. Demonstrate high social value

No woman wants to go out with a guy who is quiet and meek all the time. She’s interested in a man who holds his own, keeps his head up high, and interacts well with others. How do you interact with others when you’re out on a date? How do you converse with the server while you’re out to dinner? What do you do when someone approaches you on the street asking for money?

You shouldn’t talk about your high social value, you should show it. For example, confident men don’t need to parade around looking for assurance; they simply command it by the way they interact with people around them. Developing the ability to demonstrate high social value is crucial.

3. Ability to handle rejection

Dating is a numbers game, brother. You’re not going to land every single woman you talk to. You must get comfortable with being rejected. It shouldn’t be a big deal if a woman flakes on you or ghosts you. There’s no reason to get angry; it’s part of the game.

You must learn to handle rejection without having a big emotional response to it. The more you react when you experience rejection, the less interesting a woman will find you. The less you let it faze you, the better you will fare in the dating world.

4. Killer instinct

Killer instinct is a term I coined myself. It means learning to recognize when a woman is ready for you to make a move. When is it time to get her number? When is she ready for a kiss? When is it time to take her to your place? When is the time to initiate sex?

When you develop a killer instinct you’re no longer second-guessing yourself, you just know it’s time to make a move. You aren’t making them too early or waiting too long. Instead, when you have a killer instinct, you’re more forward and confident which makes you more attractive to women.

5. Developing stances and opinions

It’s in a woman’s nature to test a man’s opinions. She may test you by throwing out a statement to see if you’ll agree with her. She wants to see if you blindly agree with everything she says or if you have your own thoughts and opinions on matters.

Men who are afraid of having strong opinions or saying something contradictory are a turn-off to women. You’re not challenging her if you simply agree with everything she says. How is that interesting at all? Instead, develop your own stances and opinions and stick to them when a woman challenges your thoughts.

6. A sense of empathy

Just like dating isn’t the only thing going on in your life, dating shouldn’t be the only thing going on in her life either. You don’t want a woman who has no friends or hobbies because she won’t allow you the space and time to enjoy yours. 

This means she won’t have a schedule that’s completely open and ready to spend time with you. This also means she may have things that come up. An empathetic man will understand that she has things outside of dating that are also important. He doesn’t take it personally if she isn’t able to meet up at the drop of a hat.

However, don’t confuse empathy with being a doormat, either. If she bails on you regularly or consistently doesn’t have the time you’re looking for, it’s time to move on.

7. The ability to end an interaction

You must know when and how to end a text message thread, a phone call, a date, or a relationship the moment she crosses the line of what you find appropriate. You should already have a solid set of values, standards, and boundaries in place before starting to date. Once she oversteps too many of these things, it’s time to end your interaction.

You should respect yourself enough to end the interaction when it no longer serves you. You shouldn’t hang around simply because you want some attention or want to get laid. Recognize that there are more women out there and get back in the game. Don’t sit around waiting on this one girl who has shown you that she isn’t worth your time.

These Are Only the Start

These skills are just some of the skills that will help you develop a confident air while dating. They are some of the primary things your behavior with porn and masturbation took away from you. And bringing them back into your life will make a massive difference when you begin dating again.

If you have any other ideas about necessary skills while dating during your reboot, come share them with the Porn Reboot Facebook group. You’ll find plenty of brothers getting back into the dating game who you can learn from, and who you can share your tips with as well. Come join the conversation today!

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What Is Awareness While Quitting Porn?

Porn Addiction Recovery / By
What Is Awareness While Quitting Porn?

Everything you do in the Porn Reboot system exists to bring you closer to awareness. Whether it’s morning reboot time, building an exercise routine, practicing meditation, or checking in with an accountability partner, all of it is aimed at helping you develop awareness.

Awareness is one of my favorite topics to discuss. It’s a crucial tool for every person but it’s especially necessary for men recovering from out-of-control behavior with porn addiction problems, sex, and masturbation. Men who struggle with these behaviors are not incapable of controlling them; they’re simply unaware of how much control they truly have.

You’re unaware of the things that motivate you, the pain you experience, the source of your stress, and the impact of your limiting beliefs. You have every faculty necessary to recognize them but you’re not aware of how to access them. Teaching you to develop that awareness is the main part of what the Porn Reboot system does.

What is Awareness?

Awareness is the knowledge or understanding that something is happening. Self-awareness includes the ability to think about your thoughts, emotions, or feelings; to determine whether your behaviors align with your standards; to recognize why you take some actions and avoid others.

There are two main types of awareness. Public self-awareness involves understanding and focusing on how you appear to others. Private self-awareness refers to reflecting on your internal states. Both of these forms of awareness are crucial for being successful in eliminating your Porn Addiction Problems.

Why is Awareness Important?

Developing self-awareness is important because it gives you insight into your beliefs and values so you can determine whether your choices and habits are aligned with them. This knowledge empowers you to see where changes need to be made and to make informed choices. It gives you a direction to go so you can make progress and be successful.

The Benefits of Self-Awareness

Self-awareness involves so many positive benefits that it’s hard to think of reasons why you shouldn’t pursue it. Developing self-awareness not only keeps you in the present moment but it bolsters your emotional intelligence. It deepens your sense of empathy. It improves your listening skills and removes you from your head.

Self-awareness not only improves your internal awareness, though; it brings you outside of yourself, too. Cultivating self-awareness brings to your attention just how much time you spend in your head. It helps you see how removed you’ve been from the world you live in. 

One of the greatest benefits of self-awareness is the sense of confidence you develop. You derive self-confidence from gaining a more thorough understanding of yourself. You move through the world with your head held high because you have more clarity and positive intent. Your communication skills improve, too, which only increases your self-confidence.

How Do You Develop Self-Awareness?

Journaling is one of the most effective and quickest ways to become more self-aware. Write down your thoughts, emotions, and plans. Work through your mental stumbling blocks on paper. Once you start writing things down, you can track your progress over time to see what works and what doesn’t.

Meditation is another practice that helps you develop self-awareness. It doesn’t have to be as difficult as you may think, either. Too many people have false ideas of what meditation means. Sure, sitting on a cushion and remaining silent for hours of reflection is meditation. But you can also meditate while lying in bed, while sitting on your couch, or even while on your daily commute.

Meditation means developing mindfulness of your surroundings. It means bringing yourself into the moment so you can fully experience what is happening around you and identify how you respond to these things.

Here is an easy introduction practice to meditation. Start by closing your eyes right now and think of three things happening around you or within you. For example, focus on how your feet feel on the ground or your back on the chair. Pay attention to the sensations in your hands or on your face. Identify thoughts that cross your mind. Listen to the sounds in your environment. 

Pull three of these things to the front of your mind and focus on them. Recognize the responses you have to them. Don’t attach yourself to them, simply observe. Once you can hold three things at a time, add three more. Begin opening your awareness a bit at a time. Then bring more things into your consciousness as you progress.

Another important way to develop self-awareness is to reach out for help and support. Surround yourself with brothers in the Porn Reboot program who understand what you’re going through. Ask for guidance when you find yourself stuck. Seek out the experiences of other men who have been where you are now.

One of the best places to find this is in the Free Porn Reboot Facebook group. It’s filled with men at various stages of their reboot who know what you’re going through and are working through the same struggles. You never have to deal with your out-of-control behavior alone again; we’re here to help.

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Future is Not a Destination: Embracing the Present

Porn Addiction Recovery / By
Future is Not a Destination: Embracing the Present

Everyone considers their future to some extent.

People have varying goals and aspirations, things they want to see, places they want to visit, and hopes they want to see come to fruition. Maybe you want to have a family, buy a house, or start a business. Perhaps you want to move to a different part of the country or another area in the world.

At the same time, if you struggle with out-of-control behavior with porn, sex, and masturbation, you may feel hopeless about your future. You might believe that you’ve brought yourself to a point that you can’t come back from. Your future might look dark, dreary, and void of anything worth living for.

This is especially true for men early in their reboot. Most men don’t arrive at the Porn Reboot group until they’ve reached a low point. It takes a lot for a man to admit he has a problem and reach out for help. Some lose their jobs, some lose their homes, some lose their families, and some lose everything they have before they find us.

They come to the program simply hoping to end their compulsive behavior. They’ve likely tried at least a few different programs or approaches before. Nothing has worked, though, and their porn-free stints become fewer and further between. This builds a story in their minds that nothing will ever keep them from acting out or completely ending their behavior.

But then they find the Porn Reboot program and begin implementing the system in their lives. They find themselves able to live free from pornography, not because they’re forced to but because they want to. The future doesn’t seem as hopeless as it did before. They can see a light at the end of the tunnel, one with more worthwhile experiences than they imagined.

Here’s the problem with that mentality, though: the future never arrives. You’ll only ever find yourself in the present moment. I know this may sound a bit philosophical and woo-woo, but it’s true. You’re never going to find yourself in that far-reaching future; even when you get there it’ll still be now.

The only way to control your future is to control the present moment, brother. Whatever you hope to achieve in the future, take steps to achieve that today. Too many people view the future as a destination, an arrival point they’ll reach one day where all their hopes and dreams are fulfilled.

Sure, that may happen. You can take steps to set yourself up for the situation you want to live in. But at the same time, nothing is guaranteed. You could do everything necessary to build a successful life but there are always uncontrollable or unpredictable factors at play. And you never know when they’ll step in to disrupt your path.

You must release the false belief that your future is a destination. It only sets you up for failure. This is a more high-level approach for men who are new to the Porn  Addiction Counseling – Reboot system. It’s not easy to view the world this way and may even strengthen your sense of apathy if you haven’t yet gained a good hold on it. But it’s also one of the most freeing ways to move through life.

When you finally recognize that today is the only day you’ll ever have, you begin to approach each one with hope, enthusiasm, and love. Every moment becomes more precious to you. You embrace the fact that you never know when it will all be over and come to appreciate the true beauty of each day.

I challenge you to shift your perspective and take this approach today. I want to offer encouragement to my brothers who may feel down and out right now. There is hope and healing in the Porn Reboot program, something that seems so far off and impossible at times. But I promise you that we’re a group of men who have a solution that we used to think was impossible, too. I invite you to join us today.

 

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Developing Standards in Porn Addiction Recovery

Porn Addiction Recovery / By
Developing Standards in Porn Addiction Recovery

What are some of the standards you live by?

If you aren’t sure what standards are, you’re far from alone. The way I see it is if values and principles are the building blocks of your life, then standards are the final structure you’re working toward. Developing a strong set of standards is crucial if you want to be successful in your reboot. 

There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the terms values, principles, and standards. People often think they’re the same thing. While all three are similar and related, there are unique differences that separate them, too.

Values are your long-lasting beliefs on certain issues that are important to you. They are essentially the foundation of your principles. Some examples of values are things like compassion, integrity, generosity, and patience.

Principles, on the other hand, are indisputable, unchanging rules that are based on your values. For instance, principles are things like treating others the way you want to be treated, or not getting involved with women in your workplace.

Standards are actions and behaviors that you expect yourself to live up to based on your values and principles. This includes working hard, being rigorously honest, committing to your physical well-being, supporting your family, and so on. 

I notice that people tend to adopt values, principles, or standards because they sound cool. Maybe a cool influencer or someone you look up to in life said them. However, if that value, principle, or standard doesn’t actually align with your truth, it won’t hold up over time. These things are all very personal and aren’t something you simply pick up from someone else.

Everyone has a different way of thinking and believing. Each person’s value system is shaped by a variety of factors like the area they were born in, the society they were raised in, the family and friends they grew up around, and more.

At first, you inevitably adopt the values, principles, and standards of those around you. But over time, you may start to recognize where those things don’t truly align with your thoughts and beliefs. You develop your own set of values, principles, and standards as you grow up, a set that works for you.

How do values, principles, and standards play a role in ending your out-of-control behavior with pornography and masturbation? Some of these things will have to do with your path in the Porn Addiction Recovery – Reboot system. For example, going to the strip club with your buddies used to not be that big of a deal. But now you’ll likely need to adopt a new standard that eliminates things like this from your life.

Additionally, people who don’t struggle with compulsive sexual behaviors generally have a bit more leeway in their lives. They may be able to push the limits of their adherence to principles without much thought or consequence. But if you find yourself out of alignment with your values, principles, and standards, you’ll also find yourself at a greater risk of slipping or relapsing.

This is the result of living dishonestly. Going against your values, principles, and standards, or adopting them from someone else instead of determining them for yourself, is dishonest. You’re the only one who can decide what path is right for you. If you choose to live by someone else’s standards, you’ll forever live a substandard life.

I want you to keep a few things in mind as you begin to consider the framework within which you want to live your life after you reboot:

  • You must create personal standards that you adhere to at all times. You cannot live a directionless life if you want to reboot successfully. Your standards inform your entire life, from the job you take to the people you spend time with. If you don’t have standards, you’ll be left to the whims of wherever life blows you.
  • You must recognize that standards are not the same thing as goals. Many men mistake standards for goals, but they’re different things. Standards are not ideals to work toward achieving in the future; they are things that drive the course of your life in each moment of every day. You should run every decision through your list of standards before following through with it.
  • Your standards are yours and yours alone, and you cannot impose them on others. Again, values, principles, and standards are all very personal things. You cannot move through life expecting everyone to adhere to your approach. This only sets you up for failure and lasting resentment. Live by your standards and leave others to behave as they see fit.
  • Standards are for personal fulfillment, not for impressing other people. Do not outline standards you think will “look good” to others. This is only another form of dishonesty. Outline standards that leave you feeling personally fulfilled. They should be a framework for living that lets you put your head on the pillow at night knowing you’ve been true to yourself throughout the day.

Ultimately, the most important part of living a successful life is ensuring that your thoughts and actions align with your beliefs. Developing and living by a strong set of standards is the most efficient and effective way to do this. If you want to be successful in the Porn Reboot program, setting these standards now is a crucial part of the process.

 

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Does Your Reboot Need to Be a Priority?

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Does Your Reboot Need to Be a Priority?

I recently had a one-on-one with a brother who brought up a very interesting point I want to cover here today. This brother is in the middle stage of his reboot. He’s doing well in most aspects of his reboot but still struggles to control his behavior with porn and masturbation. 

However, he’s so focused on his slips that he can’t see all the progress he’s making in other areas. No matter what positives I pointed out, he couldn’t recognize the improvements in his career, his relationship, and his finances. He firmly believed that unless he was completely and totally free from porn, no other improvements mattered.

As we talked, it came up that in the past he came across Gary Wilson, one of the early greats in the realm of porn addiction. If you aren’t already familiar, he’s the one who developed concepts like “Your Brain on Porn” and “NoFap.” While I have great respect for the work he did to bring awareness to the detriments of porn, he and I differ in a few areas of thought.

One of the primary differences between our views on porn addiction recovery is his abstinence-only approach. His programs focus so heavily on a man’s porn  addiction problem that they neglect to see the importance of simultaneously building up other areas of your life. They didn’t talk about things like relationships, social life, financial well-being, physical health, and mental health.

This led our brother, and thousands of others like him, to view his slips as meaning his entire reboot was a failure. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t blowing his paychecks the day they arrived, that he wasn’t neglecting his girlfriend, or that he was finally showing up to work on time. No, the few slips here and there meant the whole reboot was unsuccessful.

I don’t adhere to that thought. I’m not saying that you should continue watching porn, jerking off, and having compulsive sex during your reboot. The whole point of the Porn Reboot program is to rewire your brain so you can separate from these out-of-control behaviors. I am saying that putting all the emphasis on porn and ignoring progress in other areas is a recipe for disaster.

Yes, your reboot needs to be a priority. But when I say your reboot, I mean the whole reboot process. I mean building physical, social, emotional, mental, and spiritual reboot capital. I mean your morning routine, meditation, journaling, and getting to the gym. I mean spending time with your partner, being a good employee, and checking in with your accountability partner.

All of these things are just as important as whether you view porn or not. Do you know why? Because if you only based your success on whether you slipped or relapsed, you would destroy your self-esteem.

You’re here because of your problem with porn, sex, and masturbation, brother. You won’t end those things all at once right away. You spend years developing those habits and it will take at least a few months to end them. As I often talk about, even though I don’t support “counting days”, it takes at least 90 days to reboot and up to two years to fully rewire your brain.

Men with high self-esteem are less likely to act out sexually than men with low self-esteem. If you don’t measure success in these other areas alongside your compulsive behavior, you will feel like you’re a failure. We want to build your self-esteem, not tear it down. And incorporating your reboot capital as a benchmark of success is a crucial way to do that.

There was no Porn Reboot system when I worked to end my out-of-control behavior. My experiences were the original case study for the program. While I couldn’t quit watching porn and jerking off, I knew there had to be other things I could do in the meantime. Trying to measure my success by my time away from porn made me feel worse and worse.

Instead, I first focused on building my physique. I was 21, tall, and lanky. I felt weak. I didn’t feel attractive. But I recognized that there were more resources on building a strong physique than quitting porn, so I started there. I stuck to a meal plan, lifted weights progressively, and within 90 days my body began to change. Within a year I put on some significant size. And the reactions from people boosted my confidence. I still struggled with my out-of-control behavior, but I finally had something to feel proud of.

Then I shifted my focus to my social anxiety. I was so uncomfortable around people in public, both men and women, and knew it was something I needed to overcome. So I began the process by interacting with people at the bar to learn to hold conversations. As I learned to converse, I started asking some of the women I talked with on dates. It was a slow process but my progress was as evident as it was when working on my physique.

I didn’t stop working on controlling my behavior with porn during this time. I still dealt with slips and relapses, but they became less frequent as I gained confidence. I realized that by focusing on things other than porn, porn naturally became less of a problem. This led to my concept for the Porn Reboot system that thousands of men use today.

So again, brother, yes, your reboot needs to be a priority. Your compulsive behavior with porn, sex, and masturbation brought you here. Obviously, things are not going well and you want to control your behavior. But I encourage you to make your entire reboot a priority, not just the aspects that have to do with your porn problem.

I watched the process work for myself and the many men I’ve worked with during the years. You’re far from alone in dealing with this struggle, brother. You’ve landed among a community of men who know exactly what you’re going through. If you haven’t already, I invite you to join our FREE Porn Reboot Facebook group. Start there and read through some experiences. You’ll find others rebuilding their lives, from work to relationships to their physique and more.

Come join us on our Porn Addiction Counseling as we make our reboots a priority in all aspects of our lives.

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The Power of Forgiveness in Recovery

Porn Addiction Recovery / By
The Power of Forgiveness in Recovery

What comes to mind when you hear the word “forgiveness”?

Perhaps you recall the religion of your childhood. Maybe you think of a resentment you’re trying to let go of. You might even think of someone you’re hoping will forgive you for something you’ve done.

I believe that forgiveness is a forgotten skill. It empowers you to overcome some of the things that hold you back most in your porn addiction recovery. Holding onto anger keeps you a prisoner of your emotions. But learning to forgive provides the freedom you’ve looked for in many different avenues up to this point.

Are you harboring any grudges over things said or done to you in the past? It’s difficult to reach the later stages of your reboot if you don’t let go of those past harms. However, I understand that it’s challenging to release these things which is why I believe that forgiveness is a skill.

Take a moment to recall some of the worst times of your life. Think of some of the worst things you said and did during your porn addiction. If you’re anything like me, I said and did many things that caused a lot of harm to other people. My words and actions resulted in much emotional, physical, psychological, and financial damage.

I also found that I was holding onto a lot of grudges. I was so angry at others for the way they treated me despite the awful things I did. I was angry at women who rejected me and friends who said things behind my back. It didn’t matter that I’d hurt them, too; I was still furious.

It’s safe to say I had a lot of baggage when I finally decided to end my out-of-control behavior. I had to release some of the weight I was carrying if I wanted to reboot because I was at a point where it was too painful to carry on. While forgiveness was the last thing on my mind, it wasn’t until later that I realized letting go of these things meant I was beginning that process.

Forgiveness begins with you, brother. It starts with forgiving yourself for the harmful behavior you’ve engaged in for so many years. Learning to do this frees you from the heavy load of guilt and shame you’ve carried for so long. As you truly embrace forgiveness for yourself, you’ll find a lightness in the world that you never imagined possible.

Once you forgive yourself, it’s time to start extending that forgiveness to others. Think about all the people you’re carrying grudges against or felt resentment toward. Call each grudge and resentment to mind one at a time. Consider whether it’s worth it to continue carrying it or if it’s time to forgive, let go, and move forward.

Oftentimes people believe that forgiveness is for the other person’s sake. I’m here to tell you, brother, that forgiveness is for you. It’s a process that frees you from the mental strain of carrying all this frustration, rage, and resentment. These things take much more energy to sustain than you may think.

At the same time, this doesn’t absolve you of responsibility for the harm you’ve caused. You must still acknowledge your wrongdoings and make restitution to those you hurt. A simple “sorry” is often not enough; it’s time to make genuine amends.

But this won’t come until you learn to forgive others, which starts with forgiving yourself. It takes time to develop this skill but it’s necessary if you want to be successful in your Porn Addiction Counseling or Porn Reboot Program. You will never overcome your out-of-control behavior if you don’t learn the art of forgiveness. But as you continue working on yourself, your ability to forgive will develop and grow.

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Top 10 Porn Addiction Symptoms: Loss of Concentration

Porn Addiction Recovery / By
Top 10 Porn Addiction Symptoms: Loss of Concentration

Porn addiction is a serious problem for thousands of men around the world. I know this is true because I’ve worked with many of them in my almost 15 years of building the Porn Reboot program. It’s something that can destroy a man’s life and strip him of everything worth living for when it gets bad enough.

Pornography is a growing issue, especially for men who are exposed to it during their younger years. Excessive porn use alters natural brain chemistry and causes a wide range of negative effects. Are you wondering whether your pornography use might be a problem? Over the next few weeks, I want to cover 10 of the most common porn addiction symptoms I see among men seeking help in the Porn Reboot program. These include:

  • Loss of concentration
  • Depression
  • Lack of romance
  • Lack of achievement
  • Low energy
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Premature ejaculation
  • Unusual porn fetishes
  • No attraction to real-life partners
  • Loss of ability to orgasm during sex

Loss of concentration is one of the most common porn addiction symptoms. It’s also one of the most debilitating because it affects almost every area of your life. Your mind cannot focus on people, places, and experiences in front of you when it’s preoccupied thinking about porn, sex, or masturbation.

You may notice that loss of concentration affects your performance at school or work. It often holds you back from fully engaging with your spouse or children. Loss of concentration from porn addiction impacts your friendships and relationships with colleagues, coworkers, or business partners, too.

If you notice you struggle to focus on tasks for long periods, have ADHD-like symptoms, or find yourself zoning out constantly, this may be a loss of concentration caused by your porn use. The longer you go without working through your porn problem, the worse your concentration problem will become.

Thankfully, you can rebuild your concentration skills over time. It won’t happen overnight but there are different ways to strengthen your attention once you end your out-of-control behavior with porn, sex, and masturbation. Learning to concentrate fully on the people in front of you and the tasks at hand makes for a more enjoyable, fulfilling life.

Top 10 Porn Addiction Symptoms: Loss of Concentration Read More »

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