As I promised you earlier this week, this is the next part in a series on the stages of the Porn Reboot system.
I’m breaking down each stage down into separate blog posts over the next few days. Consider it a quick summary of the Porn Reboot program to help kickstart or refresh your reboot. You can find the other parts here:
Stage 5 is the final stage of the Porn Reboot process. I refer to it as the maintenance stage in your reboot. You’ve accepted your need for help, implemented new habits, integrated into a supportive community, and are on a track that works for you. Your focus now is to maintain what you’ve built so far and continue making small adjustments to keep growing as a man.
As you settle into Stage 5, it’s also important to remind yourself that this is a new lifestyle. What you thought of as your porn addiction was actually a long-term lifestyle you spent months or years settling into. As you settle into your new approach to life, you have to remember the things that brought you here at the beginning.
It takes time for your brain to rewire, even after you have your new routine in place. You spend the first six months to a year discovering what works for you and building habits around those things. Then you spend the next year building reboot capital using those tools that make a difference in your life.
I’ve found that it takes about a year and a half to two years for a man’s brain to rewire. Even though it might take a shorter time for you to progress from habit change to lifestyle change to changing your self-image, the full process takes more time.
The Key to Success for Stage 5: Continued Growth and Development
After the first few months, you might feel like there’s nothing wrong with you and find yourself tempted to take your foot off the gas. You have great habits in place and enjoy the lifestyle you’ve developed. You’re proud of how far you have come and feel great about yourself as you reflect on where you were, compared to where you are now.
Stage 5 is when the challenge of questioning your new path arises. You might wonder whether you still need to maintain certain boundaries, habits, or behaviors. This is a slippery slope to find yourself standing on. You have to remember that the positive things in your life are a result of the work you’ve done to remove porn and out-of-control sexual behavior from your life.
The key to success for Stage 5 is simple: continue your growth and development. Don’t take your foot off the gas when you feel complacency and overconfidence creep in. Look around and notice the incredible places your life is going, then remind yourself it’s going in this direction because you’re no longer wrapped up in pornography and compulsive behaviors.
Laziness is another threat to your reboot during this stage. You might take your reboot for granted and your boundaries start eroding slowly without you noticing. Maybe you stop being as intimate with your partner or fall back on quick dopamine hits like scrolling social media or binge-watching Netflix.
Cultivating awareness is a crucial part of Stage 5. You must look out for these small threats to your reboot. Now I’m not telling you that you have to be on and ready to go 100% of the time. There’s nothing wrong with taking a small break here and there. But when you find that you’re spending more time in front of the screen than out working to be a better man, there’s a problem.
Settling into a community like the one we have in the Porn Reboot Facebook group is a great way to keep yourself accountable during Stage 5. You can surround yourself with brothers who understand the struggle of overcoming pornography addiction. You’ll find yourself supported by men who have been there and you’ll eventually be the one to support the new men coming in.
Porn Reboot is the system that has the potential to completely change your life. If you haven’t decided to join us, now is the time. Watch a few of our YouTube videos, listen to a couple of episodes of the podcast, check out the other posts in this series, and join us in the Facebook group. Freedom from your compulsive sexual behavior is only a few clicks away.
