Welcome to this new day!
You are doing an amazing job
Because our Hero’s journey is brutal
It takes sacrifice
You give up this free dopamine fix of porn
That you have come to rely upon as a coping mechanism
And it takes suffering
You gave it up
You sit there and suffer from whatever pain you’ve been running from with this coping mechanism
I totally understand this and I feel for you
But here’s the kicker
Are you ready?
Nothing worthwhile in life comes without sacrifice
I don’t like deadlift, for example
It’s brutal on my body and mind
I don’t like the feeling of not having enough oxygen as I hold my breath
But I do it for three reasons
It’s a compound exercise that engages many muscles
It has a great hormonal effect on my body
Boosting testosterone, specifically
I make myself more muscular and strong
Which is a huge anti-aging factor
For one, the more muscles I have, the more I am sensitive to insulin
Which is an aging hormone
And there’s also a bit of vanity there
I also want to still look good
Not have a huge gut
Just through luck
But we both know this is not going to happen
Same thing with porn
You want to feel in charge of your life
You want to rechannel sexual energy into creativity
You want to be confident and have a social life
You can’t just hope for luck to get all those things
Even if you get a girlfriend by luck
You will likely lose her soon because you won’t have developed relationship skills through sacrifice and suffering
You need to go through them to get all those benefits
I love this quote from Muhammad Ali that sums up this concept very well:
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’
You are sacrificing your porn-full and regretful existence now
You are suffering now to live the rest of your life porn-free and regret-free
A strength sensei Charles Poliquin used to say this:
Discipline is a myth
It’s a question of what you love more
What do you like more — chiseled abs or donuts?
You are sacrificing “donuts” — 5 minutes of pleasure now
You are choosing to suffer for those 5 minutes
Because you want the chiseled abs
I am also inspired by Mike Tyson’s perspective on sacrifice
My edge is my willingness to sacrifice
I am willing to do anything to myself to be the best in the world
I am willing to sacrifice my body and psychological health
I get up at 4 AM to run in the snow
I do this because I know my opponent won’t
Sometimes you have to sacrifice your life for a marriage
Sacrifice your life for a goal you want to accomplish”
That’s what success and fulfillment are about
Giving up things that feel good now
For feeling good forever after
One of them is porn
I appreciate your sacrifice and suffering
I’ve been there and know it’s difficult
But when you are on other side of porn
You will feel like a Hero
Exactly how every person is supposed to feel
Be a hero
A hero right here
Tomorrow
You and me
Same place
Same time
See you then and there