1 Year PMO Free! What I've Learned So Far

Hi,

I've been PMO free for more than one year now. It's been a roller-coaster - particularly the first three months - but I've made it. This experience has taught me the following things:

• it's possible to achieve goals that initially seem impossible
• I have greater self-discipline than the average person
• I can achieve whatever I commit myself to
• grit and determination is vital for success
• the ceiling on what I can achieve is much higher than my limiting beliefs would allow me to see
• I can live whatever life I choose to
• I've elevated myself to the elite community of people who can conceive of a better way of life and actively bring that vision to fruition
• I'm no longer a slave to the lies, titillation and distraction of popular Western media
• a surging current of addiction flows right through Western society (porn, junk food, media/political scapegoating of minorities)
• being disciplined and goal-oriented is a lonely experience in average Western communities. There are very few people on Earth who are truly committed to success. People say they want to succeed, but they don't commit themselves, and they make endless excuses for their lack of success (e.g. don't have time, too difficult)
• I have to carefully choose who I do and do not interact with. I now try to surround myself with ambitious and inspiring people that lift me up, and spend less time with average people who lack ambition and are bemused by my intense focus on my pursuits. Each of us are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.
• staying in and reading a book/watching a video about inspiring people (e.g. Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela) is far better than hanging out with uninspiring people. I no longer socialise just so I can be approved of by peers I have no faith in. Get rid of negative/neutral people in your life and find positive people.
• success can take years - even decades - rather than weeks or months
• you have to keep the higher goal in mind at all times - especially when you're tempted to give up. A small success today can be extrapolated forwards to a massive success over many years (versus where you'd be if you simply maintained the status quo). Today's success is the thin end of a big wedge of success for the coming years.
• the simple choice and commitment to a goal (however small) elevates you above the vast majority of people in the Western world who are simply going through the motions (e.g. paying their mortgage, watching TV, eating junk food).

I now run a young professionals network at my workplace (and manage a team of five people who serve that network). I've spoken in front of hundreds of people at a national conference - including my employer's CEO. I've kept a major project ticking along while my manager has been away. I facilitated my first-ever training course for new trade union reps at my workplace. I've achieved strength records I never thought possible for me (e.g. deadlifting 160 kg - I only weigh 67 kg). I met an activist idol of mine yesterday. I've rekindled the passion for life I had when I was an eager 17 year old. NoFap has opened my eyes to a world of possibility across all dimensions of my life. Who knows where the next 10 years will take me.

Andrew