Hobbies and Habits to beat Addiction

In addition to abstaining from problematic sexual behaviors, we encourage rebooters to develop habits and hobbies that promote self-growth. For many rebooters, negative thoughts and feelings can trigger urges to use porn, ultimately leading to a reset or relapse. By building good habits and slowly progressing towards positive long-term goals, a rebooter can bolster their self-confidence, reduce negative thinking, and constructively use the surplus time and energy they will have after quitting porn.

It’s up to the rebooter to choose their own habits and hobbies. No one can tell you what activity will give you the positive boost you need!

For an extra challenge, try adding habits or hobbies to your challenge parameters. Commit to working on your habits or hobbies every day of your challenge.

It is important to note that a rebooter shouldn’t try to add too many habits or hobbies all at once. It is better to start small and excel than to bite off more than you can chew. Choose small goals for one or two habits or hobbies. After handling them successfully for a sustained period, slowly ramp up to bigger or more challenging goals. Refrain from taking on more habits until your first set have become second nature.

Habits: Common habits include new exercise or dietary programs, meditation, or adult daily living skills such as housework or flossing. Some rebooters like to challenge themselves to take a cold shower every morning for the duration of their reboot, as a simple way of building self-discipline.

A good habit to choose is something a rebooter can work on each day. It should be challenging enough to make a rebooter feel a sense of accomplishment, but not so intimidating that they’re just setting themselves up for more failure, which could result in negative thinking.

For instance, a sedentary rebooter will do well to exercise for 20 minutes each day rather than taking on a high-intensity exercise program. Someone looking to eat healthier might do better making sure they drink eight glasses of water each day rather than suddenly going vegan. Creative rebooters might want to finally get that novel written, but a good place to start could be a 750 words-per-day writing discipline.

Hobbies: Working on a hobby is a good way to pass the time. Some heavy porn users may have spent hours each day looking at porn and are surprised to find themselves with time on their hands once they start their reboot. This extra time may lead to boredom, which is another common trigger for porn use.

Hobbies could include finishing a project or pursuing an interest you’ve always been curious about. Hobbies that promote physical activity are a fantastic option. Taking up hiking, fun runs, or a new sport are excellent choices. Hobbies that take skill to accomplish and engage creative passions can be particularly fulfilling, and ones that engage manual dexterity can help keep “idle hands” busy. Learning to play a new instrument or handicrafts such as knitting are good options.

A good hobby provides relaxation rather than escapism. Relaxing hobbies are engaged in deliberately and leave you feeling refreshed and recharged. By contrast, escapist activities are often compulsive, performed as a way of escaping from uncomfortable duties or feelings, and will leave you feeling depleted. Only you will be able to determine whether a hobby is relaxation or escapism. For instance, video games and reading can be relaxing hobbies for one rebooter while providing destructive escapism for another Rebooter.

What habits and hobbies are you gonna work on?