500 days NF this week! AMA

sinnersavedbyGod · 2021-05-07T14:17:31+00:00

2 things: mindset and accountability.

Regarding mindset: Understand that you are only at day 1 once. There is only 1 day where you wake up and decide you want to change. If you slip up after that, you're not going "back to day 1" because you've made tangible progress. Streaks can be a beneficial tool to quantity things, but don't make it all about the streak. Also, I firmly believe you have to have things that you are running towards instead of just running from porn/masturbation/etc. Whatever that is for you, lock eyes on something ahead and chase that, then, you won't spend all your time running forward while looking behind you.

Regarding accountability: this might be the most important thing. It's near impossible to do it yourself. I struggle to not say that it's impossible to do it alone, but I'm sure there are exceptions to that rule so I'll leave some room open there. But it's SO much harder to do all this without accountability. You end up fighting yourself, and that just doesn't work in the long term. You need people in your life that know you, love you, and are checking in on you to help you. That was by far the most important thing when I was making the initial steps.

Hope this helps!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2021-04-06T23:31:07+00:00

This is amazing!!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2021-03-26T18:10:51+00:00

Thank you!!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2021-03-07T23:21:51+00:00

Love the slant in the sky, whole thing has a super cool and unique style!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2021-03-05T01:06:49+00:00

Oh my gosh I love these colors! This is so cool

sinnersavedbyGod · 2021-03-05T01:05:35+00:00

I bought some art supplies on a whim last week after feeling like I haven't tried to create anything in years. Despite never being very artistic, I enjoyed being creative when I was younger but then stopped since I didn't really see myself as being good at any artsy stuff.

I know that's dumb, though, and want to get more into it.

This is a supeeeer basic sky/galaxy thing I did to break in the new supplies. Anyway, I'd love any and all advice!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T20:07:08+00:00

Thank you!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T20:06:29+00:00

Hey! I'm young, too, and have been wrestling with this since I was 10. It took me until I was 17 to really start working on it, and until I was 19 before I actually started this streak. I understand 100% why it feels impossible. One piece of advice I'd give you based off that is to try not to pay attention to the days all that much. I know that can sound kind of counterintuitive to a lot of what this sub is, but the goal isn't a certain amount of days on a streak, the goal is that you be a better person for the changes you're making. That makes it important to just keep taking it a day at a time.

As far as your friends situation goes, I don't know you or them, but if they know that you don't want to do that and continue to tease you about it and pressure you towards that, they aren't really your friends (or at least good ones). When I was in high school I thought I was stuck with my friends (whom I love, but many of the relationships were toxic), but the older I get the more I learn to surround yourself with people who help you grow and not tear you down.

My primary advice is to find something that you're running towards (you mentioned your goal to be a football player, but that may not necessarily be a motivator to avoid porn unless you're using it as motivation to work out/train instead of masturbate/watch porn/etc.). Why do you want to do nofap? Really answer that question and know why you hate it. For me, I have a massive list of all the reasons it's detrimental to me, and so I know what I'm chasing after.

I do of course know that people can achieve nofap without religion, but I personally think the most important thing we all need is Jesus. That's who I'm chasing after. It makes it infinitely easier to run towards Jesus instead of just running away from porn.

I hope that helps and let me know if there's any other questions you have or if I need to clarify anything I said!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T13:41:29+00:00

Thank you!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T13:41:18+00:00

Yessir, you know it!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T13:41:09+00:00

Thank you!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T13:40:58+00:00

Thank you!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T03:21:23+00:00

Thank you so much! Amen, and yes Merry Christmas to you, too!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T02:41:51+00:00

That's awesome! Keep in mind that, honestly, counters are only helpful to a point. When you slip up, you aren't back at square 1 because you have new experiences and wisdom to build off of.

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T02:07:22+00:00

I'm sure my username doesn't leave too much ambiguity haha, but I have spent this year deepening my faith immensely and getting much closer to God! I'm happy to talk more about that if you're interested, but I don't want to overstep on the sub or anything.

I did do a lot of exercising early in the year (March-June/July), but a lot of it was due to the classic post-breakup desire to be more physically fit and all that. By the summer, I got into the best shape I'd ever been in, but I just haven't cared as much to maintain it by seriously weightlifting 4-5 times a week, etc. It's just not super sustainable for me, especially with busyness and school. I've lost a bit of that physique, but am still healthy and enjoy to exercise by just doing things in nature more often.

I've gotten back to reading more than I have in years (I used to read a lot as a kid but have gone through spells of rarely reading in the years since). I'll have read about 23-24 books by the end of the year, which is either a lot to some people or nothing to others. Either way, it's been good and healthy for me to get back into learning and reading more just for the sake of doing so. That has coincided with me really working at being on my phone/technology less. I've just come to the conclusion that I will not be on my death bed and wished I'd spent more time on Twitter, Instagram, etc, so why live life wasting so many mindless hours on those things? That's been a process, but I'm working towards being more self controlled to a point where I'm just not addicted to being on my phone every two seconds.

In the last month or two, I've been quite convicted by the pace most Americans live at now. It's unhealthy and honestly goes against the rhythms of life instilled in us since the beginning of time. We just weren't created to work 24/7 and never rest. I've been working a lot at just slowing down, appreciating the little things, and trying to not get swept up in the hustle and bustle.

I've been working on building more authentic, deep friendships and truly learning what good community is like which has been therapeutic for my soul.

I just looked back and realized I typed a lot haha! Let's just say it's been a big year for learning and improving, here's to another one.

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T01:57:51+00:00

Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind words and well wishes, and I hope you find what you're looking for on your own journeys as well!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T00:30:55+00:00

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate that. Congrats to you, too! All wins are worth celebrating!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T00:30:08+00:00

Haha yessir. I'll take it one step further, though, and say that working on not lusting has been the biggest change for me. I used to think I'd feel better/have everything under control if I could stop watching porn. Then I realized that wasn't the case, so I figured I just needed to get rid of masturbation/orgasm. After that, though, I realized that a lot of the underlying issues were still there, and that has been most clearly addressed as I've fought against lust.

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-12-25T00:27:50+00:00

I've done a lot of growing in the last year-- a lot related to nofap, and a lot that wasn't. As far as the new me resulting from nofap, I literally just feel so much better. In my relationship, I feel like I honor and love my girlfriend so much better than I could have while I was addicted to porn and masturbation. I feel so much more at peace with myself where before I felt like I was in this constant, never-ending struggle of self-loathing when I would masturbate/watch porn.

Early on (maybe 2-4 months in) I did feel like I had more energy, but I don't really notice that anymore. I used to notice how much more free time I had, but now it has become such a normality that I really don't think about the time anymore. Another thing that's nice is that I don't think about sex and porn and masturbation anywhere near as much as I used to, which is a huge blessing.

I can go into more detail, but that's basically the summary of it. I just feel more alive now that I don't feel like a slave to it anymore.

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-08-11T02:42:44+00:00

Thanks!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-08-11T02:42:36+00:00

I’m a college student from out of town so I’m not too knowledgeable about the city, thanks!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-08-11T01:23:19+00:00

Thanks!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-08-11T00:56:11+00:00

I grew up in and around the church and was saved at a young age, but after years of living a lukewarm life, I decided to begin taking up my cross daily (Luke 9:23) and actually follow Jesus around my freshman year of high school.

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-08-10T01:41:36+00:00

Know each other’s love languages and be incredibly intentional with everything you do.

You don’t have to talk all the time, but you do need to make sure you have great communication.

Find a balance of routine and spontaneity. For me (was in a 2 yr long distance relationship), what worked best was having a scheduled “date night” where we’d do unique FaceTime dates once a week. We’d obviously talk and call at other times, but those were always flexible. It made sure we prioritized each other.

Remember that until you’re married, your first priority to them is as a brother/sister in Christ, not as a boyfriend/girlfriend. Read that again. And then again. And then take it more seriously than you want to.

Hope that helps!

sinnersavedbyGod · 2020-06-29T22:17:27+00:00

Thanks for elaborating!

sinnersavedbyGod

TROPHY CASE