Simply put: Every time I’ve resisted self-pleasure for days, or even a week. there is a feeling of empowerment, energy, drive and accomplishment within me. it’s a soul charging energy. This article is not to be taken as an “elimination principle.” More just a moderation and frequency of doing reflection.
This article today is going to go over a few different areas in which I have noticed life changing results with delaying simple pleasures. Benefits will be noticed in relationships, work, motivation, sleep, physical and mental strength, drive and confidence. The biggest categories in my opinion that will have life changing results: Bring awareness to the food and to masturbation.
It’s extremely easy to have a mindset that naturally values a quick fast food choice or a quick self release pleasure decision. You can pick something up while driving in the car. You can go self pleasure yourself in the bathroom. Two decisions that are used as a vise to experience pleasure and have temporary freedom from stress, urges or things we’re trying to avoid. With the consequence of low energy, depression, and low quality living.
Stressed from work? Eat a poptart. Frustrated with finances? Self pleasure yourself and take a nap. 2 Hour gap between your plans? Grab Duncan doughnuts. Having trouble sleeping? Self pleasure yourself. Next thing you know, you feel less drive, less joy, and attraction/less present with your gf/wife or you job/social interactions. You feel physical sluggish; Not just from the crap choices of food, but even worse: Dis-interested because you’ve stimulated a sexual organ that is created for the purpose of procreation. Not to be juiced multiple times a day as a vise to escape stress. Next thing you know: you have less interest in your partner. You have no energy at 3PM. You can’t stop thinking about sugar and sex. You become even more mentally fatigued because of the overwhelming craving and addiction to the dopamine releases that you’ve routined yourself into. You’re trapped in the pleasure mindset and now delayed gratification simply doesn’t exist. You dont’ have low testosterone. You simply don’t experience Joy because you’ve programmed your mind to need constant highs of pleasure to feel anything whatsoever. Masturbation pleasure. Food pleasure. The only thing that will satisfy. Now what purpose does anything else serve?
personal experience. The food one has always been lots easier for me to resist. There was this drive in my to stay tight, high energy and strong. There are moments where it does hit me and i do feel this urge to get a pizza or ice cream. i guess its good to think about how often that is happening, or if we’re able to resist it when that urge does arrise. Or thinking: what other ways can i step back and think about what my body actually wants.
I personally have struggled with the masturbation piece since a kid. just getting in the routine of doing it. sometimes not evening thinking about it. just totally doing it at the same time and same place. not even thinking about the consequences or what it could actually be doing. After several trials of delaying it however, i have realized how energized i feel, present with conversations, and overall just a higher mental interest in everything that i do. it makes me think: i can feel better a majority of the time if I simply eliminate this momentary habit that creates pleasure and escape for just some minutes. Then why is it so difficult at times? because its easy. its human nature to have a sex drive. but we are human, and that means we do have a choice. it becomes even more reassuring when i dig into scripture and read about how a life of joy and love to the highest level is possible when resisting short term temptations. it really is true. Saving the whole experience with potential partner yields a higher level of joy and fulfillment. its worked toward. its built. its not just a release alone in a bathroom or in your bed. Reenforcing isolation, depression and no need for anything or anyone else in our life to bring us pleasure. All habits add up. They all mean something. What are our habits reenforcing deep down inside of us?
I remember my Mother programming this delayed gratification mindset into our minds from a pretty early age. We would do pizza on Fridays. So the entire week, we would value home cooked meals, eating together, and be routine into the creation and appreciation of food. So the pizza on Fridays was not a regular experience, but one that we could look forward to time to time. it didn’t’ feel like an urge. it just simply felt like something different that we could enjoy together. it wasn’t the ultimate source of pleasure, but one that my Mother showed us could be experienced time to time. Not that these simple pleasures are “bad” in nature. But they can be abused and take over the mind if there is not some sort of intention with them.
The above is great example of how pleasures can be incorporated time to time and not have this weighing mental drag on us. We can get up the next day and not be mentally consumed by the simply pleasure. not feel a pull or addiction to it.
I’ve noticed sleep improvements when not going for a dopamine rush right before bed. Maybe its the fact that we’re giving the part of our brain that is responsible for that chemical; a break. Just like our heart or our muscles. giving them a break and not pushing them too hard. Same could be said for the brain right?
How about this? Work has its exciting moments. its slow moments. if we already juiced our dopamine receptors, how does that affect the way we feel in the slow moment? Do they seem much slower? Do we develop anxiety because the lack of intensity in the slow moments? Now reenforcing that we need more stimulation at all movements? Again, resisting dopamine releases for the concept of heightened joy in the simpler moments.
This is a topic that is rarely discussed. how often do we experience or reach for these pleasure? They really will take over your mind. especially when they become routine. You will feel this empty feeling like something is missing. but there is power in stepping back from it, and not choosing to do what is quick and easy.
Its a concept that sounds so familiar and is thrown around like its not a big deal.
but do we actually practice it and take it seriously?
My prayers over time have been directed toward resisting masturbation. I’m single. My testosterone is 900. It is a real temptation and intentional process to let go of sexual thoughts a male. Primally, we have the drive and we see a potential mate. But mankind allows us choose to let go of those thoughts. It can be consuming. There is freedom and heighted joy when resisting the dopamine release that is so easy for a male to find. You wonder why you hear people talk about post masturbation feelings of guilt, loneliness, depression, low energy, less interest. With the tech age booming in the way that it is, we have a reenforced culture to satisfy our needs with the fastest internet, the fastest pleasure, and quickest easiest choice. Very conflicting to our value sets. I haven’t read the fancy science articles on this. I just know I’ve put many scenarios to the test. resisted. not resisted. and there is a correlation to exponential happiness and better interactions with humans when resisting masturbation.
Again. Real things here. Faced by many. Not discussed by man. take them seriously.
THE_HUMAN_EXPERIMENT1993 