The added confidence spill[s] over positively into the rest of my life. I like talking to other people more, and I believe they like talking to me more too. School becomes genuinely more interesting. In general, most challenges I come across are embraced because I feel more confident taking them on.
This sounds like a generic superpower post, so I’ll qualify it by saying I didn’t suddenly turn into a different, super social, smart person after nofap. These changes are relatively mild. The number of close friends I have didn’t change that much, and I don’t get along with everyone I meet. I just appreciate what I have more, and embrace more of what I experience everyday.
I don’t think the streak is important at all. If you relapse one day, all that means is you have to adjust accordingly so that whatever urge got you to relapse can be avoided or overcome. Ideally, the changes you make will one day help you attain the level of self control you originally wanted.
[During my 500-day streak] I wouldn’t say the benefits were great to the point of being called “superpowers”. That said, I definitely felt better emotionally because I realized I was truly capable of being in control over one of the worst addictions I faced. That alone gave me a lot of confidence in the other aspects of my life. Physically, I do think it helped me get more out of my workouts (although that could be all in my head).
Yes these benefits did plateau, but that didn’t stop me from continuing my streak. I think a big part of it was a fear of reverting back to my more fragile emotional state (I was always somewhat down on myself for never being able to change) and losing my confidence that drove me to continue my streak. What was ironic was that very confidence led to an overconfident me letting down my guard and allowing myself to relapse unfortunately. Just another lesson learned I suppose.
So while they didn’t give me a ridiculous boost in energy for the rest of my activities (as I’ve heard before), the added confidence was even more valuable.
LINK – 500+ day streak gone
By poonsquad
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