I thought I’d share the story of my NoFap journey with you. I am now sitting on 365 days and I am so glad to have reached this point. I’ve also included some takeaway tips too for you, the reader.
Exactly 1 year ago, I was one day away from my MCAT exam. This exam is critical for medical school applications. I had just relapsed on the 17th, and my test was on the 19th. I was feeling terrible. Dejected. This wasn’t my first time taking the exam. It was my 3rd. I had applied to medical school two years ago and didn’t get accepted anywhere. This was probably my last chance to do well on this exam. If I didn’t do well, I’d have to give up my dreams of becoming a doctor. Just having relapsed amplified my nervousness and also made me feel guilty for throwing off my focus.
I called my best friend, Cameron, and we talked about the upcoming test. I told him how shitty I felt for having relapsed the day before. I felt like I was wasting my energy on PMO when I could be studying and focusing for the biggest test of my life that I was about to take.
Tip #1: Talk to your close friends about your NoFap journey. Even if they don’t do NoFap, even if they don’t understand why you’d want to do it, it will help you stay committed to being a man or woman of your word.
Cameron didn’t understand why I’d want to do NoFap, but he commended me for my efforts. We joked about how crazy this journey is and it made me feel a lot better just to talk to someone about it.
The next day, I went in to my exam and wrecked it, scoring above the 96th percentile.
I came home, and thought about celebrating finishing the exam by relapsing. I even fired up a video. But halfway through… I realized this is foolish. There’s so many better things that I could be doing. In the springtime of my youth, why am I staring at pixels moving across a screen when I could be going out into the world and palpating its flesh with my own hands?
I thought about what was important to me. That being: Becoming a good physician. Raising a family. Being a loving (and interesting!) father and husband. I decided to fill in the time that I would have spent PMO’ing by pursuing, and developing, old hobbies. I got better at basketball. I improved my guitar-playing, learning new Bossa Nova songs.
Tip #2: Remember what is important to you. What vision you are pursuing. Do it! Why not?!
Next thing I know, I’m about a week in and I start to really feel the cravings. They were tough. At the time, I didn’t know if I wanted to go a full year NoFap. I thought, “Maybe just once a week and things will be okay!” Here is when I discovered NoFap. I also have to thank my cat, who likes to chill in my room. Why would I masturbate in front of my cat? He probably thinks I am so foolish.
Joining the NoFap community was a life-changer. I lurked, lurked, and lurked for this whole year. I loved reading your stories of success, and vicariously felt the pain of those who had relapsed. The motivational quotes and images inspired me. I could feel something resonate within me. This community is full of like-minded men and women who all want to better themselves so that they can live the best lives they can. We are allied against the common enemy of our own individual selves, and our craven desires. Everyone is fighting their own battle, but we were helping each other out with that.
Tip #3: Join a community! Read about the stories of your peers!
Instead of opening up a new incognito tab and going to you-know-where, I’d open it up and go to /r/nofap. Soon it became a knee-jerk reaction to go to /r/nofap if I ever got urges.
Side-note:
Now I know all of you like to talk about “superpowers” and attracting women and whatnot. What has my own experience been?
I think NoFap makes you hungrier. Which is a good thing. You have more vigor to go and pursue the things you want, whether it is fitness or women. I shoot shots. I have stopped being timid in thinking about whether or not to ask a girl for her phone number.
I’ve learned that…
Final Tip: Regret is much worse than rejection. Regret is much worse than failure! Shoot your shot!
I’m excited to attend medical school this Fall and walk the path of my dream to become a physician.
I wish all of you in this community the best. You can do it.
LINK – 365 days of NoFap Later… Accepted into Medical School!
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