Three Steps Down the Rabbit Hole

Three Steps Down the Rabbit Hole

The three steps that take us down the rabbit hole. As I have worked with hundreds of men and women over the past few years, I have noticed a pattern of behavior emerge that is the critical turning point from being fully the master of your behavior to viewing pornography and following the habitual following of feel good now based rituals. This doesn’t happen with every one every time, but it happens with such frequency that it makes sense to get a feel for it, if you are someone that is working to eliminate a bad habit in your life. It all starts with a near truth. A near truth is something that, on the surface is easily seen as true and something that most people would agree with you on. These kinds of thoughts sound like this: These are all actual beliefs that individual clients have said to me in the scope of our coaching. “I don’t want to be miserable all day” “being in control of myself is so hard” And “When I find something I enjoy, I stick to it” These are the kinds of thoughts that we think should be true. I’ve never met someone who wanted to be miserable at all, much less all day. We have all been in a position to where we think self control is hard. And who doesn’t want to stick with enjoyable things. They are near truths because they are the kinds of phrases that are hard to argue against. They seem right, others are likely to agree with you when you say them, and they are easy to believe because of these things. The problem here is that though they are near truths, they aren’t true in the long term. They are actually lies in the long term. Not because you actually do want to be miserable all day or because being in control of yourself is really easy or because when you find things you enjoy you don’t stick to it. Let’s start with the first one, “I don’t want to be miserable all day” There are at least two untruths in this statement. The first issue is that most of us, when we deal with our feelings directly, are not going to feel miserable “all day”. Modern research shows that most emotions, when felt out to their full extent, last about 90 seconds. That isn’t to say that your feelings might not last longer or shorter. Just that is the average. Usually, the reason our feelings last longer is that we keep retelling stories that refresh and restart the cycle of the feeling. When we fall in love, we tell stories of how our new love loves us. When we are miserable, we tell and retell stories about how someone has wronged us, how we are in the right, and they are not. This particular client was dealing with work struggles. He was telling himself how others around him were talking about him. The only way he was going to be miserable all day was if he kept telling himself repeatedly about what he thought others thought about him. All day is a long time to dwell on anything, especially, when we are aware that our thoughts, beliefs, and stories are the things making us miserable and we get to choose whether they are true or not and how long to dwell on them. The second issue with this statement is that we assume that we don’t want to feel miserable and that the proffered solution is going to make us feel better. Funny thing about emotions is that they exist to be felt and we often do everything in our power to avoid feeling them. In this scenario this client believed that he didn’t want to feel miserable all day, and the solution his brain offered him was 30 minutes of arousal to remove the miserable feeling. a thing that our brains often do is discount future pain based on current desire to feel pleasure, What his brain didn’t take...

Jaksot(169)

Darcy on how to be a mom who can talk to their kids about pornography.

Darcy on how to be a mom who can talk to their kids about pornography.

Mothers day! As a mom how often do you talk to other moms about pornography and how often do you find that their kids are struggling? Mom’s often bear the burden of talking about pornography with their kids, what tips would you offer any mom who wants to begin creating an open dialogue with their kids around pornography? There is often a lot of guilt and shame for moms when they find out their child is looking at pornography. Why do you think that is? What ideas would you offer to moms to help them eliminate the shame for themselves so they can come to that conversation with their kids in a frame of mind that they can be pleased with? When you go to mothers retreats like the one you just attended, you seem to find that everyone wants to talk to you about your work once they find out about it. What would you say to women who don’t know who to talk to about the struggles they are having with pornography and their children?

10 Touko 202135min

I'm An Addict, Right?

I'm An Addict, Right?

zachspafford.com/freecall You’re addicted to pornography, Right? Monthly webinar T: The addiction Causes Problems. F: Stress · Addiction means I’m not responsible for my actions – · Addiction can be a rationalization that our brain offers when we want to believe we are a good person even though I don’t always live up to my values. · What is the value in believing “I’m an addict?”

2 Touko 202120min

Do you hold your husband to an impossible standard?

Do you hold your husband to an impossible standard?

Do you hold your husband to a standard that you yourself can’t uphold? This idea has been on my mind a lot lately. We are all designed to notice beauty Just because we notice beauty it doesn’t have to mean anything Is it possible to notice and appreciate beauty and still live in line with out values

26 Huhti 202116min

Exercising Faith and Prayer to eliminate pornography - part 2

Exercising Faith and Prayer to eliminate pornography - part 2

That’s faith. Let’s talk about prayer. I’ve often gone back to the bible dictionary to understand this principle and I am struck by what it teaches about the nature of prayer. First, it is work. So many of us go through prayer as though it were just an incantation that we learned to conjure the spell of this blessing or that. The way we pray over our food may be an example you can look to for what I mean. But work is uncomfortable, sometimes strenuous, and, often, marked by giving up something we want. Interestingly, one of the only things that we have that we can give up is our will. And in this context, our will is often, as much as it is anything in our lives, the desire to feel good here and now. When we layer that idea into our pornography use, it’s important to acknowledge that the thing we are often seeking when we seek out pornography is to feel good, here and now. In the ancient world, people hit themselves in the chest or tore their clothing as demonstrations of sorrow. They were, in their attitude of prayer, literally giving up comfort in the here and now and paying the cost of discomfort in giving up their will to God in that moment. Second, It is not a commandment, it is a conversation. It is an opportunity to acknowledge what we’ve been given by our Heavenly Father. It is an opportunity to discuss with him what we believe we need, want, and desire. Prayer is an intimate expression of our weakness and dependence on our Father. It is an opportunity to express and experience the love He has given us. Prayer, as far as I can tell, has two main purposes. Firstly, it is meant to help us bring our will into concert with that of God’s. Secondly, it is a place to seek out the blessings that are already ours, but that we are required to ask for. All of this, in my view, brings the discussion we are having with Heavenly Father about our pornography struggle into a bright highlight of what we might do better to fully realize the blessings our Father has in store. So lets start with the phrase that I used and I’m sure many of you have as well. “Lord, please take this pornography problem away from me.” That may not be your exact wording but, it is likely similar to things you’ve said in your moments of want and struggles to end pornography in your life. Let’s dissect where this type of prayer might miss the most powerful parts of prayer. First off, this sounds like we are giving up our will to HF. We’re thinking, I don’t want this problem any more, I can just ask HF to take it away and make it so that I don’t have to struggle with it, because I’ve asked for a clearly good thing. I’ve asked that I no longer look at pornography. But what this misses, is that in asking HF to “take this away” we are asking Him to be in charge of our choices. Problem there is, he gave you agency, he isn’t taking it back. It also doesn’t account for work. This is a want, a wish list item that doesn’t have any cost to it except that you asked for it. This is like a little girl who asks her dad for a pony. All she does is say, I want it and doesn’t create any path to making it a reality. But, you say, this is a blessing that God might be willing to grant. Sure, I think that might be possible. But I also think it is unlikely. To be honest, I don’t think HF cares if you look at pornography. I don’t think that sits high on his priority list of things to eliminate from your life. What I believe HF wants for each of us is an abiding testimony in the...

19 Huhti 202113min

Faith and Prayer in eliminating Pornography - Part 1

Faith and Prayer in eliminating Pornography - Part 1

Download the talk Zach mentioned on the podcast free. https://www.zachspafford.com/podcast-freebie

11 Huhti 202113min

Easter, the Atonement and Agency

Easter, the Atonement and Agency

zachspafford.com/workwithme

5 Huhti 202122min

What Does Life After Pornography Look Like?

What Does Life After Pornography Look Like?

Set up a consult at zachspafford.com/workwithme

28 Maalis 202124min

Creating Priorities Make It Easier to Say No

Creating Priorities Make It Easier to Say No

Learn how saying no to something in your life is easier when you know what your real priorities are.

22 Maalis 202114min

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