
As mentioned previously, the brain is an association machine and from those tales we weave one creates the concept of “Me” with its whims, desires and inclinations. This can rapidly be proven to be the (false) self of legend if you stop doing something for thirty days. Pick something you enjoy, not a habit detested you wish to eject. “Wha?” says the reader, scratching their head. Yeah, there is a reason for this and its quite interesting but before you proceed in perusing this penmanship let me outline the basics of your sketch:
Lets say you’re addicted to lifting. That means that apart from the time you put into the gym and potentially calorie tracking I’d be willing to bet your feed is filled with related things and the sites you visit have similar resonance, yes?
Ditch all of it.
Anything even tangentially linked is off limits for the month you pick. Now, in this example, you’ll want to retain your fitness so slide in something else like stretching or meditating if you need a fix but, ultimately, you should leave this whole segment as an abyss. For some people, reading, the quake just kicked in and something, deep within, is rumbling and shaking that this is most irresponsible etc etc. Give it a spin, see what you think but remember to keep a journal of your observations, states and the rest. Lets say if instead of keeping trim you enjoy binge watching Netflix. Disconnect your TV set for thirty days, stop congregating with the rest in that virtual space where you dissect that and this plus you’ll probably have to sign out of youtube as well due to the recommendations and the rest. Even if someone brings up that and this in the article simply point them toward this text and state its off limits.
What you will find is a massive chunk of time just materializes into space. Fill it how you wish, just without the binge. In the case of the former gym rat turned bench rider, par excellence, he stated that his anxiety went mental for the first ten. So much so that he had to get out of the crib and went walking instead. This he did without tunes in as all of his playlists were centered around lifting. Soon, this became his thing and it was in immense contrast to the competitiveness of the gym, the thrill of flexing and obliterating personal bests. Then he found the old mindset of challenges creeping in and he started seeing just how efficient he could get at strolling after realizing his biomechanics were a mess and his gait was abysmal due to his quad dominance plus he spotted his neck was held, habitually, in front of his chest which really stifled his breathing.
His sleep improved as we wasn’t slamming his preworkout drink and he needed way less time to prep and thus started cooking for amusement. Next he picked up a book and this lead to the comprehension that his focus was a mess which evolved into a simple breath meditation that I latched onto his walking so, with each four step sequence, he said:
“I. Am. Here. Now”.
Suddenly loads of subconscious tension started shifting as he’d altered his habitual ways of living as the gym was a coping mech that allowed his internal lack of cohesion to manifest as physical domination ergo he’d rush through the day to get the lifts and use the high he’d get to fall into bed before doing it all again. Words:
“I can’t believe how much of my life was invested in this. I calculated it, quite well, and realized what I’d classed as a hobby was actually my main thing but its what it kept hid via engagement and distraction that was most amazing”.

See, quad dominance is quite common and it suggests one is attempting to escape the past, behind them, and (in his case) this was proven with the heed and its tension as the old recollections of an abrupt ending to a relationship is what threw him into the gym, back when. And he hadn’t stopped since. Once this all came screaming for his attention he sat and wept immense tears of repressed emotion which, simultaneously, upped his resonance to try something else once the challenge ended. The binge watching lady, in question, realized she’d had enough of watching other people live what she wished as an antidote to the cubicle and took up Pilates instead, on a whim, as it was something that had interested, back when, but she could never find the time to fit it in. She took to the stretching like water and a fish. No massive psychological breakthroughs on this end but she became a lot more selective with her time and attention. A stroke of genius she did beget was doing planks as she watched the show in question so whilst she stared at her tech her flesh was tensing as she flicked her attention back and forth between the what the screen presented and how her body was screaming:
“When the form breaks so does the show. End of”.
I thought that was pretty slick but what was most amazing in both of these cases is the stimulus for the previous coping mech vanished and it introduced new space for the neuroplastic effect to kick in. Once you’ve tried it with something you enjoy you can choose events a little less comforting then, brick by brick, you’ve recoded your internal OS to a far better spec. Give it a spin, see what kicks. The journal is absolutely essential in all of this though so ensure you push the pen on even the most minute things as the gym rats first walking excursion ended in what he felt like panic setting in but came to realize was poor respiration due to habitual tension. He would have wrote off the quad pain as exercise strain from the build up of lactic and such things as he prescribed more foam rolling but, due to no music, he started paying attention to how he was actually striding then the pieces clicked.
See, the mind can’t imagine being anything but what it is ergo the notes are essential because, as you review them, you’ll spot the links the (false) self would otherwise keep hid. He is now back at the gym but with a totally different intent and means of training as he stripped everything back to the most basic and now works on his greatest weakness instead of focusing where he excels. The former binge watcher was celebrating that she no longer needs to lay the foundation on so thick as her eyes were not as ringed and skin was way more radiant as the Pilates place she picked had a sauna as well which upped her water intake and time in bed ergo its all for the win. This is the art of moderation, in full effect, as sometimes more can be less for the brain is attracted to pleasure and tends to avoid painful things but the sweet saccharine of a coping mech can be quite toxic, in the end, so its worth attempting.
Upgrade your mind in thirty days then keep the change, if you wish…

It can be as simple as switching out your favorite beverage for plain hydration then noticing your double chin is in remission plus you aren’t heavily salting everything or as complex as the chap who totally disconnected from the web as it was the last thing he did in bed, first to get checked as well as a constant fixture on the reg. Considering the work thing and how intrinsic tech is this required a lot of dedication but he wasn’t a stranger to Knowing the Ledge and thus told his boss what kicked, requested they accommodate it and he’d fill them in in the end. Obviously, emails were still answered and such things but he’d turned off all notifications and interoffice messaging ergo you needed to physically speak to him if something was quite urgent. Net result? I’ll let him tell:
“My anxiety totally melted. I never realized the same thing I was using to soothe was causing so much stress as well. For the first time, ever, there was silence in my head and it felt amazing. The dumb phone is in, permanent, as I came to comprehend there is literally nothing in life that is that important where I need instant updates. I mean, its not like I’m a brain surgeon!”.
He actually enjoyed writing and instead of spending his time reading what another said he started pushing the pen and sharing his observations, long form, as his style was acerbic plus he called it how it is. Old recollections did swim in to his awareness and they mixed with the creative to generate a series which spoke on the sheer weirdness of being human in which you spend immense chunks staring at screens but call that living before it spins into a critical diss of how childhoods dreams came to an end when the bills were in effect which generated a standing ovation at the office for he said what they’d all felt but were too scared to admit as they were too busy running the treadmill and awash in coping mechs designed to hide this. If you want to take it to another level the three day dopamine detox will really kick your rear end as it strips reality to its basics and gives you a glimpse of the empty shell which is actually filled with pure potential that your habits tend to drip into grooves so predictable… “Dam them all” he said, with a grin, as he kept on upping his res and asked himself, in silence:
“How do I improve on the abundance I possess?”.
As he introspected on the steps, present, which would lead to said events. If this sounds too dramatic you can consider the simple switch of listening to a whole new genre of music picks and nothing you’d usually select or reigning in the spicy dishes for more basic sustenance. The aim is to create some space for newness. Just some practical examples of what kicks when you do the Knowledge, my friend. Use it as inspiration or don’t, as you wish.
Till we meet again.





































