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I did this publicly once before in 2014, and someone recently messaged to say that it changed their life, so we’re doing it again!
Your 30 days can start whenever you see this post, so don’t worry about missing the 1st.
You know who you are, you filthy animals.
Secret bookmarks to Pornhub (“Discount airfare” – Ha!), secret folders labeled “Tax Returns 2019” for when wifi fails, ExpressVPN for when you’re in countries that block your cherished videos…
Oh, wait. Am I projecting again?
Yes, I’ve admitted it before, and I’ll admit it again: dudes watch porn on the Internet. Shocker, I know. All those guys on the magazine covers? They do it, too.
Less obvious, perhaps, is how dramatically your life can change if you quit porn and masturbation for a short period.
I did this for 30 days recently, and—oddly enough—I found it much easier and more impactful to quit booze for the same 30 days.
I highly recommend watching this short clip from The Drive by Peter Attia, MD, in which he interviews Anna Lembke, MD on a cannabis-using patient. Dr. Lembke discusses how to reset the brain’s reward system and joy set point to improve mental health. Often, four weeks of abstinence from compulsive behaviors is enough to dramatically reduce anxiety and depression without medication.
Just a few of the specific benefits I experienced included…
- A dramatic surge in free testosterone and sex drive. Dozens of my seemingly healthy male friends, techies in particular, have approached me over the years about chronically low testosterone. There are many potential causes, including late-night blue light and laptop heat on the lap, but removing booze and porn appears to open the flood gates. Research (example, example) shows that alcohol reduces testosterone levels. So… should you be dating more? Trying a little harder instead of wanking, watching Netflix, and calling it a night? This will help motivate you.
- Increased ability to focus and cognitive endurance. This goes along with the increased “T” mentioned above.
- Getting a LOT more done. When you aren’t nursing hangovers, destroying your sleep with booze, or procrastinating with porn (you know who you are)—miracle of miracles—you get more done! A LOT more done. In my mind, this alone easily justifies a 30-day booze and porn fast. You’ll clear off that goddamn to-do list faster than the Flash. And remember: sex is still allowed.
Join Me For Another 30 Days
Given how transformative this was for me, I’m inviting you to join me for the month of November (30 days). I need it, too. After that, you can go back to your hedonistic ways. I enjoy porn, but I’ve concluded I can level up by taking breaks.
I’ll refer to our 30-day challenge as NOBNOM (NO Booze, NO Masturbating), as the acronym itself sounds pornographic. We gotta make this sumnabitch memorable.
If you don’t masturbate, or if you otherwise don’t watch enough porn to care about abstaining, here’s another option: NOBNOC — No Booze, No Complaining. For this version, please first read “Real Mind Control: The 21-Day No-Complaint Experiment.”
Suggested resources
Reddit communities
Quitting porn:
- r/NoFap — Porn Addiction and Compulsive Sexual Behavior Peer Support Forum
- r/pornfree — Overcoming porn addiction one day at a time
- r/NoNutNovember — Support and meme community for those attempting No Nut November, an internet challenge to abstain from sexual activity during the month of November
Quitting alcohol:
- r/Sober — Getting sober and sober living
- r//stopdrinking — A support group in your pocket! This subreddit is a place to motivate each other to control or stop drinking.
The Tim Ferriss Show — relevant episodes:
If you’ve been feeling less than super-productive, slightly lethargic, or mildly depressed, do this 30-day challenge.
At the very least, it’ll make you conscious of automatic behaviors—things you’ve done for so long that you know nothing else.
If you’re like me, once the fat starts melting off and you’re feeling like a different person, you’ll say to yourself:
“Holy shit, my baseline for the last 10 years [or 5 or 15 or whatever] has been fucked! I totally forgot what it feels like to live clean.”
Perhaps living clean ended for you after high school, or even before, as it did for me. Why not get reacquainted for 30 days? Chances are that it’s been a while.
Related
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it’s been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.