How do I log my urges ?

Doing away with these dirty habits is no easy task. It's one of the hardest things you'll ever do.

Here's what you need to do every time you feel the urge to indulge in any of the junk activities mentioned in the previous chapter:

Take out your phone and on a note taking application (such as Evernote), note down:

1. Type of urge (e.g., urge to use social media, watch porn, etc.)

2. Write down the date, day, time, and place you are at

3. Write down how you feel at the given moment (Am I bored? sad? hungry? energetic?)

Once you write that down, meditate for 1 minute to control your thoughts and mind.

At the end of every 30 days, I want you to open up your notes and try to look for patterns.

Here are some common patterns that you may observe as you review your notes and some proactive strategies you can implement to combat them:

• Strong urges to watch porn late at night. (Time Pattern) 

Proactive Measure: Going to bed early.

• Urges to play video games when you're alone in your house. (Location Pattern)

Proactive Measure: Not staying in the house as much. Going out with friends, or going to the gym, or just working in a coffee shop.

• Urge to eat junk food when you are bored. (Emotional Pattern) 

Proactive Measure: Keep yourself occupied with ongoing tasks. Do not let yourself get idle and bored.

Remember, if you want to beat a pattern (that's all that habits are -behavior patterns burnt into our brains), you first need to identify the pattern.

If you try to tackle an addiction head-on, you will likely fail because the habit is too strong, and your willpower is not strong enough.

If you try to understand the circumstances that trigger the worst of the urges, you can alter your life to avoid them and make the challenge of breaking the habituated behavior much easier on yourself.

Eventually, your willpower will become strong enough that you will be able to handle even the worst of temptations.