Gambling Freedom in 60 Days: Day 13
Maintain clear reasons why you want to control the behavior and remind yourself of these reasons continuously. For example: Susie is determined to quit her gambling addiction – she has had enough of the destruction.
In her diary she writes: “It is 1:30 – why can’t I think about the right things. I must change, my daughter needs a healthy home. 2:10 – nothing I really want to do and I’m ready to pull my hair out. But, I need to pull it together, I have been good for 2 days and I have to keep my finances together. 3:05 – no one wants to do anything and I am going crazy. But, if I slip up once it will be 5 then 7 times then who knows. 3:54 – big mouth mary is calling. I know all about the bad things that will happen if I answer. Let it go to voice mail. I really like the person I am starting to be, who will avoid the total jerks who don’t care about my issues.
4:30 Mom calls and complains. Temptation hits and Susie writes: I must change, my daughter needs a stable home.
You may ask – how many times do I have to remind myself about the things I already know?
One of the reasons Susie is determined to do this is because her new husband said he did this for months and that is how he quit drinking. She thinks it is sort of funny that he still writes in his diary at odd times while they are together. But he says that every penny (plus more) used to go to drinking. Now he actually has a few dollars in his pocket.
Now his ex – friends are starting to like him again. He is not abusing them like he used to. He says “if I have to write my reasons for quitting a million times it will be worth it. I have my life back.”
When we remind ourselves continuously why we want to control our behavior- things will start to make sense.
Never blame others for what you are doing that is wrong. The blame game is a form of denial and the problem with denial is that while in the short run it numbs our pain in the long run it kills our Soul, Spirit and sometimes our bodies.
Get rid of dead end thinking – I will always be this way. Nooooooooo if you start to do things the way Jesus Christ wants you to do them you will start to be a person that you really like and one that begins to have some power and understanding over addiction. David Hawkins from Breaking Everyday Addictions says that “Freedom thinking says, I’ve been this way, but with God’s help and the support of others, I’m going to change”.
Jake Brindell from www.wanttostopgambling.com wrote the following:
“MOTIVATION TO CHANGE
To re-cap what I have written so far:
I _______ ________ am a PROBLEM GAMBLER who is IN DEBT. I have tried sustained
PROBLEM GAMBLING TO TRY AND GET OUT OF DEBT, it has not worked. In fact it has made things a lot worse. I have not been successful because I have been CHASING MONEY THAT WAS NO LONGER MINE.
From reading this book so far, I now have a clearer understanding as to WHY I
GAMBLE. In the clear light of day I can now see how I behave BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER GAMBLING and how my SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS have been the root cause to my continued decline. I have decided that COMPLETE ABSTENTION is in order for me to start to MAKE THE JOURNEY towards recovery because I agree that PROBLEM GAMBLING AFFECTS MANY MORE PEOPLE THAN JUST MYSELF. I want to have more pleasure in my life, PROBLEM GAMBLING ONLY BRINGS ME LONG SUFFERING PAIN. I have hit ROCK BOTTOM and am totally MOTIVATED TO CHANGE.
SIGNED
________ _________
DATE”
Write out your own letter today and read it every day for the next 7 days.
Our prayer is either overrated or underrated. Prayer is overrated when we continue in sin, when we have no plan to help others (as soon as possible), when we won’t forgive others, when we have idols in our lives and when we are not fully dedicated to living for Christ.
Prayer is underrated when we fight to live in obedience, when we develop skill in how to help others, when we love to worship God, when we trust that Christs way is always best, when we are filled with a Christian love for others, when we are putting in the work needed to change and when we are fully dedicated to helping others.
One of the many reasons we study the Bible is so that we can learn what we do that is keeping our prayers from being answered. The Bible says that God hears the prayer of a righteous person. We need to fight to live right and we need to believe with great faith that Jesus will answer any prayer that is in his will that we ask.
Read John 10, 1st Corinthians 10 and Proverbs 8 from the Bible.
Continue to read “The Purpose Driven Life”.
Bible stories: Jonah traveled to Nineveh and said: “In 40 days Nineveh will be overturned. Overturned could have two definitions. The 1st is to be destroyed and the 2nd is to be changed. Many are at the crossroads like that sinful city. If we continue in our habit we will destroy ourselves and maybe others. Or we can change. The city changed and instead of being destroyed, they lived happily forever.
Yesterday we talked about finding new activities to do to replace gambling. Remember, reading these articles everyday is very helpful but it is what you learn to do differently that will help you clean up for good. Do you now have a list of activities that you can reference daily?
Bill purchased How Gary Quit Gambling. He plans to read a 2 pages per every day. This will cause him to focus more on others (including relationships) and a little less on gambling.
What method will you use to remind yourself several times per day “why” you want to quit gambling?
Mike continued to pray every day, “Father keep me from temptation”. Have a time and a place for prayer every day. If you are a Christian, review learning how to worship God from day 12.
Lisa prayed 3 times today “Lord, help me to always be moderate in all things.”
Overindulging in other activities often leads to gambling which leads to disastor. Learn moderation – pray several times per day about it.
If you want to get rid of the problems gambling causes buy my book on Amazon. How Gary Quit gambling is 24 action-packed, fictional adventures Gary goes on, which teach him how to quit gambling. The Screwtape Letters story will take you on a journey from heaven, into hell and back to heaven. This dramatic adventure involving angels and demons will be life-changing.
How Gary Quit gambling #5 rated story: The Answer. Gary’s mother dies at age 53 and now his son is dead at age 15. How could God allow that? Where are the answers? He meets a stranger at the beach who gives him the answer. The stranger also gives him the keys to living an abundant life.
At the end of each story, Gary talks to his mentor Gordon, who helps him learn from his adventure and learn about his Higher Power. The 24 adventures include: Titanic, Pearl Harbor, the Matrix, the Exorcist, The Trap, the Pleasure Principle, Escaping Reality and many others. Gordon reveals to Gary his code at the end of every exciting experience. The code teaches you how a true understanding of pleasure will lead to you never using gambling again, how to be unstoppable, how to make current obsessions become minor temptations and how to fight until you break your chains.
This book teaches you practical techniques on how to renew your mind while having fun. These compelling stories will help you gain new habits that will put you on a new path. Click here to see more. amazon.com/dp/B07YCWC1GR/ref=
If this article has helped you, share it with your friends. Share buttons are below the index.
Thank you for reading day 13 of this program
Index
Day one: Quitting addiction exercises
Day two: It is important to admit you are powerless
Day 3: Learn the right way to live
Day 4: Getting rid of negative emotions
Day 5: Remember – money lost is not yours. Don’t try to get it back or you will lose more.
Day 6: can you increase your pleasure by gambling?
Day 7: Staying clean in all ways helps you quit the addiction
Day 8: Decide what pain and pleasure you want
Day 9: Analyze what leads you back to your addiction
Day 10: Change your emotions and your mindsets. Stop believing that your big score will come in.
Day 11: Where the Spirit of the Lord is – there is liberty
Day 12: Learn how to worship God. Also try to develop positive addictions.