u/Outside_Age3295

First off, I own some Google stock and I have been a fan of Google products, but man, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, I have not had reliability issues with any phone in a very long time.

Less than a year in, it would not boot up. It started with just laggy, so I had to reboot almost daily just to keep it functioning. After a few days, it just died. I regretted it not backing up my data when it was still semi-functioning. Had to mail it in with all my data to Google for repair, because their local authorized repair shop, ubreakifix, did not want it fix it. (think about it: I was turned away by its official partner!) After a week or so they fixed it, the phone was like new (wiped all my data), but it was paper wrapped and everything, so I let it go.

Fast-forward to now, still under 2 years of ownership, the usb port stops working. Won't charge at all, so I bought a QI wireless charger to charge it, which is incredibly slow. I did not get it wet or anything. Even if I was, my iPhone could swim with me in the ocean. After using the wireless charger, the usb port all of a sudden remembers how to work ... for a week. Then it fails again. A local shop quoted me $90 for just a diagnosis. Now I am just praying that it can hold up until September when I will be the first in line to get the new iPhone. Here is the kicker: I could not even use an usb cable to transfer my data to the iPhone.

After reading thousands of posts on Reddit and tons of books on addiction and being on this journey for 15+ years, here is a summary of everything I learned:

Any addiction cycle goes like this: Cue → Urges → Actions → Rewards (this is from the book Atomic Habit). Next time the cycle repeats. A lot of proposed solutions come down to breaking this chain. 

Cue → Urges 

The cue inevitably leads to urges because it happens in split seconds (our animal brain is hard-wired to do this because its signal travels so fast, way faster than our logical brain can react to it, there's no stopping this. 

Remove the Cue entirely: 

Many suggested blocking social media so you don't see the images and avoid peeking at women or whatever. If you can do that, it would definitely helps. But there are other types of cues, like stress and boredom. We cannot easily eliminate those. You can't just say, "I'm going to remove boredom and stress from life." 

How about stopping at Actions? 

Nope, 9 times out of 10 would lead to relapse, even if we manage to stop mid-action, we will eventually, later the day, fall back to taking actions. Again, animal brain wants it and it is way stronger than the logical brain (because our logical brain consumes more energy, so it acts slower than instinct).

Stop Urges → Actions.

One post from a couple of days ago suggested learning how to "surf the wave." Another post yesterday suggested isolating yourself from taking action. The idea is to recognize when we are in the second phase (the urge) and about to commit the third stage (the action), and to simply choose not to act and let the urge pass. Usually, an urge would subside about five to ten minutes for beginners. 

I think this is the best bet and this is an incredibly difficult art we need to master (easy for some people who are less addicted or wired differently). A true master can forget about the urge in seconds.

If we eventually give in and take action, as I explained above, it leads to a relapse, the reward is delivered, and we let the cycle complete again. 

Maybe I'm not in the position to share what worked and what doesn't, but when I execute the following diligently, I usually end up with decently long streaks. 

1. Use a blocker -> this eliminates the Cues and prevent Actions, so this is a must-have. Whenever I find ways to disable it, you know it, relapse. (Yeah, that's how fked up I am).
2. Meditate 10 minutes a day: Meditation is like the gym-session for the willpower muscle and it heightens your awareness, so it helps with 1) recognizing the stages; and 2) stopping yourself from taking Actions. 
3. By far the most helpful: Reading articles/posts on this sub or whatever related topics 3 to 5 times a day. For example, read 1 post at 9 AM, another at 12 PM, another at 3 PM, and then 6PM and 9PM. (like taking medicine). Why it worked?

 A) reading these posts helped remind me that Actions do not lead to Rewards, thereby reduces the Urge. 

B) It allows you to build a structured defense rather than panicking when urges hit. A cluttered mind simply can't resist effectively.

C) Many posts are incredibly inspiring and motivating. You draw strength from a community that shares your goals.

Maybe reading 5 times a day is an overkill, so on a bad day, I would still read at least one time a day, but for safety, I would read as much as I can. More reads = more safe.  

Well, for those of you who say you should not count the days and you should just channel your energy somewhere else, but that approach has simply never worked for me. 

After reading thousands of posts on Reddit and tons of books on addiction and being on this journey for 15+ years, here is a summary of everything I learned:

Any addiction cycle goes like this: Cue → Urges → Actions → Rewards (this is from the book Atomic Habit). Next time the cycle repeats. A lot of proposed solutions come down to breaking this chain. 

Cue → Urges 

The cue inevitably leads to urges because it happens in split seconds (our animal brain is hard-wired to do this because its signal travels so fast, way faster than our logical brain can react to it, there's no stopping this. 

Remove the Cue entirely: 

Many suggested blocking social media so you don't see the images and avoid peeking at women or whatever. If you can do that, it would definitely helps. But there are other types of cues, like stress and boredom. We cannot easily eliminate those. You can't just say, "I'm going to remove boredom and stress from life." 

How about stopping at Actions? 

Nope, 9 times out of 10 would lead to relapse, even if we manage to stop mid-action, we will eventually, later the day, fall back to taking actions. Again, animal brain wants it and it is way stronger than the logical brain (because our logical brain consumes more energy, so it acts slower than instinct).

Stop Urges → Actions.

One post from a couple of days ago suggested learning how to "surf the wave." Another post yesterday suggested isolating yourself from taking action. The idea is to recognize when we are in the second phase (the urge) and about to commit the third stage (the action), and to simply choose not to act and let the urge pass. Usually, an urge would subside about five to ten minutes for beginners. 

I think this is the best bet and this is an incredibly difficult art we need to master (easy for some people who are less addicted or wired differently). A true master can forget about the urge in seconds.

If we eventually give in and take action, as I explained above, it leads to a relapse, the reward is delivered, and we let the cycle complete again. 

Maybe I'm not in the position to share what worked and what doesn't, but when I execute the following diligently, I usually end up with decently long streaks. 

1. Use a blocker -> this eliminates the Cues and prevent Actions, so this is a must-have. Whenever I find ways to disable it, you know it, relapse. (Yeah, that's how fked up I am).
2. Meditate 10 minutes a day: Meditation is like the gym-session for the willpower muscle and it heightens your awareness, so it helps with 1) recognizing the stages; and 2) stopping yourself from taking Actions. 
3. By far the most helpful: Reading articles/posts on NoFap or whatever related topics 3 to 5 times a day. For example, read 1 post at 9 AM, another at 12 PM, another at 3 PM, and then 6PM and 9PM. (like taking medicine). Why it worked?

 A) reading these posts helped remind me that Actions do not lead to Rewards, thereby reduces the Urge. 

B) It allows you to build a structured defense rather than panicking when urges hit. A cluttered mind simply can't resist effectively.

C) Many posts are incredibly inspiring and motivating. You draw strength from a community that shares your goals.

Maybe reading 5 times a day is an overkill, so on a bad day, I would still read at least one time a day, but for safety, I would read as much as I can. More reads = more safe.  

Well, for those of you who say you should not count the days and you should just channel your energy somewhere else, but that approach has simply never worked for me.