My 30 day trial

So, nearly 30 days past since I broke up with playing games and I must say that I'm feeling very well! I'm feeling a huge difference since I quit with games! Since my last blog article I started working at a theatre and I'll start a internship in the Netherlands, which will endure till October '09.
I don't care about games anymore.. And this has positive effects for my life:

• I got a early riser
• I read more books
• I have more time for my family, friends
• I have no ballast in my head
• I have more money!
  
• I'm feeling FREE!

My girlfriend supported me in these game-free days and she said me that she's very happy about my decision and she also taught me that her love have deepen due to the fact that I have more time for our relationship.
All in all I can really prefer to do the same as me!
The only thing you need to know is that you need to compensate your addiction by doing other things which you're also enjoying, e.g. reading books, learning a new language and so on.

Good luck to you!

World of Warcraft addiction and my first gamefree day

Here I found a nice entry about WoW addiction:

World of Warcraft is like being back in gradeschool. Everything you do gets you a gold star! Or equivalent. (...)Frequently you get new clothes, weapons, or armor, which change your character's appearance, just for killing monsters or completing easy tasks. For those who crave positive reinforcement and feedback, this could be like crack.

Another interesting article about gaming addiction:
A reason why video games are hard to give up

The research found that games can provide opportunities for achievement, freedom, and even a connection to other players. Those benefits trumped a shallow sense of fun, which doesn't keep players as interested.

"It's our contention that the psychological 'pull' of games is largely due to their capacity to engender feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness," says Ryan. The researchers believe that some video games not only motivate further play but "also can be experienced as enhancing psychological wellness, at least short-term," he says.

My first gamefree day

Today, I didn't have much to do. So, my thoughts went often to the direction of playing games. But I convinced myself not to do so. Instead doing nothing, I started to adjust my guitar. I want to start slowly, because if I wouldn't do so, I would kickstart and some days later I would get unmotivated. In this matter, I know myself very well.
I also spended more time with my family. In former times I saw my family only at meals. The remaining time I was in my room.
Right now, I'm feeling a deep peace in me. My mind is not full with game content as before. My mind is free of this trash. I'm able to concentrate better than before, because I don't loose my "brain energy" in fast shooting games which require extreme high concentration and reaction.
Summed up, although it's my first day, I can feel the benefits of my decision.

30 day trial for a new habit

I can prefer you to start a 30 day trial. In these 30 days you should get used to do other counterbalanced things like doing teamsports or learning a new language.
If you've finished these 30 days than you've won!

In my next blog post I want to set new goals in matter of my freetime.

How to give up playing computer/console games

Recently, I have had one of these "click" moments. An old friend of mine invited me to visit his new website. I did it.. and I was shocked. He was a lead singer of a successful local band. And then, my mind started a trip to good, old times. In the year 2004 I was a good guitarist. It was fascinating to create your own music. And others, were also inspired by me. One of them was Max. He often visited me. He listened to the sounds of my acoustic guitar. After that, he was very happy and he told me that he also wants to learn playing guitar. Then he bought his own guitar and learned it by himself.
And some months later I gave up playing guitar because I discovered a new hobby: computer games.
Since this event I was a pro gamer. I started with offline games such as Half-Life. Although I chose the hardest difficulty, I wasn't satisfied. I moved to online games because the enemys KI was (mostly) very high and I have had a challenge.
My favourite game was Battlefield 2 (BF 2), which I began in 2006. This year was also my first year at the university.
Why BF 2?
Because you're able to use almost everything to attack your enemy. You can use cars, air strike, ships, helicopters to fight your enemys.
Since then, I played primarily BF 2. I also played few offline games(HL 2, Painkiller..), but as I already said, I wasn't very happy playing these games because of the poor KI of the enemy.
I played BF 2 for 3 years. I totally played 747 hours.
My last Battle was 18th March 2009 at 7:28 p.m.
This will be my last battle ever. I GAVE UP PLAYING!
Yesterday I deleted all of my games (FEAR 2, Dead Space, BF 2, C&C Red Alert 3, SPORE, Mirror's Edge, Silent Hill: Homecoming) and I will sell my games on ebay.
The reason is that I compared my last 3 years with Max' last 3 years.
He learnt to perfectly play guitar and his band released their first EP.
If I continued to play and practice, today I would be a great musician.
Gaming is a waste of time!

My suggestion for you

So, if you want also to give up playing games and to spend more time with your family, friends and your studies :) then quit playing, delete ALL games on your computer and sell them!
It's very simple, but it must be a freewill!

In the next days I will give updates about my decision and its consequencies.