Addictions

Hello, Community!
Old habits they say, die hard. It’s easy to pick up seemingly harmless behaviors, the issue is when those attitudes become detrimental to your growth, how do you stop it?
Addiction is not only in substance abuse, it can also be in the form of an object or activity. Mine was an unbreakable addiction to my cell phone. I was with it; morning, noon, and evening. At a point, it seemed as though I was permanently glued to the screen.

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It was a long save, before I got my Android phone. I heard amazing stories of how much you can learn, and how productive you could be with just a click! I couldn’t wait to have my own phone, I had high expectations. After much savings, and the help from my father, I got my very own phone! Nothing can beat the euphoria I felt that day, as I opened the package and saw a Samsung Android phone. I was excited and thrilled, I kept telling all my friends about my latest acquisition and the wonderful things it could do. At long last, I was ready to say goodbye to mediocrity and “hi-hi” to productivity, or so I thought.
The phone was a huge asset when it came to reading and researching, but unconsciously, other attractions got my attention. Slowly and unconsciously, I became obsessed with a particular app. No day nor minute passed without me logging on to it. I literally lived on the app. At the end of every week, my phone notifies me of apps frequently used, and Tik Tok was always number one. I couldn’t break away from it. The thrill of making new videos, getting liked, attracting comments, getting reposted, and the thought of trending online was too heady to let go of: I wanted all of it, I wanted to become the next big sensation.
But little did I know the danger was placing myself. The app brought strangers I had never met closer to me, and alienated me from those close to me, those who really knew me. The app didn’t contribute to my self development or growth, rather it gave me an insecure need to impress people, to live for the likes. I became lonely, and insecure, far from my dream of becoming a self motivated, driven, and independent individual.
The app distracted me from engaging in other productive activities, I would set a target to complete a task only to login on Tik Tok for a minute and later realize I have been on the app for hours, my task uncompleted. I could spend a day just pressing my phone.
I knew I had to break the habit, when the constant use became a threat to my eyes. Slowly, the bright light from the phone started affecting my eyes, tears would drop at a blink, and my eyes would become all itchy and red. It was not funny, I was scared of losing my sight, so I decided to stop spending so much time on the phone.
Yes! It was an addiction, but I pulled out. How?
When I discovered how addicted I was to my phone and that particular app I decided to take a bold step to quit my addiction. I started with determination and focus. I uninstalled the app from my phone although my mind would sometimes wander, and I would be tempted to re-install it, I resisted the temptation by engaging in other productive activities. Due to my determination, focus, desire and time management, after two months, I learnt I could successfully live without the app on my phone. That was how I gradually broke my addiction to Tik Tok. A full year went by, and I was far better than I was before.
I don't really know what your addiction might be it might not be something you love but you just find yourself doing it. One thing you have to do is self examination. Examine yourself sincerely, to discover the habit. Why does the habit have a strong hold on you? Is your environment or friends influencing the habit?
Do you need friends who can help? Do you need a mentor to run to? What do you need to break the habit? Whatever it might be, it always has a solution, it did not start in one day and you cannot expect it to disappear in a day, it will start fading away gradually when you decide to take a bold step.
Friend, take that bold step now that leads to your freedom.
Shalom!