- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 7 months ago by icandothis.
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6 March 2015 at 2:12 am #29561icandothisParticipant
There is a basketball tournament here in the United States called the NCAA Tournament. Also known as “March Madness”. My husband would call it Madness. Personally, i don’t really care that much. I have my favorite team, beyond that, it doesn’t matter to me. There is another “March Madness” that I am thinking about. One in which I can’t afford to participate in. None of us can. Join me in pledging not to participate in any “March Madness!”
Ps. I’m here, Kpat! -
6 March 2015 at 5:43 am #29562FritzParticipant
No March Madness for me, whether it be college basketball or at a casino! No Way!
In addition, I pledge to not participate in fantasy sports contests or pools of any kind. Fantasy football was one of my “hold outs”. In earlier attempts to quit gambling I decided for myself that a little fantasy football, or March Madness, or other pools, didn’t really count as gambling. So I continued them while abstaining from casinos. I now realize that for me, the games and pools are all just another form of gambling that I didn’t want to let go of. As I have continued in my recovery quest, I now know that all of these games elicit the same competitive, compulsive behaviours as blackjack, roulette, poker, or slots.
I immersed myself in fantasy football to the extent that I was thinking about it nearly all the time, and took it very seriously both during the week and on the weekends when the games took place. I was on the edge of my seat and had tremendous highs and lows all the way from the first Thursday night game to the final Monday night game of the week. It took a while, but I finally realized that I found a new and still unhealthy “hobby” to replace the casinos that i could no longer frequent. I now know that it was just another way to hang on to my gambling addiction. I have a pretty thick head so it has taken me a long time to admit this and root out and let go of the remainder of my gambling addictions, one by one.
Thank you for the reminder! Here’s to March Sanity!
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7 March 2015 at 3:18 am #29563kpatParticipant
Thank you!
I need the accountibility right now. I was letting my thoughts travel in dangerous directions.
So here goes….
I will not gamble in March. I will start myy 1000 piece puzzle. I will not plan trips in my mind. I will be thankful for every day I am given.
You see, I have this friend nmed Icandothis. She made a new thread because I asked her to. I will not let her down this month. I will not let myself or my family down by wasting my money, time, or thoughts on something as self-destructing as gambling.
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7 March 2015 at 5:27 am #29564kathrynParticipant
Thanks for your post Ican!
Don’t let ANYTHING weaken your resolve……if anything, let it make you stronger and more determined to succeed!!!! I have no words to explain how I feel about the deleted posts, no point anyway……the powers that be!!!! I have sent an email and I’ll say no more!!!!! Stay strong friend, love K xxx -
7 March 2015 at 1:31 pm #29565icandothisParticipant
Fritz, thanks for joining in. I hope March turns out to be a good month for you. The challenge of finding healthy hobbies to replace gambling is not an easy one. I know lots of successful, compulsive people. The difference between them and me is that they have made better decisions about what to be compulsive about. I have been trying to become compulsive about exercising every day. It’s not working. lol Maybe we can begin instead to replace our compulsiveness with passion. Looking for things to become passionate about, starting with the things we care about the most. Aw, to live a balanced, passionate life! Why not? I love your words…recovery quest. Makes it sound fun…and why shouldn’t it be?
Kpat, we are all in this together. Have a great, gamble-free weekend!
Kathryn, My resolve is not weakened! There is a lot of “Madness” in this world! Things that make no sense at all. There is a song that says, “If we weren’t all crazy, we’d all go insane!” I’m going to accept this bit of craziness, and move on. Like Fritz said, “Here’s to March Sanity!” -
13 March 2015 at 1:26 pm #29566icandothisParticipant
Hope everyone is still MARCHING ON! We can do this. I won’t gamble today. Working on recovery. Concentrating on living well. Dropped today’s quarter in my glass elephant jar (put one in, when I remember, for every gamble-free day) and marked a green $ on the calendar for my gamble-free day and as I did it, I imagined money flowing into our lives. Now I am going to check out our checking account balance and give thanks for all the abundance in our lives, no matter what the balance is!
Have a great gamble-free weekend everyone!
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