Welcome to rank 7, the "titan" rank. You're now living a healthier lifestyle than most humans you will come across. Be proud of yourself that you've made it this far; you're now playing in the big leagues. Congratulations! The Titan rank will test what you've learned about discipline and if you really have what it takes to be great. I promise that this rank will push you to your limits, as it did with me. With that being said, it might be the hardest rank for a lot of people, but by completing this rank, you will look at life differently. Most of today's society is brainwashed, and the "titan" rank attempts to fix that. This rank is all about dopamine detox and free thinking; these two combined have changed my life forever. No matter your gender, this rank will help you to have a clear vision and hopefully a better understanding of all the traps this society has to deal with. Without further ado, let’s get started, shall we? Dopamine is the chemical of wants and desires; your brain rewards you for everything that increases your likelihood of survival. That’s why, among other things, sex feels so rewarding because it signals the reproduction of our species to your brain, just as eating chocolate makes you feel happy. Dopamine doesn’t recognize what’s good for your body or what isn't, and so every time you do something you enjoy, the chemical dopamine gets released. The problem is that the social media companies and the gaming industry know that, and so what they are creating are products that release as much dopamine as possible because they want to get you addicted to their product. That’s why most people end up consuming instead of actually living the life they want to live. We all have a dopaminergic baseline, and the thing is, if you complete exhausting or daunting tasks, dopamine rises above that baseline, and you feel great and motivated, which is basically the rewarding feeling we feel afterward. Now that you know how dopamine works and how companies take advantage of you by trying to turn you into an addict, the next 10 challenges might be the hardest ones yet for you, but by now you have built a certain level of discipline; it's time to put that to the test. You might not know it, but you're actually already on a dopamine detox. Remember, in rank 2, you already eat clean, which is important in order for you to complete this rank. The following challenges will be simple, hard to execute, and straight to the point. The first challenge is to only watch a movie once a week from now on instead of, for example, every single day. No! You're wasting too much time watching them. No more Netflix; you're not missing out on anything. You haven't earned the right to watch a TV show yet.
No more gaming for you. The concerning reality is that people try to achieve more in a video game than in real life, and the industry knows that. That’s why gaming is no longer an option for you. The risks are too high and the rewards are way too low. I wasted thousands of hours of my life playing video games. For what? Just because you have reached a certain level? You might ask yourself, "I can watch a movie once a week and don’t play a video game for two hours a week"? That’s because, from experience, I've learned that it's way harder for you to play a certain amount because most people lose control over themselves while gaming and play until they are exhausted. Gaming is not an option anymore.
If you're like me, you've had your fair share of drugs, some more devastating than others. This also ends now. I myself am not proud of the drugs I tried, but I've been able to stay completely sober for a long time now. I've tried anything from weed to Xanax, and I've been able to leave them behind me; they do not benefit me in any way, and I've learned that throughout various experiences. Alcohol is the only legal drug in most countries, but that doesn’t mean you should consume it. But if the occasion is right, such as a wedding, birthday, etc., I believe it’s alright to drink if you so desire.
Watching porn ends now! No matter if you're male or female, watching porn is very intoxicating for your brain. Doctors have researched the brains of people who compulsively watch porn and came to the conclusion that there is good evidence that men with excessive porn consumption lead to habituation, which means viewers crave more hardcore scenes the more they watch. Many men have reported this incident and sought treatment for it. Most people who watch have some sort of struggle in life that they are not able to cope with, as I've had experience with. Every time you watch porn, you release dopamine. You're rewarding yourself by indulging in self-gratification; that’s why you sometimes have no energy afterward because your brain thinks it deserves to relax. This is very dangerous, especially if you want to achieve your goals. Porn immensely slows down the process.
Task 5 perfectly fits together with the 4th quest. Limit the amount you indulge in self-gratification. Young men will struggle with that, especially teens. I personally had no problem stopping, but that varied from person to person. It may sound silly to some, but keep track of how many times you indulge in self-gratification. Write it down and look at your weekly amount; you might be shocked at what the results are. Minimize that amount bit by bit every week until you can no longer do it. The problem is that most people watch porn while indulging in self-gratification, and the human brain is not programmed to release that much dopamine every single day from porn. The porn industry knows there are hundreds of millions of people every day who mindlessly consume porn. Going back to rank 5, ask yourself if the risks are worth the reward. I can tell you the answer: no, it isn’t. In the end, it’s also a huge waste of time, testosterone, and energy. Keep yourself busy, and you'll have a much simpler time not thinking about self-gratification. The big warriors will just stop immediately.
We all spend too much time on our phones. I see people everywhere looking down on their phones instead of watching their surroundings and the people around them. Every phone displays how much time you've spent on it on a daily basis. Look at how much time you've spent on your phone before you go to bed. The time you're looking at might be shocking; trim down the time you've spent on your phone. Every day by 30 minutes until you reach the point where you have control over your phone and not the other way around. You will notice how much more productive you'll be and how much life has to offer. Generally, not more than a maximum of 3 hours a day is a good goal to aim for. The less time you spend on your phone, the more time you can spend on yourself and your goals.
The seventh task is the best alternative to video games, movies, shows, and so on. Books are the best alternative you'll have to productively spend your time with, as I've found out there are a ton of great books you can read on various topics. Playing board games in person with friends is also a very good alternative to video games. I personally like to play chess because you really have to think about and strategize what your opponent’s next move and your next move could be. You've got options. All of these are very nice free-time activities you can do that don’t require you to be on your phone, gaming console, or PC all day long. The seventh task is to get yourself a book on a topic you think is interesting and that you could benefit from.
The 8th task might be a little controversial for some; it’s to not listen to music while you're working. Let me explain. A study from 2010 made people work with music in the background and some without; the ones working quietly performed better compared to the ones listening to music. Music, just like social media or gaming, releases dopamine, so listening to music takes up some of your attentional capacity and might even distract you because of that, meaning that when you listen to music while working, you have fewer resources left to direct towards your work. If you, on the other hand, are doing very repetitive or monotonous work, music can increase your arousal and help you pay more attention to your work. It's very interesting how music can affect your work flow. So, if the work you're doing is rather dull or repetitive, music can help your productivity (using headphones helps you focus), but if that’s not the case, it can slow down your productivity.
Task 9 will eliminate your social media cravings and addictiveness, and how it works is quite simple. No more social media; it ends now. If that’s too hard for you, start by putting all your social media apps on a timer for 15 minutes a day, but if you're really dedicated, leave social media behind for now. The only reason for you to use social media is to promote your service or product; that's what I do because it's increasingly harder to get your business up and running or to scale it if you don't use the social media platforms to your advantage. For example, if you're starting or owning an SMMA it's pretty much inevitable to use social media; the point is to "control" social media and not the other way around. Stop consuming and start producing.
So, you've reached the 10th and last challenge of the titan rank, and for once it won’t be a difficult task but rather something you'll enjoy. It's to start writing a journal; journaling not only makes you remember the events that occurred in your life, but also has very positive benefits for you. Such as encouraging space for negative thoughts, providing a way to process emotions, figuring out the next steps you want to take in your life, and in my case, also reducing stress. If you don’t know where to start with your journal, start by setting yourself a timer for about 15 minutes and just begin free writing everything that comes to mind. Let your thoughts run wild. Also, write down the reasoning behind the things you're writing down. Learning and understanding yourself is key to a fulfilled life. To create a lasting journaling habit, start with a few minutes every day. If you come to the conclusion that you need more time, you can also increase it or even leave it aside if you don't need it anymore or at all. The beautiful thing about journaling is that no one tells you what you can write down and what you can’t. It’s a wonderful thing in a world that always tries to control you in some way or another. I'd recommend journaling by hand instead of writing on your phone or computer; that way, you have more time to process your thoughts because writing by hand usually takes longer than writing on your phone or computer. Oh yeah, and don't put your phone near your workplace to increase productivity. Just a quick tip. You only deserve to enter the next rank when you have incorporated every task so far; otherwise, all of this is just a huge waste of time for you! If you did implement all the steps you've learned thus far, we shall talk again in rank 8!