Best advice i ever got, is when you want to gamble, play the video in your head. We have seen this movie and we know how it will end.
The movie will end with stress, lies, sleepless nights, and depression beyond comprehension. It may end with jail or a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. It may end with estranged family. It will not have a happy ending.
I am 14 days clean and i just now took out my phone to "just check" what the NBA lines are looking like tonight. But i remembered the advice. I played the movie in my head. The movie, if i keep playing it will end poorly.
Instead of gambling, at least tonight, I will watch netflix and go to bed. Tonight, I will watch a movie where i do not already know the end.
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That’s powerful. “Play the movie” works because we already know the ending – stress, regret, sleepless nights, that pit in your stomach. It never ends peacefully.
The fact you pulled your phone out, caught yourself, and chose not to bet is huge. That’s real strength. That’s what 14 days clean actually looks like.
Gambling is the same movie every time. Tonight you chose a different one. That matters.