Have you ever walked on a gravel road? Maybe one with loose pebbles and stones?
If you have, think back to that. Or even if you haven't, just imagine with me for a minute.
Imagine walking on a road made up of pebbles and rocks. It's very uneven, and the stones move beneath your feet each time they land on the road.
Each step you take is an unsure step. It feels wobbly, unstable. You feel like you're going to roll your ankle any second.
Then, up ahead it looks like the road has been paved the rest of the way. The rocks and pebbles are still there, but cement has been poured and paved. The rocks and pebbles have been cemented in place, so they are firm to walk on.
You reach the paved part of the road, and continue walking.
You almost feel a sense of relief. You can relax again as you're walking. The ground is solid and firm. You feel confident in each step. The road is sure and steady.
Think about those loose stones as thoughts, beliefs, or concepts in your mind. When you hear an idea or proposition, maybe someone talking about a belief or idea, they are like loose stones in your mind. You may think about it and roll it around in your mind, but just like the gravel road, if you try to stand on it, it feels wobbly.
Until...
You actually experience it.
When you hear a thought or idea, and you actually experience it for yourself, you pour cement on those loose stones.
Experience is the cement that solidifies a concept or idea.
When you experience something for yourself, the cement is poured on that idea. Then you are able to really stand on it, and make it a road that you can travel on, and make progress on. This is true with all concepts and ideas.
If a belief, a thought or idea still feels unsure, maybe it's because you haven't actually experienced it. You haven't encountered that belief or idea in your own life.
This applies to large ideas and beliefs about life, personal hacks, recommendations, everything.
Let me give you an example.
For many years, I used to get very frustrated whenever I would get the hiccups. Maybe you can relate.
I would be afflicted with this horrible ailment from time to time, and I would try so many different "remedies" to try and get rid of them.
I tried various forms of gargling water. I tried eating different foods. I even heard that eating a spoonful of sugar would make the hiccups go away (I have no idea where I got this from. Maybe from the Mary Poppins movie). But nothing ever worked consistently.
Then someone told me that the next time I got the hiccups, I should get a tall glass of very cold water and sip the whole thing very slowly. I took their suggestion and stored it away until the next time I had the hiccups.
I attempted this remedy the next time I got hiccups, and lo and behold, my hiccups went away! I felt hopeful, but I wondered if maybe it was just a fluke. So I tried it again the next time I had the hiccups. And it worked again!
Since then, I have had the hiccups dozens of times, and this sipping-cold-water remedy has made the hiccups go away virtually every single time. This is now my go-to remedy for hiccups (and you can give it a try too next time you have the hiccups!).
When I initially heard about that hiccup strategy, the thought just swirled in my mind. It was like a gravel road, a path of loose stones and pebbles.
But then, the next time I had the hiccups, I actually tried it for myself.
When I actually experienced the strategy for myself, and most importantly, the results, the cement was poured. It became a sure, paved path for me to walk down whenever I got the hiccups.
Think about this in relation to your sexual freedom and the P.A.T.H. Plan.
You've heard me talk about these concepts and ideas that were the missing piece for me, and how I believe is the key to helping you experience true lasting freedom. Those concepts and ideas are almost like those pebbles and rocks. You may try to stand on them, and walk on them, but does it still feel wobbly for you? Do you feel a sense of confidence with the next time you feel that urge to watch porn?
Here's the question: have you encountered the power of this strategy in your own life? Have you actually felt what it's like to go through each of the four steps?
Until you actually experience it for yourself, these are all just words. Just thoughts and ideas. Just loose pebbles.
There's no way around it.
The cement only comes by actually DOING it. There's no shortcut.
You can read, you can listen to the podcast, we can talk about it till we're blue in the face. But it will still feel wobbly until you actually experience it for yourself.
So what about you? Have you started to pour cement on your journey to freedom? Have you actually experienced the path plan in action when you feel that strong urge to watch porn?
If you answered yes, excellent! Keep going. You'll find that it gets easier as time goes on. The urges become less frequent and less intense. And you get better and better at this life-changing skill of effectively handling and processing this feeling of the urge.
If you haven't started pouring the cement of your experience on this strategy, what's holding you back? What are you waiting on?
This is your freedom we're talking about. This is your future that we're discussing. The stakes couldn't be much higher. I'm not trying to be too dramatic here, but it's true. Life is short. It moves very fast. And we only get one shot at it.
Don't waste another day.
Don't let another day pass by where you are not walking on a firm, solid, sure road leading to your freedom. The fresh air of freedom.
There are a few things more exhilarating than starting to experience unprecedented victories and wins, seeing the pathways in your brain change, feeling yourself learn this skill and seeing yourself get better and better at it. It's growth, it's progress. And few things in life feel better than that.
Take the next step today.
Journeying with you,
Dan