few years ago i was addicted to computer gaming and i couldn't stop gaming even for a day. My result was severely affected but luckily i managed to kick it aside in the third year of my secondary school.

BUT now, i found myself to be in another addiction, and it's more serious than gaming, sooo serious that i couldn't stop thinking about it, and yes it's the addiction to magic.

I plan to study yesterday but i ended up creating a matrix effect. Almost every three days i learn a new effect/ i restructure my routine. HOLY thatll be cool if I'm a full time professional-magician but I'm a student. I always wanted to place study as my 1st priority but it seems that i cant stop now.

It's not so cool to be an all rounder. And it's NOT FUN to be able to perform impromptu magic when you're a student. Man i could easily get distracted by a RUBBERBAND, A STRING, A RING,A COIN, and the worst thing is, i can get distracted even by a PEN.

It's not fun

Guys any suggestion to stop the addiction? I dun want to stop magic but i just want myself to be ale to concentrate on my study as well. Any suggestion?

Gimme all your stuff :g:

Ok nevermind. What did you do to kick your gaming addiction? Just do the same to this lor.

Cold Turkey.

Shut youself in a space as small as possible, tie your limbs up, you may even want to put chains and strong padlocks (no hidden key), paste your notes/textbook to you face and read and read and read. In case you start thinking of how to do an escaping effect, ask your family/friends to put a CCTV camera outside the small space you are confined in, and may even wish to put a real trigger bomb linked to the door. IF you ever open the door, KABOOM you die.

And don't ever think you can do a Copperfield-Alcatraz remake.

I used to have that problem, only it was addicted to magic, AND gaming. My mum helped. She took all my magic things and put them in some hidden location. Not being able to get it, I had nothing to do but study as the computer was locked at that time too. Double kill. And my results improved too! Hope it helps. ;)

Darry

Sit down and really think about your future. What do you want to do? Be practical AND serious. Think about this question: Does your results matter to yourself? If your answer is yes, write it down as a commitment and goal. Write down what might prohibit you at this stage.. eg. Addiction to magic. Put that in your mind. Structure a timetable to curb your addiction to a serious hobby level while at the same time, make sure you put in a good effort into your studies.

Hope that helps.
A.

Haha maybe you should start distracting yourself from magic. :D

What do i mean? its simple, go study with a hot babe!

but i really hope you wont start showing her magic.

I think it all comes to self-control. Most of us have this problem when we just started magic.

Your parents can keep your magic stuff but there are always ways you can get distracted by magic again. They can keep your cards but they can't stop your mind from wandering to magic, they can't keep your coins, they can't keep the rubber bands, they can't keep...... you get the idea.

You have to keep a balance in everything you do. Even in your studies, you can't be studying the whole time.

I don't think anyone can help you but you yourself. I don't know, maybe you can set a side a period for you to practice on your magic (maybe like an hour a day?). In that hour, you can really concentrate on your magic and do nothing else, so you won't feel guilty about it. I remember when I quit smoking, it was tough and there all I have was my will power but I did it.

This is your will power which you have to prove to yourself that you can do it. Trust me, study is the most important thing in your life now. When you have the papers, you can at least have a better chance of getting a good career. But as you go along the way, magic can help you reduce the stress, so balance your life and prove to yourself that you can do it.

One thing. My coins were taken too. Lol. Yeah try to set aside a timeslot for each of your activities. And MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW IT. :D You'll be surprised at the improvement it makes. :lol:

In time, things will work out (or maybe too well).

Like me, I used to spend too much time on magic, but now, I wish I would spend more time on magic.

Try following a schedule, and follow it strictly.

I think its just about self control and how much your grades matter to you. If you know that its important, you just can't let magic affect your studying. Even if your parents take away your stuff, you will still find ways to get more stuff. So, its just a decision you have to make for yourself.

discipline is the key. Then again, i was crazy when i first started, now i only pick up my cards after studying.

yeah, my mom keeps threatening to keep my cards etc etc but each term i just shut her up with results. ^_^

in fact, if you're willing and determined to go through this rough patch, sign up now for Aaron's Course in Curbing Cards Addiction(ACCCA). As a pioneer programme, you get everything free! :lol:

Okay, sit and tell yourself "you wanna change, you wanna change, you wanna change." Just don't say, "i wanna change my cards." -_- once there's determination in you, nothing can stop you.

Give your mom the key to the drawer where you keep your magic items.* If you are like any other magician, you can never empty the whole drawer.(too many items) haha ^_^ Ask her to keep it. Set up a schedule. When it's time for you to play, ask for the key to the drawer. Then indulge yourself in the forbidden fruit(s) before going to study again.

After a while, you'll find yourself improving. The lust for Magic will slowly give way to nerdom. :D

just don't overdo it, lest you lose all interest in magic

*i know tis a hard decision to make. i never really liked people touching my magic items too. BUT hey, it works. Especially if your mom's like mine, lecturing about education before i can get the key. :blink:

So yeah, good luck!

Aaron

thanks pal for all the replies....self control...since nobody can keep my props. :)

Hey bro... I think everyone suffers from that... :lol:

What you can do for yourself is this:

Instead of getting a guardian to keep the stuff for you, which will set up a "challenge" situation, where you try and "out-smart" the guardian to get to your magic, and which can sometimes cause resentment too, instead keep your own magic as far away from you as possible.

This might mean you have to go through an elaborate process of say, keeping the magic in a drawer in another room, lock it up, take the key and lock it in a box, put the box in a high place where you have to use a chair to reach, then throw the box's key among a mixture of other keys and mix them up well.

That way each time you want to get your magic, you'll have to go through a somewhat tedious process of getting the stuff.

Then use a work-reward ratio. It can be 2:1 so that for every two hours of real studying you do, you get to do one hour of magic practice. Of course you have to love yourself enough that you don't spend the two hours thinking of the magic. Afterall, you have to answer to yourself in the end.

Get some solid studying done for the two hours, put in as much focus and attention into studying as you would for magic, then "reward" yourself with the one hour of magic, making sure you pack up your stuff through the same elaborate process again.

That way when you find that sometimes you have say 15 mins of spare time to kill for some reason, you won't find a deck of cards near you and then end up toying with them for 45 mins.

Next, bring NO magic out with you when you go out. That means no cards, no coins (except spare change for buying things), no gimmicks, no ropes, no rings, NOTHING. And don't perform for friends anymore! At least for a period of time. Just be a "normal" human being again without doing magic.

Hopefully this will not only help you study more seriously, the regimental structure will help you value your magic more, and the time spent won't be time just fiddling with your magic, but time actually used to hone specific sets of skills and routines.

I know it sounds all ridiculous and stuff, but maybe it'll help. All the best bro!! :)

thanks pal. will clear up my tabel 1st. GTG. :)

Ok, my opinion...

Seriously, will- power doesn't work! Look, how many times have I stop myself from smoking (through willpower) but I still smoke. Cold turkey works only temporarily, and if you happen to pick up your addiction again after that, it would be worse than before! So stop thinking of throwing away your stuffs or locking them up. Cos' you would be thinking of them all the time.

Few ways I suggest..

1. God's way: If you happen to be a Christian, pray to God about your problem. Then relax and let God take over. It has worked for me in many problems of my life. Best way, if you ask me.

2. Psychological way: This is using NLP. Do a Swish Pattern to lessen the stimulus that magic gives you. Create a new behavioural pattern, like whenever you think of magic, you would think of study first. Then anchor that pattern with an unique anchor.
( if you are not sure about Swish Pattern or anchoring, check out books on NLP or read Anthony Robbins' Personal Power)

3. Also Psychological: Write down 5 worst consequences if you persist in your existing behaviour. Make sure they are painful enough. Then write down 5 benefits if you change. Make sure they appeal to you enough. Link enough pain to your old behaviour and enough pleasure to your new ones, you will start to change. Also, find a person to support and remind you.
(This is based on NAC, by Anthony Robbins too. From Awaken the Giant Within.)

4. Still Psychological: Change your identity. Start telling yourself you are a Student, who happen to like magic. Not a Magician who happen to study. That should change your priorities. And also, don't tell yourself to STOP MAGIC but tell yourself to START STUDY. Focus on where you want to go, not where you want to avoid. Cos' you wll always end up at where you are focusing.
(Based on the book, PsychoCybernetics by Maxwell Maltz)

Warnings: The results will vary from person to person. Constant reinforcements are needed (except God's way.. ).

Actually will power does work if you have them. In your case, you actually lack them. I've done cold turkey many time but didn't succeed. But with determination you can do it.

Once you kick the habit, you can actually feel proud of this achievement. Not an easy task but a possible task. Don't give up, try again. Good luck. :)

Ha... Ok, good for you who had the willpower.

IMHO, willpower you are trying to "control" your urges, something always very difficult to accomplish, just like going against nature. The best way (I find) is actually to change the feelings you associate about the addiction or seperate your identity with the addiction and from there giving up is just a natural process. Easier on the body and longer-lasting than cold turkey.

There's why many former drug addicts go back to their old habits. Not that they don't have willpower, it''s just that they still "think" of themselves as an addict or they don't have an alternative way to make them feel happy, drugs is the only thing they know.

For those who successfully reformed, most of the reasons are:
-they turned to religon. They identified themselves as Christians or Buddhists and they take the actions in line with their new identity.

-they focus their attention on other things. Like business or sports. They have found other ways to find their high.

I had done a bit of counselling and had talked to numerous people with different addiction, so that's my experience from it. Cold turkey works but generally temporary, and it kept the focus on the addiction.

Different people, different opinions. :D

I'm in the same phase of life you're in now, stuck in the world of magic and unable to come out. But luckily, i'm not much of a hardcore magician myself yet and since exams are coming, i've put down my cards for now and it's time to say Chiong!" instead of " Cards!"


The only advice i can give is this, think of this" Exams fail = no advance in studies, no advance = no holiday break, no holiday break = no money, and no money = no magic! " Isn't this bad?

Give all your things to your mum and ask her to keep it. use a pencil instead of pen? :D

wondering... Should we set up a counselling centre for those addicted to magic? :g:

-Ron-

i think there's going to be a counselling thingy with the IR. maybe they might include magic addiction to the curriculum! ^_^ haha

Aaron