Cain reminds us of the joy that resilience and self-control bring.
People have the ability to resist temptations, which makes us special.
Unlike animals, which cannot refuse food for something greater, a person can refrain from the temptation to eat the cookie that lies before them. They are capable of doing this because they choose a more significant reward, such as the opportunity to lose weight or simply not having to brush their teeth twice before bed. However, sometimes this desire to abstain arises only to free oneself from the power of temptation. If you cannot resist temptation, it begins to control you, acting on your mind and body.
This threat explains why fasting and abstinence are practiced in many cultures. It is a formalized approach to resisting the temptations that attract us. People limit themselves in food, sex, entertainment, and even idle chatter to avoid becoming puppets of their desires. The more we are able to act independently of temptations, the closer we are to true values—even if those values sometimes include the pleasure of a cookie or a glass of wine.
However, modern culture, which promotes the idea of "living life to the fullest," rejects any hints of asceticism. We are surrounded by an endless stream of food, sexual stimuli, news, and entertainment content. Numerous articles analyze the suffering caused by excessive indulgence in these things. People suffer from various addictions and depression, but if someone decides to turn off the news, they may be accused of "sticking their head in the sand." And if someone skips a meal, it may raise suspicion of an eating disorder.
I'm not advocating for a monastic lifestyle, but modern people could benefit from small experiments with limitations. We resemble plants suffering from a lack of water, afraid of drowning. The main fear of our time is that we "feel deprived," rather than the consequences of excess, such as addiction or loss of focus.
Transformation through conscious choice
By giving up sweets or social media for a month, you may notice some positive changes in your life.
But that's not the main point. From my experience, I've concluded that true strength lies not only in avoiding negative consequences but in the very process of restraint. When you voluntarily overcome the temptation to eat a cookie, you feel liberated and reach a new level of independence.
In other words, you gain much more by choosing to give up social media voluntarily than if they were simply unavailable to you. You acquire the ability to resist temptations, and this willpower can be applied to other aspects of life.
Experiment with limitations
In December, I decided to eat only plain oatmeal for breakfast and soup with two boiled eggs for lunch, adding raw vegetables without any seasonings to each meal.
I do this because part of me really doesn't want to. In my head, there is a cowardly voice that claims I am too fragile to do without hedonistic pleasures. It says that to live, I need a guaranteed right to any cookie or chocolate that comes my way.
But either this part controls me, or I control it. It controls me, or I control it. I strive to develop the strength to leave that hypothetical cookie untouched on the plate—forever.
But first, let's see if I can eat oatmeal without any additives. If this seems strange to you, consider how absurd it is to live in a culture where abstaining from something is considered taboo.
For most of human history, people lived without the guarantee of three meals a day. Many would give anything for the opportunity to have the same food security that I will enjoy in December. And many of them would continue to fast, considering it a necessity for maintaining shape and focusing on important things.
If you want to try something similar
I suggest everyone interested give up something for a month. Choose something that attracts you and completely abstain from it:
Fried food
Gossip
Caffeine
Complaints
Entertainment apps on your phone
Alcohol
Innocent deceivers
Some questionable websites
Meat
News
Politics
This doesn't have to be something absolutely forbidden. Just choose something that pulls you in and from which it is not easy to abstain. If you find it hard to give something up, it means it truly has power over you.
It is important to say a firm "no." It is better to choose something less challenging and give it up for 31 days than to take on a difficult task and only partially complete it.
Do not replace one thing with another: do not switch one social network for another or sweets for fast food. It is important to feel the absence of this and enjoy the subtler pleasure of resilience and abstinence.
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