Reposting from the /pol/ thread:
>Porn and masturbation are kinda in their own little category, separate from other addictions. It's not like smoking or a vidya, where you're in the clear once you break the chemical dependency or habit after a few weeks of abstaining. The urge to fap and watch porn is based on instinctive urges that are an inherent aspect of our humanity, and you will likely never be completely free of that urge. Therefore, combating these addictions is a task that must be carried out much more diligently, resolutely, and meticulously.
>I honestly don't have much to brag on. But lately I've made a startling amount of progress which is attributable to a few factors.
>Firstly, I won't downplay the role of my religion here. I do pray about withstanding temptation, and my view of life, sin, and eternity definitely play into motivating my resistance. This also comes into play in the next point.
>A common failed strategy is trying to constantly convince yourself of all the good things that will happen if you stay away from porn and quit sanding your lumber. It's certainly nice to be reminded about increased testosterone and "superpowers" and whatever other reasons you have. But human action is not purely ruled by reason. And you will come to a point one day when the urge is so strong that you simply don't care about the reasons in that moment. You just know that it's going to feel so great, that it's going to be so satisfying, yadda yadda yadda. All your reasons stand much like an iron gate in the middle of a field. An attacking force may be unable to destroy the gate, but they don't need to if they can simply walk around it. In the same way, all your reasons are rendered pointless, even if they themselves are not refuted, if temptation is able to bypass your reason and attack your will directly.
>What you have to do is focus on your will itself, and not just its various influences such as reason and emotion (although they are also important). You need to resolve that you will resist and win no matter what. You have to be able to say, in those tough moments, "yeah, maybe I am missing out on a great time, maybe nofap is a crock of shit, maybe I really won't regret it after all, but I said no. And even if that's not the decision that will make me happiest, I'm sticking with it." As I hinted at earlier, I think my religion really helps here, as I realize it's not even about me at all. It's not about figuring out and doing what I want, it's about simply obeying God and doing what He wants. I don't need to figure out if I want to watch porn more than I want to keep my streak, because God said not to do that shit, period.
>The third and last point I'll make is that you absolutely cannot compromise. Not only must you avoid watching porn, you must avoid watching "totally not porn". Phrases like, "does it count if…" should never enter into your decision-making. If there's one thing I've learned from my time on /pol/, it's that the Slippery Slope is not a fallacy at all. You have to avoid behaviors and activities that you have discovered lead to failure. Even if those behaviors and activities are harmless in themselves. And you must be as unwavering here as you are with actual porn and fapping; you have to stubbornly say no to these little things just as discussed in the previous paragraph. No threat is too minor to warrant anything less than a full-force response.
>Now, I don't want to say all the other common nofap tips and tricks are worthless. I won't list them all here, you've probably heard them and even used them hundreds of times. Most of them are tactical devices, and in that capacity they are extremely useful. But tactics should not be confused with strategy. Doing pushups to stave off an urge is a good tactic, but it is not a winning strategy on its own. Like any tactical maneuver, it will not work in all situations, and it won't always be a realistic option. You must utilize tactics within the frame of a grand strategy to ultimately be successful.
>tl;dr: go back and read the whole thing fadgit
We tend to talk a lot about tactics in the nofap community, but it seems like there hasn't been enough discussion on grand strategy. This post touches on a few of those ideas, but I think they could use further development.
I'll start with the concept of focusing on your will itself. The fact is, some people are much more weak-willed than others, and I'm sure none of us are quite as strong-willed as we want to be. The question is how to go about strengthening your willpower. Obviously, the most common solution to any kind of weakness is training. So how do we train and strengthen our willpower as effectively as possible, both inside and outside the "battlefield"?