2014 Challenge

Check in Day 46, got paid so I've gone from one pay day to the next gamble free so all is good 🙂 long may it continue!!

Each and every one of us including those who have struggled this week are doing great x

Day 29 check in for me. Stay clean everybody!

Morning all,

50 days gamble free today and long may it continue. To be honest it's been a difficult week for a few reasons. I am firstly in between jobs as my new job does not start until late April so I have lots of free time on my hands for which as a compulsive gambler is not an ideal situation.

I am determined to keep my mind and body active as it will only take one slight distraction and I could end up back to square one.

This week I found myself reading online about a huge gamble that took place on four horse races and resulted in millions being lost by bookmakers. My mind started to drift and I was imagining and thinking about the what if's. What if I would have put a £200 accumulator on those horses.. All stupid and ridiculous thoughts which thankfully didn't result in be placing a bet.

Then yesterday, I was flicking through the TV and started to watch a horse race on TV... What was I thinking? Is this normal or will I never be able to let go?

I realise that I have an extremely long, long way to go to stop these thoughts of gambling and finally put my life back on track after 25 years of lies, deceit and misery for my family and friends. Oh yes and the huge amount of debt I have given my family.

Sorry for rambling on but I just needed to share my thoughts.

On day at a time and well done to all those involved in this challenge.

Mike

hey mike

well done on not betting! yes you looked at a horse race- not bad but if it means that you might get a little tempted then avoid it. Either way the fact that you didnt gamble meant that you won again. I would say that with continued abstinence the thoughts will fade into the background and not be something we think about everyday! I hope so anyway!

All the best

Linda

So I admit I had to go to the dogs yesterday for my friends birthday. It was great to catch up with people I had not seen for ages and I did partake in 7 races with £2 stake on each. Lost every single one but felt no need to put more on to cover my loses and took it as part of my spending for a night out. Now I don't know if this is a reward for abstaining for the start of Jan but I found a £20 note on the floor of the taxi we got into.

Am I able to stay on this forum and start from day 1 today, I have been finding it really beneficial and really want to go all of 2014 with no bets, despite the aforementioned slightly unavoidable incident.

hi rst

well done for not chasing your losses however please remember that any form of gambling is avoidable. you could have gone out without betting but you chose to put that 2 pound on each race. it is good that you want to be gamble free for rest of 2014 but please be careful as there will be many times where other people may want to gamble on a night out but that doesnt mean you have to.

All the best

linda x

Thank Julie and Linda.

As much as I tried e.g. saying il wait until the next race to bet it got to the point where I was almost forced into it because everyone else was, even though I tried to play dumb. But as I have said I have felt no urges and expected to lose anyway so my guard is still fully up. I'm just glad its all over, back to abstaining for the rest of the year.

Hello Mr Brightside. Is it to late to join your 2014 challenge. Ive gambled so far this year. i keep coming back to day one of no gambling and it seems like such a long way from here to a gamble free me. My weakness is the evil fobt machine. I wish i could never play them ever again.

hey rst

good for you and we will support you all the way x linda

Evening everyone,

Less than an hour for this weeks check in - we'll welcome strange and no problem to the group - no problem, if you pick this up before 8pm an you give me your days clean tally so I can fully add you?

Rst - delighted you're still here and thanks for being so honest - will revise tally, but so important you're still part of the group.

We're missing a few people this week - hopefully they'll make the check in in time - some big milestones this week......and the week coming.

Stay tuned for the update!

Mr Brightside

Check in no gambling for me

It's 3 days for me

Tomorrow is day one for me. Shall i just check back in before 8pm tomoz saying Day one of no gambling.

Checking in 167 days clean of gambling, healthy mind and brighter future 🙂 del

Good evening everyone!!

So it’s Sunday night again and it’s been a tough week for the group. So far on the thread we’ve had a total of 32 participants, we’ve still got 17 active team members, we’ve got 6 guys who have hopefully just forgotten to check in this week and there’s 9 comrades who have either fallen or haven’t checked in for 2 consecutive weeks……they’re not out of the group by any manner of means, just need to get check-ins on track once again. Despite the disappointments and the hard week, we’ve got some fabulous news this week, some significant milestones and some great motivation for the week ahead. As a group there are some amazing stories of personal triumph, victories for the group and evidence that a bit of peer pressure and belonging to something can truly help.

Firstly, welcome to strange and no problem who have joined us this week. Delighted to see you guys here and hope you find as much of a motivation and team spirit from the thread as a lot of us are doing. The rules are simple - you need to check in once a week before 8pm on a Sunday and be committed to yourself and the team in your willingness to stay clean from gambling. We are truly in this together.

So onto this weeks awards and I’ll start with the Significant Milestones:-

Rock_Bottom - 50 Days Clean of Gambling was reached this week!! I’m especially pleased for you Rock - you’ve shown us all that no matter how difficult things can get, no matter how hard the hits are that 50 days is possible! Get going mate.

Co-ord 45 - 50 Days clean of Gambling today!! A superb result - again, something we all want to emulate.

Next is the Hero of the Week Award:-

The award this week goes to Julie (Maybe, not maybe you’re getting the award, but maybe is her username!!). Let me explain why………when we get caught up in numbers of days, it’s easy to get lost in terms of weeks and months. OK, so it could be argued that this is a milestone award, but given the level of support Julie has shown others this week and some great contributions on other team members diaries, the girl needs to be recognised!! So, you’re the Hero of the Week Julie……..95 days clean means that you’ve gone through the 13 week barrier this week……..meaning that you have been free of gambling for a quarter of a year!! Wow, we bow to you girl!! You’re amazing and a real inspiration to lots of us on here (and yes, I am a hard task master - don’t you forget it! 😉 )

In the coming week there are a number of potential award winners - there’ll be a number of members going through the 50 day mark, but importantly a significant number of us will see a first full calendar month go by without placing a bet. Next Sunday could be a long update!! It’ll be February 2nd and a possible real celebration day for the group - there are 11 of us currently active who could high 5 for the first time at a month clean. What a great inspiration for those who are just joining, have lapsed or who have been with us for a few weeks and will experience that in February!

OK then, so here is this week’s Roll of Honour:-

Name / Last Check In Date / Days

Rock_Bottom 20/01/2014 56

Hardtimes 25/01/2014 47

lec101 22/01/2004 48

babybluesky 25/01/2014 47

Bornagain 24/01/2014 40

Co-ord 45 26/01/2014 50

AdamPrice 25/01/2014 4

Ashamed 24/01/2014 28

el product 25/01/2014 27

lostafortune 26/01/2014 29

Maybe 26/01/2014 95

Mr Brightside 24/01/2014 49

rst18 26/01/2014 1

Delboy79 24/01/2014 166

AmandaG 24/01/2014 29

NoProblem 26/01/2014 0

Strange 25/01/2014 3

(Good luck for Day 1 tomorrow NP - you’re part of the team now!!)

So, drum roll………total days free of gambling in the “family” is…………….

719 Days = £71,900 as per our averaged savings in our pockets and not “theirs”!

I always try not to get downhearted when the total days tally reduces……….my philosophy has changed in the last week in that the people who are active are the most important and I will focus my energies on the other 16 soldiers who keep marching forward. I’m not being harsh in saying this, none of us can influence what’s happened, we can only support what can happen and motivate each other to take one day at a time.

With this positive mindset, of the 17 of us who are active, our average days free of gambling sits at 43 days……which despite the hardships of this week, is only a day down on last week…….and that means we are still doing amazingly well.

We have reasons to believe, we have reasons to be proud, we have given our loved ones reasons to feel more confident in our growing strength to abstain and we have given each other something to be part of and something that has the potential to change not only our lives, but those of everyone around us.

Missing soldiers this week:-

Name Last Check In Date

feetforward 18/01/2014

2012theyear 16/01/2014

subox 19/01/2014

Unaitsert 16/01/2014

Alikat 14/01/2014

Fighter_1 13/01/2014

C’mon guys, really need you to be signing in for next week and getting into the habit!

It’s brilliant that people are joining the thread and note there’s another “2014 Challenge” over on the Recovery Diaries pages, with first check in closing I think today or tomorrow. My good recovery buddy Lou (lec101) is a big advocate of safety in numbers, and she ain’t wrong. It’s being administered by Flagg in case anyone wants to join.

So, onto a new week, pay day for me tomorrow, but the preventative barriers in place to ensure that I don’t give in to temptation - I have the best accountant in the world! I hope that everyone else can maintain their great progress and that our group grows this week…..our challenge is for all 17 active this week to be active next week!!

Well done everyone - you are all Totes Amazeballs!

Mr Brightside…..on the eve of my 50 days!