2014 Challenge

Day 8 completed...struggling along...

Day 17! Yippeee!! Not been on much this week but haven't been near the gambling sites so all good here 🙂

22 days and another week done, I made it!

Still fighting the urges which never seem to go completely, hope they begin to pipe down a bit as it's affecting my concentration.

Keeping busy with work and things, keep focusing on the future and distracting myself.

Have had to stay well away from any sports related material, if I so much as checked the results I know I would be gambling.

So here's to staying strong for another week. I won't back down on this but can't say it's been easy this week either!

Day 9 check in for second attempt of 2014 challenge. All the best all!

Checking in day 26.

It has been a hard week but I am still here and gambling free.

Keep strong everyone.

LG

Morning all,

Less than 5 hours to go before check in deadline - 5 missing soldiers........c'mon guys, finger out......we could have a bumper week.......and we could have a sore one too!! We do have lots of new members......more to follow later!!

Have a great gamble free Sunday all.

Mr B - 98 days free of gambling!

Day 3 for me now. Had urge yesterday evening to have a small bet on the gas here in Ireland. It's the 1 sport I have great knowledge of and have won a lot of money from it. But I didn't do it because I knew the money I would of won would of been used today to bet on horses

Hey Mr b

Just so you know strange checked in on hopes thread just under this one. It must have been an accident and I didn't want him or her to be missed off the count x

Linda day 96 x

Thanks Linda - I was going to post to ask if anyone would agree I could add that post in as a check in for Strange!!

90 minutes to go folks.......

Mr B

Well done Linda, 100 days are now in sight for you xx

Thanks Linda mr b it's an oops from me. Formally checking in! Xx

Good afternoon everyone!

So we’re at the end of what I would imagine has been an extremely difficult week for a number of the team - in more ways than one. It’s a week that I’ve been worried about and while we’ve seen a few missed check-ins, with the amount of advertising that we’ve been bombarded with for the last few days, we’ve come through it pretty well. I suppose as problem gamblers though, every day, every week, every TV advert etc. can be a challenge. I’m really proud to be part of this challenge and this group, with numbers going from strength to strength, membership increasing and the resolve that’s being demonstrated in individuals and the team just superb.

Before giving the headlines for the week, I want to welcome an incredible 8 new members to the team this week - by far the biggest number of people who have joined in a single week since the challenge first started. For all the guys who have joined, I just want to run through the general rules and ethos of the challenge………..

The most important thing is that you have joined a team. First and foremost the challenge is in place to support each and every one of us through each day and week, so that we individually can free ourselves of gambling. However, the difference with this thread is that you have a responsibility to others, the team, to stay clean as well - it’s an additional incentive and a conscience that if you feel that pull towards a bet or a stake that you remember you are not just letting yourself or your loved ones down by going ahead with it, but you would be letting down your team mates too. The ask on a weekly basis is simple - check in on the challenge thread at least once per week after the update has gone on and before 3pm on a Sunday. Tell us your number of days, ask for support if you need it, give a short update on how you’re doing…….and be proud! Keep an eye on the thread during the week and offer support if someone is struggling…….and if you’ve not got a great deal of time, check the first page on the thread to see the check ins rolling in.

There’s a number of the new team members who are very early in their journey - the most dangerous and tough stage of recovery in my opinion. We’ve had an amazing retention of new members in the last few weeks, so all of you have a tough act to follow to maintain our superb run! In Scambling, we’ve also got a new member to the team who is completely clean for ’14!

Here’s the name checks for all the new soldiers - Manup75, FlyingFox1, Kickitnow, NoCrisis, triangle, Scambling, ringerbell and delboygolf. This is a great group to be part of folks - we’re delighted that you are a part of it. Hope you all get as much out of it as us.

Last shout out to ram90 - welcome back mate! Don’t forget your check in - I’m thinking you’ll have reason to wind me and The_Rock up very shortly about football - surely that’s worth sticking around for!

So onto the headlines for this week then -

We came into the week with 25 in the group, have had 3 members miss check in but have closed out today with 30 soldiers - the most we’ve ever had! Our member retention this week was 88% and our average number of days clean now sits at 58 days each. Collectively we have been clean for over 4½ years and if we can hit the illusive 100% retention this week then we will break through the 5 year mark - it is in our hands! We’ve increased our collective days clean by just over 10% to the highest it’s ever been - projecting our number of members and clean days, we could potentially hit £250,000 saved by the team in just a few weeks time - now that would be an incredible achievement - who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

The Milestones Achieved This Week were as follows:-

Delboy went through 30 weeks of being gamble free - you’re still the daddy of the group Del and it was such a privilege to share a beer with you on Friday night! Looking forward to raising another glass with you once we’ve been clean for ’14………….along with many more of the team…….and if not before!

Julie (no maybe) has successfully navigated 20 weeks clean - I know it’s been tough for you recently Julie, but you’re doing so so well and hopefully things will calm down at work. Keep going soldier!

The_Rock has broken through the 100 days mark and become the 5th member of the team who have 3 numbers behind their clean days! What a journey TR……..just hope that your team begins to get on track the way that you are mate!

Linda (hardtimes), Mike (Happy Days) and BabyBlueSky have all hit 13 weeks this week………quarter of a year free from gambling. A superb achievement………and another huge milestone coming up this week for all of you!! (Note to BBS - congratulations on the result today…….as I write your boys have just won their first trophy in 20 years!! My nephew is there as an Aberdeen fan………so delighted for him and for the Granite City!)

Strange and Rst18 - both of you through that 50 day mark now and the first major milestone of the challenge - congratulations folks!! I know how much it means to both of you……..and delighted to share it with you!!

Here are the Milestones for the Team for this week:-

Monday 17th March - Happy St. Patricks Day to everyone……..but especially to one of our new team members………Scambling will join the 100 club tomorrow!!

Tuesday 18th March - a big day for both me and my big mate Phil (bornagain). For me it’s 100 days free and I will join the other 6 members of the Century Club, while Phil will be exactly 3 months (13 weeks) clean!

Thursday 20th March - another two team members join the Century club - Linda and BabyBlueSky - big day for you ladies! The 100 club grows to 9 and we’ll be celebrating with you!

Saturday 22nd March - a treble milestone day as Julie (no maybe) breaks through 150 days, Mike (Happy Days) joins the Century Club (meaning on Saturday we’ll have doubled the membership between today and then!) and redeemed moves onto 26 weeks………only the second member of the team to hit the half a year mark - 6 months!!! It’s a huge day for the group to be walking with you guys on Saturday!

Sunday 23rd March - Hitthefan hits the 50 day mark - first huge milestone HTF - doesn’t seem like 2 minutes ago you joined the group and here you are already - really well done!

So onto the Hero of the Week Award………..

I’m going to keep it very simple this week……….with the Cheltenham Festival on this week, there’s no doubt in my mind that temptation came thick and fast. While I can understand the pull and the temptation of wanting to gamble, I can’t quite comprehend how difficult it would have been for those of you who had horse racing at the heart of your gambling problem. To be where we are today and the majority of the team still intact, is a huge credit to all of you who have navigated all the temptation, demonstrated your commitment to the team and to your ongoing recovery.

The Heroes of the Week are all of you who got through the Cheltenham week clean - an absolutely outstanding effort and one that you should all be incredibly proud of……….the rest of the team are hugely grateful for your loyalty and your strength.

Special Mention of this week……..congratulations to Joanna (Baggins) - hope all is well with your daughter and that you are a doting Granny!! Let us know how everything is, what she had and that everyone is fine! Many many congratulations to you and the family - what a fantastic motivation for staying clean…….and a great distraction!

Here’s this week’s Roll of Honour:-

Name Days

The_Rock 105

Hardtimes 96

babybluesky 96

bornagain 89

Happy Days 94

2012theyear 113

lostafortune 9

No Maybe 144

Mr Brightside 98

rst18 50

Delboy79 216

Redeemed 176

Batman 31

Hitthefan 43

ram90 28

mjpsmummy 18

luckygirl 26

Strange 52

Silverlining 16

newhorizon71 21

ToBeOrNot 23

Manup75 10

Baggins 14

FlyingFox1 9

Kickitnow 11

NoCrisis 2

triangle 3

Scambling 99

ringerbell 3

delboygolf 6

We do have 3 missing soldiers this week - lec101 (c’mon Lou - this is your 100 day week Mrs!), AmandaG (big milestones coming up Amanda, finger out!) and hog (I hope that JimmyC’s uncalled for post didn’t turn you off the forum hog - stay strong!).

AdamPrice - I know you’ll be reading this Adam and it was brilliant to see you posting on the Challenge thread. I can understand that you may not be frequenting the forum as often as you were, but I’d love to add you back into the group…..especially as you were there very early in our collective journey. One post a week isn’t a lot to ask to be part of the team - no expectations on posting on anyone else’s diaries or the thread itself - think about it mate - would be great to see you here.

So, drum roll………total days free of gambling is……….

1701 Days = £170,100 in our pockets………………..£0 in the bookies!!!

And there ends the update for this week everyone - many victories to be celebrated and I have a sneaky suspicion that we’ll see a couple of missing soldiers back next week to continue the numbers over the 30 mark. That would be a huge milestone - our collective challenge for this week is this……stay clean, we will have over 30 members going into w/c 24th March and our total days will see us over 5 years clean……………its very doable!

Check in for w/c 17th March is now open…………..have a great week everyone!

Mr Brightside

Thanks for the update Mr B. I really enjoyed reading it and its a big week for loads of us. Things are really coming together and the days are mounting fast. I'm really proud to be part of something so special. Its not only the money that's being saved but its everything else. We are no longer hurting our friends and family, we are becoming more productive people and we must all be much happier.

Its really brightened up my Sunday to read that so many of us are going to hit new milestones this week. Well done everybody!

Wow Mr B, I have to say your latest update was great to read and very inspirational. I knew you had put alot into this challenge/project and your latest update reflects this.

Thanks for inviting me to the group, I look forward to posting regulary and getting to know some of the members better in order to help each other.

Big day for me tomorrow, im off work too, so I think I'll buy a few beers and catch up on this weekends sport to celebrate!

And on a side note,

Hi to all members of the group and I look forward to reading some of your posts/diaries/storys 🙂

If you would like to know more about me, you can find my diary in the recovery diaries section or by seaching 'My journey, the diary of a croupier'

Thanks all,

Scambling

Thank you once again Mr Brightside for a brilliant post - you're doing a wonderful job with this 2014 Challenge and a great inspiration to us all.

Many thanks for the congratulations - my daughter had a little girl and they are both doing very well, despite a nasty blip the day after the birth with my daughter going into anaphylactic shock (she has nut/gluten allergies but we can't blame the hospital food - it was the medication!). Anyway all well now, and as you say, a marvellous motivation for me to stay 'clean'. Congratulations to you too for Tuesday and your approaching 'century' and to all other members for their achievements.

Joanna 🙂