Certain tribes in jungle type environments invented a way to catch a monkey. They took a large coconut and cut a hole on the side of it just big enough for a monkey to fit his hand in. They take a banana and insert it into the coconut through the hole. Then leave it lying on the ground for a few days chained to a tree. Sooner or later a monkey will come up and put his hand in and seize the banana. When the banana is in the monkey's hand, it is too large to fit through the hole and the monkey's hand is trapped inside and he can't pull it out. He has his prize and refuses to let it go. After a while the hunter comes up to check and sees the monkey stuck and throws a net over him and takes him to the zoo. The monkey took a path and refused to change directions. The moral of the story is that the banana can represent the gambling habit. You can only be free... if you let it go.
Certain tribes in jungle type environments invented a way to catch a monkey. They took a large coconut and cut a hole on the side of it just big enough for a monkey to fit his hand in. They take a banana and insert it into the coconut through the hole. Then leave it lying on the ground for a few days chained to a tree. Sooner or later a monkey will come up and put his hand in and seize the banana. When the banana is in the monkey's hand, it is too large to fit through the hole and the monkey's hand is trapped inside and he can't pull it out. He has his prize and refuses to let it go. After a while the hunter comes up to check and sees the monkey stuck and throws a net over him and takes him to the zoo. The monkey took a path and refused to change directions. The moral of the story is that the banana can represent the gambling habit. You can only be free... if you let it go.
Nice different way to see it from another perspective.
Thank you for sharing 🙂
But it is not just about making stupid decisions is it? It is deeply rooted behaviour that almost bolts you to your chair. That feeling when you are adding money and thinking, next time then you get angry again because that next time did not show. I call it the hook. It hooks you and it keeps you there. There are no thoughts there is only an emotional spike that grabs you because your feelings have been numbed for such a long time that this is the only thing you feel along with all the hate and self loathing. No my friend. We are hijacked. Our mind lies and the way to work with it is to force yourself to change your tactics. If you gamble unrelentingly till your down to 0. You need to force yourself to keep 50, then force yourself to keep 100 then force yourself to keep 1000. Then work yourself out of it. How? by being here in the present and doing mindfulness because we are ALL on autopilot most of the time and the way to be present is to practise mindfulness.There is no other way. You can also work on white brain cells by doing brain games (non gambling ones) The more alert you are the more you strengthen your own will power.
Just remember any therapy such as cbt or nlp will tell you that the responsibility is yours and it is. It stops and starts with you so if you don't master your mind better the mind will continue to own you with impunity and that is not good because you become a slave to your impulses and we need to master some them for a better life!
I wish you well
C
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