Cold Turkey

in LeoFinance2 years ago

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I feel so weird right now...

When I was a kid there were two schools of thought when it came to entering a freezing cold pool of water. You could either dip your toes and slowly try to acclimate to the cold temperature, or you could just dive right in and get it over with quickly.

Either way, you're in for some pain. One part of your brain will tell you, "I don't like this; I don't want to do this," and another will be telling that voice to shut up because "this is happening". In fact, we might say that this is the foundation of discipline itself at a fundamental level.

There is no right answer.

Both strategies of pain management work depending on the person and the level of discomfort we are talking about. I used to be more of a dip-my-toes kind of person at first. In fact, the thought of just jumping into a pool made me cringe. Too much, too fast, too cold. What if the water is so cold that I start hyperventilating? That did happen once or twice when I jumped into a freezing cold pool from the hot tub on a dare. Turns out sometimes the thing you fear isn't nearly as bad as you hyped it up to be once it actually happens.

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Risk averse.

One might say that the dip-your-toes strategy is a bit more risk-averse. Again, it's not a bad strategy. It's a hedge against things going wrong in the future. Jumping into a frozen lake head first is decidedly a terrible strategy. At the same time the fear of failure can push us into inaction, which is sometimes even worse than the alternative.

A Coward dies a thousand deaths.

We see these strategies play out in crypto all the time.

@blocktrades is pretty risk-averse. He's not going to add some crazy attack vector to the network on the off-chance that number might go up. Not only that, but he's already got plenty of other priorities on the stack that need to be completed before adding new ones onto it.

@theycallmedan is a rampaging berserker willing to attack the biggest meanest dragon out there. Risk vs Reward: them dragons have phat lootz. Gotta get that tier-two helm. Onyxia must die.

@khaleelkazi had a very jump-in-head-first attitude about crypto... then the wLEO hack happened. Not fun! Now he's a bit more risk-averse. People are dynamic and evolve with the environment they find themselves in.

It's easier to take risk when there is less at stake.

Imagine it's not just you deciding whether you want to jump into the pool or not, but rather you're making that decision for dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people. If you tell them to all jump, and then a bunch of them get pneumonia because the water is freezing, guess who they are going to blame? No one said leadership was easy.

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Why Cold Turkey?

So why do I feel so weird right now?

I did not drink any caffeine yesterday or today.
Gotta say, it's a pretty weird feeling.
All you addicts out there can relate.

I've actually never been so brutally addicted to caffeine before.

I used to just be able to quit anytime I wanted to.
That hasn't been the case for over a year now.

Basically I got to the point where I was drinking two pots a day on top of constantly chain-drinking black tea. And it's some of the strongest black tea their is: PG Tips (if know what that is... every cup is like half a cup of coffee in terms of caffeine).

So yeah quite randomly yesterday I just didn't make coffee in the morning, and when I started getting major cravings I just ignored them. Now on day two it's like a battle of willpower, and I plan on winning. At the moment it's quite hard to focus but I figure that's to be expected for at least a few more days.

So why cold turkey?

At the end of the day it's just easier to jump into the pool rather than slowly inch into it. I know because I've tried. "I'll only drink one cup of coffee today," quickly turns into 2, and then 3, and so on. There are certainly parallels to make with alcoholism and drug-use in general. For me it's just easier to commit to quit entirely rather than trying taper off. Of course even as I write this I'm thinking... maybe I'll just make a cup of tea to take the edge off.

Perhaps I will, this is getting pretty intense.

Not that caffeine withdrawals are comparable to drugs or alcohol, but it is something to be sure. If your body is acclimated to filtering through a massive amount of chemicals every day and all of a sudden that flow of chemicals just shuts off completely... it's going to throw your body out of whack in one way or another.

Conclusion

I'm not sure how I was able to conflate addiction and cold turkey strategy into risk aversion and jumping into a pool or not, but there it is. Blame it on the zero caffeine coursing through my veins. You know what? Maybe I will make that cup. What could possibly go wrong?

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I don't really view myself as either risk-averse or a risk-taker per-se. My goal is to just make the decision that seems most likely to have the best outcome after weighing the pros and cons. I view a lot of life decisions as "informed betting", and in that sense, I enjoy the process of deciding what bets to make.

As an example of what many might view as risk-taking, I quit the corporate world when I was 24 to start my first business without any external financial backing (and this was done back when that was a much more unusual thing to do than it is nowadays).

I also kept most of my net worth in highly volatile crypto investments. And in a more recent example, last year I donated ~10% of my net worth to a new charity I set up, just because I believe in the goals, even though that consumed a lot of my "stable" assets.

All these were risks, and I suspect they were risks that most people would be uncomfortable to take. But when I weighed the possible outcomes (good and bad), I decided I could live with the worst outcomes and the odds favored the positive outcomes in a way that made sense for me to take the risks.

But when it comes to software, experience has taught me that even seemingly trivial changes in financial software can have very bad consequences, so changes should only be made if there's a clear reward for the change (and yes, we've also just got a lot of things to do so we need to prioritize what we do). There's also the additional factor that changes to Hive code can impact everyone, not just me, so I need to be extra careful about what changes I propose.

As to the coffee thing: I originally disliked the taste of coffee, but started drinking it when I started working because it was a social thing (2 coffee breaks during the work day) and eventually I grew to like the taste. And I got somewhat addicted to the hit it gave and found that when I didn't get it in the morning I was more sluggish.

But when I started my own company and started working really long hours, I found that while it might make me slightly productive, the "crash" from when the coffee wore off cost me more productivity than I gained from the hit. In the end, I found that I'm much more productive overall over the long run by avoiding coffee, so I quit for the most part (I might drink a coffee once every week or so nowadays).

Also, I didn't find it terribly hard to quit, FWIW, and I don't think it's necessary to go "cold turkey" after you quit, because the addiction doesn't seem to be as strong as ones like cigarettes (but I've never been a smoker, so I'm only commenting on my observation of others).

But when it comes to software, experience has taught me that even seemingly trivial changes in financial software can have very bad consequences,

Oh man that gets me triggered!

Yeah I've definitely tried to change programs in small ways and realized I'd have to rewrite huge sections of code as the domino effect spirals outward. Damn spaghetti factories.

the "crash" from when the coffee wore off cost me more productivity than I gained from the hit.

I remember this being a thing as well for me, but I've been drinking it nonstop for so long that I feel like it all blends together now. I did drink that cup of tea today and it stopped me from feeling like I was about to start hallucinating. Small miracles. The trick seems to be to avoid drinking it every day to avoid the habit.

But when I weighed the possible outcomes (good and bad), I decided I could live with the worst outcomes and the odds favored the positive outcomes in a way that made sense for me to take the risks.

So meee!

if I would describe the actions from you I know off, I would think you are a long-term investor in things.

With the mindset, better to play and lose as not to play.

I had to quit coffee in early September cold turkey due to a digestive issue, but the effects have been good, have not had a headache since and don't get heartburn anymore.

The first day off it was rough with a migraine tho.

The crazy part, 4 months later I still crave that shit! What the hell!?!?

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After the craving, did you yield?

Coffee will not defeat me. Still haven't had it

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That's the spirit

lol 4 months wtf

Gonna be 6 before I know it. Herbal tea for the cat. Transformation complete!

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I have never been addicted to coffee but I can tell you porn is probably way worse than that.

Lol... I feel there is no worse one.. It's just the degree of damage.

Porn might not be so damaging in terms of being addicted than alcohol to ma.

And porn might be way terrible for you.

Some people it's masturbation

every cup is like half a cup of coffee in terms of caffeine).

Lmao! Hate that I could understand this!!😂

When did they hacked wleo. This hacking is increasing every day.

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Shortly after it launched wLEO got hacked and drained of all the ETH in the pool.

Thank you for the information

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I started to read your post and then I got a little lost but I can tell you a few things.
Certainly leadership is not easy because of the responsibility it entails but I think that many people in the world prefer that someone else makes the decision for them and simply follow them, it is a very comfortable attitude but also risky.
Between dipping my toes in little by little or jumping in all at once I usually do the latter, sometimes it works out well and sometimes it doesn't, life is like that.
I'm also addicted to coffee and here while I'm writing I've had two cups of black coffee and one with milk.
Greetings, I enjoyed reading you.

Yes this one was not a smooth read
I blame the no caffeine for my clunky post 😜

Well, risk and experiences are very inter-related.

Some people's experiences shapes the way they risk in terms if investment.

I also feel that it's not about the lesser stake, it's about proper risk management.

Everyone must have heard about 2% rule. If you are risking more than 10% into a very shady project, you might have difficulty sleeping.

On the other hand, there are different types of addiction and dealing with them have different managements.

Tapering off works for some while diving straight in works for others.

Know thy self and you will win a hundred battles.. Risk averse is good but comes with a lot of emotion and pain, when what yiu thought will happen to a token, it goes us expected and you discover you did nor invest in it

Hm this actually reminds me of playing poker.
I was a very good player when I took less risk.
Every time I would loosen up I ended up taking losses.

I battled that last year and it's not fun! Had a relapse or two for a cup but I've held strong! Tea isn't the same but it's acceptable, drinking a cup right about now!

I think my addiction is fizzy drinks.

I can't go 4 days without a bottle of coke

Thankfully I've never had that. You have to be careful, the carbonation is tough for your bones! Among other things of course lol

😂💔dive right away with your heart beating super fast, the person could faint. 🤔True, foundation of discipline...🤔if you want to get rid of addictions, you need distractions.

Best of luck kicking that habit. I know it is tough. My brother in law used to drink a couple of two liters of Mt. Dew per day. He now drinks none. It was a tough habit to kick.

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Oh man Mt. Dew I knew a few people that had that one.
Not pretty.

Mountain dew? Really?

That stuff does not have any addictive element

caffeine

Caffeine

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Hmmmmm

Sometimes people just can't control themselves

I haven't had any coffee since I started working from home...but I have noticed that I have drinking a lot more soda instead. As for the risk, I prefer lower risk than higher risk myself. It's why it takes so long for me to decide to jump in and I am kind of glad I did that in CUB as I joined after price was dumping down quite a bit.

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every cup is like half a cup of coffee in terms of caffeine).

Lmao! Hate that I could understand this!!😂

I'm definitely risk averse, of the dip your toes type, and I absolutely am satisfied with it.

It's scary out there, can't be jumping headfirst into the dragons den like that... Lol

I am an all or nothing kind of person. The Asperger/engineer brain is often more comfortable with yes or no, do or do not choices. If I had to give up something, I would have to remove it from my life entirely. So if I love something, I am totally immersed in it or devoted to that person. My Granny used to say "Whole hog or nothing." !BEER


Hey @edicted, here is a little bit of BEER from @fiberfrau for you. Enjoy it!

Did you know that you can use BEER at dCity game to **buy dCity NFT cards** to rule the world.

Here i am looking for solutions to combat falling asleep so early because these days cant seem to keep my eyes open after 9pm...i guess coffee will be my new friend to combat sluggishness and none productivity.... And i will try not too make it a daily routine so as not too be addicted

For me before addiction sets in there must first of all be an interest. If one finds interest in something and you feel at peace or pleasure with that particular thing addiction stealthily creeps in.
As regards the two school of thoughts when jumping into the pool, I guess I’m more of the latter! I’m always eager to get things done with and actually know what’s on the other side on time . Not like I’m a daredevil though..😅😓

Coffee is love until it leads to Digestive and belly burn problems. But settling with soft ones has been a good choice. It keeps calling like a lover. And, I am madly in love once a week. LOL

Go more outside, that helps too,

Source: Trust me, bro!

Good luck with that!

I went Cold Turkey on coffee, several times, and always got back to drinking it. Being highly sensitive, it really makes me feel like crap ( and that is an understatemtn ) for a long time and, in the end, it felt too much like torture, pros didn't outweigh the cons.

Fun Fact: a big ( running ) bird called 'Cold Turkey' became a character in my Hypersensitivosaurus' stories and even made it into my upcoming book ( Hypersensitivosaurus and Cold Turkey ), so at least something good came out of it ;<)

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Cool post friend!

Absolutely no coffee
Or hang out with friends and do it
is harder than most people think! 😵