January 19, 2006
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Abstain
Some things are difficult to give up. For different people, different things are more difficult than for other people. For some, it can be caffeine. For others it may be talking on the phone. I heard of a family that gave up watching TV for a complete year.
Excluding basic needs, what would be the hardest thing in your life to give up for a complete month?
Comments (242)
the Internet
holy cow, I was first.
and I wasn’t even trying to be.
xanga?
I’ve actually done a 40 day fast where I only drank juice and water.
After food.. media.
Either internet porn or m-bation. Which are basically the same thing.
Definitely the Internet… but makeup and some hairspray would be hard to live without!
define basic needs..
*lol*
They too mean different things to different people.
Actually the only thing I think would be difficult for me would to not see my children for 30 days.
shelter…
internet.
shaving/showering/hygeine
after that – internet
Well the first month of quitting smoking has been pretty rough. But I’m sure I’d die without the internet. lol
internet, my dog, human contact, conversation…
coffee or being on the internet
My car!!
This is cheesy but I might as well be honest: my husband. I just can’t be without him.
cellphone
lol, the internet. hhahahahahahahhahhahhahha, what has this world come to?
Due to the fact that I’m trying to be good on a diet (and failing a lot lately), I’d have to say sugar and/or chocolate. Caffeine would be my next answer.
oh and toothbrush..
…My car, internet, my bad habits, the internet… This is assuming hygeine is a basic need, lol.
ok, but besides internet, I guess…. ONE thing? HHMMM…now that I read a few comments, I cant come up with something better than hygeine. I will die if I cant keep clean
Dr Pepper
Oooh boy… Let’s see: Music, Computer, Friends, Xanga, You, and Instant Messengers.
Nicholas
Internet. Or music.
Sweets.
Reading……Reading anything – News, Books
Oh wait wait, why don’t I just say electricity. Hahaha, that covers it all doesn’t it?
Nicholas
Hmmm…..that I CAN give up?? I quit coffee…the Aussie is leaving for over a month, diebetic so no sugar, yeah I agree the internet……….and what was your answer? ’til the next
im guessing….. books
Hmmm, reading.
I guess God would be considered a basic need, so besides that, friends, internet and music
The Internet and a good notebook to make lists in. That is of course assuming that we’re not talking about people here. Because I could never live without my boyfriend.
No computer for a month would be tough.
Books. If I could not read, I would lose my mind.
Music.
inernet for sure.
sweet tea.
lol I’m with Nicholas…electricity….
Internet and talking to my kids That would be horrible…I’d need sleeping pills for a month.
My cell phone.
Computer, baby! Or singing, mentally and aloud.
The gym.. I would die without it.
TV, cell phone, computer, and car.
My husband.
Coffee
I’ve been with out TV since Oct. I would not give up my internet though.
diet soda
lets see, it would either have to be energy drinks or The Settlers of Catan game
is brushing your teeth a basic need????? I can’t decide between cable or the internet.
Erika
my boyfriend!
Soda
it’s kind of sad that people find it so hard to give up such material things. (myself included of course)
Chocolate or kickboxing.
someone I love
my cell phone. i live without internet or tv in the summer, don’t watch the tv much anyway, grew up without one. but my phone…i would be lost without it. that or my planner.
Internet or Music. I think Music would be harder to give up.
I gave up Diet Coke for a year once – put on 10 pounds! My head and heart are arguing about this one. Wife? Family? Friends? Man – I am so emotionally dependent on some of these things! The reality would probably be something I just take for granted – something that’s always there – that I can’t EVEN imagine not being there… So, I don’t know… Hmmm… Good question! It made me go: hmmmmm.
My husband. Isn’t that sappy sounding? During pregnancy I’ve had to give up all kinds of things I didn’t really want to give up – caffeine, sex, spicy foods, lifting, my figure, walking like something other than a duck. What’s left??
The internet hands down. Close second: talking on the phone especially considering 75% of my job requires me to be on the phone.
XANGA!! damn.. i don’t wanna think about it.
apart from food, music. music is my liberation.
music or aim.
internet access. ….and pez.
Ummm I’m so spoiled I have to say my computer.
Hmmm. I can’t think of anything. I don’t watch tv. I’ve been without internet before for a month. Hmmm. OF course, this is the whole idea of Lent. But I think people have it all wrong. Giving up material things or pleasures is a start, but we could look at things like giving up gossiping, prefering ourselves over others, we could suspend spending on ourselves and give that money to the poor for a month. We could give up internet time, mall time, game time, and volunteer at a hospital, or meals-on-wheels or something. Yeah, the material things are too easy. Giving up selfish vices of the heart is hard.
I have too many unfortunately…..but if I could only pick one it would be Coke…or the Internet….or TV….or scrapbooking…..or
my computer, my car…ahhhh thinking about it is miserable already haha
My computer for sure. I guess ciggerettes would be 2nd.
WHY do men want sex all the time?
Internet or coffee.
Internet and Dr. Pepper are pretty close….
some of these posts have 200+ comments…do you read them all???
Being selfish
Hmmmm…..There are too many things to count. Addictive personality don’t you know.
I don’t need to give anything up…but shopping would be the hardest..
definately my cell phone and dessert…and internet *gasp* that would be horrific…lol
Rachel
exercise
yep…i can probably stay offline for a month (and it would be a long and painful month), but my body would feel like it’s deteriorating if it doesn’t get it’s workout.
steak
Uh…. Video games? Caffeine/ Soda? Maybe Cigs?
Human contact?
my dog, and best friends
toss up between the car, cell, or caffine. My life would be screwed without them.
email, most definitely…it continues to rapidly grow as my main mode of communication (especially long-distance)
Chocolate
My CURLING iron…man my hair would like a brillo pad if I didn’t use it for an entire month!
reading or the internet
I agree with project_mayhem19. I can’t live without my husband either.
Well, I’ve had to give up a lot for the past decade I’ve lived in Sweden, so I’d have to say… my husband and kids.
I think it would be hard for me to give up my hygene I hate being dirty.
errrrr.. my bf
for now heehee.
My Internet is my basic mode of communication with my friends, since I absolutely hate talking on the phone. That would be HARD to give up… (though I have definitely done it before). Music would also be really hard for me to give up. I would be so bored. Friends… although I only have a few, I would be miserable without them.
There are so many things.
1. Sweet Tea- Southern Style–lots of sugar.
2. Starbucks.
3. Milk
4. Do you see a pattern here?
sex, but I call that my basic need. Got to have it.
cool air and bottled water.
1 – the Internet, 2 – choooocolate. I say hygiene is a basic necessity of life, but if it only counts as an addiction, then it’s my #1.
sweets would be mine as well
cheers
music!!!
Hmm, if I was honest, I would have to say that it would be hard to give up getting on the Internet for a month and sugar! I am positively addicted to cookies, ice cream, chocolate, etc.
The internet, friends, and my iPod!
getting off of here.
Hey Dan! We’re gonna start doing topics again…
Without a doubt I’d have Pepsi…
Sweet Tea would be the hardest thing for me…It’s not the caffine in it…it’s just the tea. I totally consider it a necessity!
I would never give up a person…they ARE necessary to me!
music.
my best friend
I would say sex, but I consider it a basid need.
serious answer: it would be ridiculously hard for me to live without my computer.
computer.
Mountain Dew, any fatty or comfort foods, all my blogs, and my boyfriend, of course.
nicotine…….
food
social interaction
hygiene
reading
TV
internet
internet
cell phone, hands down!
That would definetly have to be music. I take my Mp3 player with me everywhere. Me and my family even fight because I space out while I’m listening to music. They get irritated because I’m in my own little world listening to music. And I’m usually on the computer too. I just can’t help but zone out. but hey you can’t critisize somebody for something they can’t help. And I can’t help but listen to my music. Its just a habit. My parents won’t even punish or threaten to take away my music because I’d either |a| shut down from them or |b| lose my mind.
lol
Drinking, the internet, computer and movies.
after katrina, i know i don’t do well without electricity. we were only out for two weeks; i don’t know how my family would be after a month.
Xanga.
diet pop… or internet…. no, definately diet pop caffeine included
electronics
I would say music, xanga, and aim. heh heh
each year, i give up something for lent that i think will be impossible to give up. but the thing is, after a couple weeks, it becomes easy and i forget about it.
the two things hardest for me to give up would be:
bad habit answer: watching tv
good habit answer: going to church
I think I am experiencing this right now! This summer I injured my knee and have been unable to walk everyday like I used to do. My weight, cholesterol and blood pressure all went up. The doctor says I must make some natural life-style changes or go on medication. Since I am a fairly young woman, medication does not sound like a smart choice. I am able to walk now for about 30 minutes a day without pain. I have also put myself on the Dean Ornish Diet for heart disease prevention/ reversal. This is a low-fat vegetarian diet that is also low in refined carbohydrates, but rich in fiber, complex carbohydrates, and antioxidants. The hardest part has been giving up coffee. I only like it with cream. I keep unintentionally intending to have a cup. But here is the good news — I am finding that my craving is getting less intense over time. Something may seem impossible to give up, until we have to do it, and then we find that we really can. We just needed to be properly motivated.
Sleep.
And NOW … my new car
(Which was delivered to me an hour ago!!!)
Internet
my boyfriend. But then I think that may be becoming a need.
previously I would have said soda, but because of complications, I had to give that up.
Xanga.
food….music…or learning anything
Assuming that basic needs means, showering, clothing, food, i.e. normal eveyrday things that we do, without the excess of tv, internet, etc., it would have to be books, I couldn’t live without reading.
Either thte internet, or adult swim.
Homework. Oh man would that be rough. Nothing left to do but sit around on my lazy bum getting perfect grades; Hell on earth…
The Internet, music, my car, chocolate…there are so many things that I just don’t know where I’d be without them. Pretty sad really.
makeup…that makes me sound
shallow and superficial, but
it’s the truth. i get really
self-conscious without it. i
guess that does make me shallow
and superficial.
okay. music. i cant live without it.
Coke has been hard, but internet would be harder. And sugar in general would be excrutiating.
toilet paper
technology of any kind, I rely so much on technology
Sex, without a doubt.
Well, technically, it would be something on the Level One Needs plain — food, air, etc — but after that, sex.
no, wait, freedom of speech, that would be hardest
Hmm..Internet, closely followed by music.
Conversation
My computer
tv. and music. and my cell..lol
reading
Friends
internet
A lot of people are saying Internet. I only read the first page of comments and that seemed like the most popular answer. I’ll have to agree with everyone who has said it thus far and will say it after me, because it’s almost garunteed that someone else will. After Internet I’d have to say being around my friends. I can barely go a night without them.
Thanks for reading and keep making the online xanga community think.
-Sara
Internet? Although I did pretty well in India (sort of).
My cell phone. I can’t live w/out it.
I wrote a short story and posted it on my site,
and would like your thoughts on it.
Mary
My bed. Sleeping on the couch or the floor for a month? I’d be so sad…
Blogging
Self injury.
I would hate to have to not see my hubby and children for a month.
I would not do well in the military and have a great deal of compassion/concern that servicemen/women must be separtate from their spouses & children for duty for such long periods of time. Sad.
We could live so much simpler lives without all the stuff … so most of it could come or go and we could find other things to fill its place.
ipod and xanga
I could say any material thing I like to have around, or I could say my friends, or I could say oxygen and water, but doesn’t God provide all those things?
First..exercise..second..internet
talking to my best friend
My dog! My wittle one year old Pomeranian! She’s so cute, and makes me happy wappy! Her name is Angel! :->
Internet
Does a dog even count? If not, it would be hard to give up freedom. Like, if I had to go to a country without freedom.
SEX
ive done without it for 7…. ! yea i dont know how either
music.
if i couldnt listen to music for more than a week, id probably commit suicide.
music.
if i couldnt listen to music for more than a week, id probably commit suicide.
music.
Music. I luv my music. You take it away and I will hunt you down and kill you. (that’s just how I am) lol
The internet but I have had my PC down for 30 days and I soon adjust, Judi
my friends, although they aren’t REALLY “material” objects.
i’d die without them.
Sex.
Having any contact with my loved ones….
Church,My grandchildren, my cappucinno
I think the hardest thing for me to give up would be talking to my friends. I don’t really think i could live without talking to them. They’re my life.
overrated, but nicotine.
These responses suck. I say hot water hands down. I lost hot water in my apartment for a week and it was the most horrible experince ever.
Friends
probably the internet..
that’s pretty sad.. lol.
Seeing my friends…or my boyfriend- that would just be torture.
The internet and caffeine!
pepsi
Being a computer geek
my first horse that i just got saturday!
Coke. I can’t last two days without it.
Oh, and internet.
My cell phone, which I have gone about 3 weeks without it working.
I just quit caffeine recently because I’m trying to cut back on my sugar intake. I always heap the sugar into my teas and coffees. That’s been tough, but not nearly unbearable. Snacks. I’d have to say snacks. I love to snack.
SWEETS!
I had to give up a lot when I was deployed, but the longest I’ve ever gone without the internet was about two weeks. The internet would definately be the hardest thing to give up.
internet…Dunkin Dounut Coffee<<<cappaccino..lol cant spell tat sry….
The internet.
My husband would be pretty bad, too. Unfortunately I’m gonna have to go through that in a few weeks when he goes on his business trips.
lol isn’t it funny that a lot of people on here said internet
I am a well-adapted old man. I can give up anything although hot water and my books would be hard to do without. Electricity is nice too. Heat is good when I take a bath on cold days.
Television – who needs it?
Music can be good, but I usually have the best music playing in my head anyway.
I have recently started drinking a lot of Diet Coke with Splenda and that would take some time to withdraw from.
Otherwise, I’m good!
L,r
music.
Going out to eat.
this stupid thing that is sooo addicting
-joe
The Internet
Reading.
Showering… Ick. I hate how I feel when I don’t shower for even a day or two, let alone never showering.
Internet, football or music
Alcohol.
Ooh wait, I may change my mind… do the internet and computers count as a basic need or not? Because I couldn’t live without either.
Diet Coke. Seriously.
Def my computer/internet and music.
DR. PEPPER
dr pepper or my computer or my boyfriend
Xanga.
xanga/internet
diet coke.
the internet.
comp
Sex
Computer.
((( GRANDMA HUGS )))
Lori
The internet or my cell phone
Music definitely. 2nd to God, it is the best thing for getting you up when you are down, or to help you think. Even if it doesnt have words, its just great. Keeps me sane sometimes.
The internet
You
The internet
Alcohol, until three days ago… and it gave me chest pains…
The choice of badminton.
Nicholas.
Computers (internet). Though right now I almost consider it a basic need with my husband in Afghanistan.
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Good hygiene. I can tolerate being without my girlfriend, mum or good food, and I can live easily enough without my computer but feeling dirty drives me CRAZY after a few days!
the internet would be pretty difficult. Wait. Can I pick people? It would be my wife for sure.
I KNOW what it would be, since I am an Air Force wife: My husband. That is the pits, and he was gone for almost all year last year. It sucked.
Diet Pepsi
my diary
My car. If you live in LA, you know what I’m talking about.
Music
Crime.
the computer. I know I can live without it – when I was poor and moved out on my own I only got to check my email once a week! – but I do quite…. enjoy it
people?
cigarettes.
and coffee.
and one more…lip balm. a must!
Nothing besides what I need to survive (food), I’m practically but hardly a monk.
Well I would say the internet, but I use it within my career, so its a need. As is driving..so the closest thing I could come up with is eating out (fast food or restaurants)
my word processor. and then internet. i am very much addicted.
I have given up TV, and now, every time I see it, I know why. lol, spiritual energy (chi or qui)
music or make-up
I was thinking…… I don’t have such a thing. I can quit doing anything for one month and it will not be difficult for me… I realised that I don’t have things that I really, really like to do. Is it weired? Does it mean that I am kind of limited person without interests? May be… Hmmm does “sex” fall into the category of basic needs? I think it does. Or may be I am happy person? Somebody said that it is easier to live if you “die” while you are living.
my law and orders, or my music.
i could live without TV, but only if i had svu and ci on dvd =)
Human contact
television, the internet, or my best friends
HEROIN
phone…
internet…
random props! and I’d have to say internet.
Listening to music. It is the only healthy thing that comforts me (as opposed to alcohol).
Music.
Internet.
Make-up.
Probably not a material thing but a person. The whole-exboyfriend, potential boyfriend, best friend in a box. His name’s Jesse.