Yesterday I attended a conference for the top 1% of sales professionals and listened to someone who was the #1 Salesforce rep one of the most highly sought-after companies in technology.

Ian Koniak shared vulnerably about his addiction to drugs, video games, porn, and I was blown away by his vulnerability. I appreciate how open he was with everything. It was truly such a reflective experience for me as I dive deep into the world of being honest with myself by writing a memoir that will release in 2022. In his sharing I speak openly about all of the above my addiction to video games was one of the biggest things that really stopped me from connecting in life. The dopamine of winning a game became so big that I was not doing well in school. It was the perfect escape because for an investment of $20 dollars it can last literally thousands of hours. I believe that everything in moderation is okay.

I remember how enjoyable those video games were and I think a few hours a week is fine but I was doing like 30 hours a week sometimes even more on Starcraft, Warcraft, League of Legends, and Used Map Setting games.

In our society, it’s acceptable to be addicted to work because it pays the bills. I believe it’s interesting how society rewards those who work really hard to build enduring companies sometimes at the cost of being present with their families. You can argue that they are still doing good in the world. It’s interesting to ponder not from a place of make wrong but just something to consider.

Addiction is an interesting topic especially if it’s addiction to what society considers good we put a lot of value into things like the Olympics and professional athletes who get a lot of validation when millions of people cheer them on. From a mental health standpoint, many of them lose a sense of identity when they retire or if they do not do well. There’s a lot of pressure for them to do well. That’s why it’s important to think about our values and place in society. Is this what I deem as important or is it what society wants me to think is important? Are we putting enough value into the right areas? Why in the United States do we have so many mental health issues even though we have so much wealth and abundance. I often think about this and don’t get me wrong. I am still blessed to have so much abundance to be able to think about these things is a privilege in itself. I remember feeling so much scarity around how I am going to pay for rent and other things.

I want to leave you with this. What are addicted to? Is it food? Exercise? Work? Are there such things as healthy addictions? One can argue that I’m addicted to self-development. Food for thought. Thanks for reading!

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