Many people all across the world suffer from addictions ranging from khat to tobacco, from alcohol to marijuana, and from heroin to cocaine. Those addictions mess the lives of the addicts by making them unable to work and maintain healthy relationships. Worse still, they make them turn to crime and violence.

To be frank, I have also had my own fair share of addictions: that is, eating, sleeping and - I am embarrassed to admit this one - watching adult films. I used to eat and sleep a lot, addictions that made me gain excess weight and develop psychosomatic illnesses. And I used to watch adult films, sometimes three or four times in a day.

Before I tell you more about my addiction to adult films, let me state that I have profound respect for adult-film entertainers. They go out of their way to stay fit so as to keep themselves attractive. Some even undergo plastic surgery to improve their physical outlook. And most of those attractive adult-film entertainers have become dollar millionaires from their work.

Some Christians dismiss adult-film entertainers as immoral people destined for hell. But as for me, I was taught at Starehe Boys' Centre, a prestigious institution in Nairobi where I had my high school and college education, to honor all people. That's why I respect adult film entertainers, some of whom practise such biblical virtues as diligence, kindness and compassion.

Lisa Ann, one of my favorite adult-film entertainers, says in her heart-warming memoir, Living to the Fullest On My Own Terms, that she learnt to be kind to others early in her life. Blessed with a voluptuous body, Lisa Ann is the kind of woman the Bible would describe as "attractive in form and features". And she is really eloquent in speech.

Coming back to my story of my addiction to adult films, it all started in December 2005, shortly after I finished high school. I was introduced to the films by a high school classmate who took me to a certain cyber-cafe in downtown Nairobi. The cyber-cafe had computers in private cubicles and attendants who permitted customers to browse anything in the computers.

Since that December, I was hooked on adult films. But I don't blame the high school classmate for setting me on a path to adult-film addiction. Given how I had always had sexual feelings towards girls and given how easily accessible adult films are on the internet, I am sure I would eventually have discovered the films on my own.

Over the years after I got hooked to adult films, I have tried to break free from the addiction to no success. The longest I have stayed away from adult films was in 2015 when I went for six months without watching them. But one Sunday morning after I was unable to resist the temptation to entertain lustful thoughts in my mind, I lapsed back to viewing adult films.

With time, I came to discover a tactic of overcoming addictions: that is, by overdoing the addiction till it becomes uncomfortable. While I can't say whether I used that tactic, I somehow applied it to overcome my addiction to eating, sleeping and watching adult films. I ate a lot of food till I grew so plump that I desired to lose weight. And I slept so much that I felt guilty of my laziness. Also, I watched a lot of adult films till they lost their allure to me.

About three months ago when I felt some discomfort in my solar plexus, I knew I had to cut down on the number of adult films I was viewing. So I watched less and less of the films till the numbers dropped to zero. For the past one and a half months, I haven't watched any adult films.

Although it's like I have conquered my addiction to adult films, I sometimes get tempted to watch the films, especially when I feel frustrated. But I have learnt to ignore those temptations that appear and disappear like bubbles in a stormy sea.

Some years back, I came across a YouTube video that advised men to masturbate less because frequent masturbation can cause, among other things, hair loss and social problems. And I have heard stories of how some marriages have been ruined by addiction to adult films.

Going by those detrimental effects of masturbating and watching adult films, I am glad I have finally conquered my addiction to adult films. But as is the case with those recovering from alcohol and cigarette addictions, I know that I am just one step away from relapsing to adult-film addiction. A single viewing of an adult film is enough to make me slide back into the addiction.

My beloved reader, if you are struggling with an addiction that can cause you problems in the long run, maybe you can apply the tactic I used to overcome my addictions to eating, sleeping and watching adult films. That is by overdoing the addiction till it becomes uncomfortable to you. And that's rea I am saying.

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on how to overcome addictions, you might also enjoy another one on "How Drugs Can Ruin" which I wrote about three years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.

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Ever since I started reading motivational quotes and books, I have been coming across the advice that we must get out of our comfort zone if we are to accomplish our dreams. At first, I didn't pay much attention to that advice and probably thought it wasn't applicable to my life. But I now find it pertinent to my goal of becoming an internationally acclaimed blogger.

Believe me, there are times I don't feel like writing a story for this blog. At other times, I feel too bored to play my piano keyboard which I use to practise the hymns I have been sharing in the videos' section of this blog.

These days when I feel that inertia not to write and to stay away from my piano keyboard, I sometimes remind myself of what the great American boxer Muhammed Ali once said:

I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'

That quote motivates me to get out of my comfort zone. It inspires me to sit down to write my blog stories and to play the piano on those afternoons when all I feel like doing is doze on my desk.

Besides the inertia of not wanting to write stories and play the piano, my other comfort zone is the tendency to stay at home. I used to get challenged when I had to travel to Nairobi to produce the hymns I have been posting on this blog.

On most days when I forced myself to commute to Nairobi, I would come back home feeling dog-tired and burnt-out. The trips in matatus, the noise in the city and the occasional arguments between matatu touts and their passengers dulled my senses.

Yes, even the trips in matatus dulled my senses. I would sometimes doze in matatus on the way to and from the music studio instead of reading the books I had carried along with me.

One afternoon in 2021 for instance, I boarded a matatu and sat behind a bubbly lass who was engaging a woman who looked like her mother in a conversation. The lass appeared full of life as she giggled and teased the woman on that sultry afternoon. And here was me feeling groggy as if I had slept for days.

Then on another afternoon in 2021, I again found myself in a matatu with three high school girls seated in front of me. The girls, who were travelling home for holidays, were chatty and cheerful. One of them was even dancing to the music that was playing on the matatu radio. The cheerfulness of the girls was a sharp contrast to the gloomy mood I was in that afternoon.

Challenging though my trips to Nairobi have been, at least they have jolted me out of my comfort zone. With time, I have come to relish them, especially the times I get to buy second-hand books on the streets of Nairobi.

This year in particular, the quality of my trips to Nairobi has improved. I have enjoyed observing people and places along the way, reading my Bible in matatus while other passengers are engrossed in their smartphones and meditating on the knowledge I have gained such as Newton's Laws of Motion.

Last Tuesday when I traveled to Nairobi to produce my latest hymn, I felt bright and breezy throughout the trip. The only downside was the way part of the sole of my right shoe came out while I was walking from the music studio to a certain bus stop.

When the sole came out, I looked for a cobbler on the road I was walking on. And when I didn't find one, I prayed that I would reach home without the remaining sole of my right shoe also coming out. God answered my prayer because I arrived home in high spirits and with the remaining sole of my right shoe still intact.

As I look back on the events of last Tuesday, I am gratified to note that the trips to Nairobi that used to leave me feeling dog-tired and burnt-out are now a source of joy and exhilaration. I have really matured. Talk of me getting out of my comfort zone!

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NEW! NEW! NEW! If you missed my social media update three days ago, let me take this opportunity to inform you that I have produced a new hymn titled "Fill Your Hearts With Joy". Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the hymn.

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