Three tips for getting rid of things, whether material objects or immaterial, like a cable contract:
1. Think of what you gain, not what you lose. Instead of thinking of the football games you might not watch, think of things you'll be able to do instead. Time with kids, friends, dating, etc. For me, getting rid of things led to my awesome blog --
http://joshuaspodek.com -- which led to connections, which led to coaching clients --
http://joshuaspodek.com/coaching -- job offers, and more.
Personally, the biggest thing I gain from getting rid of stuff is freedom -- mental freedom, freedom from clutter, freedom from bills, etc -- which I value more than just about anything. It's easy to get rid of things when you're thinking about gaining freedom.
2. Ask "Will I miss it if it's gone" or "Would I get it if I didn't have it" not "Could I use it someday?" You'll always think of some way of using something if you ask that last question. Now imagine you lived without the thing for a while. Would you get it? Without cable you wouldn't spend your free time staring at an empty wall. You'd start hobbies, meet new people, etc. If you can think of anything better you can do with your time, you know you won't regret your decision. People lived without cable for millions of years. You could probably live without it.
Yeah, I like watching football too. Guess what, I'm going to my friend's place this afternoon to watch some playoff games so instead of missing anything I'm spending time with friends. Do I mind that I missed some regular season games? No. Why not? I just told you, because of the clients and jobs I got instead. Oh yeah, I also trained for the marathon many of those fall afternoons. I'll choose actively living sports over passively watching others any day.
3. Practice! Start small and build. Try getting rid of small things and build to bigger ones. I started moving toward minimalism by getting rid of my books --
http://joshuaspodek.com/less_please. The experience was so rewarding it propelled me to getting rid of more and finding more freedom.
Try going without cable for a few months. You'll find alternative solutions to addictions and attachments you can't break faster when you don't have cable than abstractly when you do. If you have to, try during the off-season. Actually, for football, since there are only a few games left this season, you could schedule watching the playoffs and Super Bowl with friends and cut it today. The cable company will be happy to take your money again if you find you want to restart.