Wow! Has another month gone by already? Seems like it was just yesterday when I started this amazing journey. I call it an amazing journey because there is so much involved with a successful quit. It takes just a bit more then simply deciding to put the old cigarettes down. It takes a kind of determination that many of us have never experienced before.
It takes a belief in oneself and a commitment that runs deeper through the body then any commitment before because of our addiction. It takes a vision of ourselves as nonsmokers, for if we cannot see ourselves in this way then it’s so much harder to make the lifestyle changes that are needed to succeed. It’s way harder to believe that we can indeed succeed if we don’t first commit ourselves to the changes that must come with quitting.
But really, it’s not all bad. All of the above are traits that we would like to achieve anyway. Our quits are like a gateway to a new and improved life. We just have to keep plugging along until our new lifestyle becomes the norm rather then our past one.
And for those of you who are just starting the journey, soon you will be where I am now. Writing about two months without a cigarette. Writing about how good you feel about your achievement. Seeing for the first time that you really do care about your future. You really do care about seeing your loved ones grow. You really do care about health and life. These are the things that no one can take from you for you will have earned it as you progress along the path to freedom.
So never believe that the journey has to be bad. Never believe that you cannot achieve your goal. Taking that first faltering step is the hardest part but once that is achieved there is nothing left to do but stick to the goal of life. There’s nothing left to do but live the dream you’ve created for yourself and soon, all the discomfort and fear of slipping just sort of fade away.
But I also must warn you that the addict is still there, waiting for that chance to pounce on you when you least expect it! It’s just another part of the journey that we must face. We seek freedom and it will come but not before we live those memories of our past. Not before we bury our addict deep inside of us where he can only attack us on occasion.
And so long as we know that he’s there, his power is diminished. So long as we understand that these silly urges is all he has left to fight with, he loses his power. This is why he sneaks up on us at odd times I think. Because we learn to control him most of the time. But at times we may become just a little to confident and this is when the addict will pounce simply because that’s what he does.
So really all I can say is that freedom does indeed come with a price. Taking back our futures does indeed cause some discomfort. But in the end, it’s all worth it. And when we look back at what could be considered a fight for our lives. When we look back at those first hard days. Then we can smile my friends for we know deep inside of ourselves that not only have we conquered our addictions but we have also found things within ourselves that we never really knew existed.
We have found traits that we never knew we had and when we are free of our addictions. When we are free of the internal fight with ourselves. This is the day that we can indeed say that yes, freedom does come with a price but that freedom is worth it!
Onward to freedom!!
