You know, there’s a lot of horror stories about quitting. I sometimes wonder about mine. You see, to me it was really more of a learning experience then a nuisance. As I just read, there are thousands of ways to quit. It’s true that the key is not to put a cigarette to your face but really, who hasn’t figured that one out?
I spent a lot of time preparing for my quit and was often told not to over think it. I was told I could think so much about it that it might never happen. I hear that message and for some, this is true. Thankfully for me, this was not the case.
I spent months preparing and perhaps the difference for me was that when I was preparing, that was my entire focus. There were no distractions simply because I believed that quitting was in my future and that nothing was going to change my future except for myself.
I spent my time creating a positive attitude toward my quit. You see, to me quitting didn’t have to be this horrible thing that I must do. Instead it was a positive thing and I knew this. Now, don’t get me wrong. I had those same inevitable urges and cravings. I had those same doubts that we all feel. I had those horrible sleepless night and yes, I had the smoking dreams as well.
But once I made it to that magical day that I quit, I never looked back. There was no point. There was nothing in my past that could help me when it came to my addiction. And so instead I looked to the future. That magical place that I was building with each minute that I was smoke free. What a thrill that was! To see myself free of the shackles of addiction. To know without a doubt that I was pursuing a future that was about to become quite different then the one I was building before.
This in itself added strength to my quit. This added the much needed motivation to keep my quit for you see, when you know that every action you take right now is building a brighter future down the road then how could you even think about changing that future? Again, pointless.
And to this day, I still get those urges and anymore I find them to be amusing. I simply tell the old addict within that it’s always good to see him. It’s always good to know he’s there. And as always, it’s great to beat his intentions. So yes, for me every day is another day that I will win. My commitment to myself is to never give in to my addiction.
And so, if you find that there is ever a doubt about you making it through another day without a cigarette, think again only this time think from your heart. You know you want to stay quit. You know why as well. The answer is a little more then just not sticking a cigarette in your mouth. No, the answer resides inside of each of us.
We are the only ones that can keep ourselves smoke free. No one else can do that for us. It’s just a fact that goes along with addiction. And we keep our resolve in our hearts. Quitting is a labor of love. Love for ourselves as well as love for those who we care about. We want to keep living. Otherwise we’d have never made the choice to quit in the first place.
So gather your strength my friends. Dig deep inside of yourself and prepare for the ride of your life! It’s a ride that is so worth the trouble. It’s a ride that proves to us that yes, freedom is so much better then the slavery of addiction.
So go for it!! Look to your wonderful smoke free future and forget about that past of slavery. There’s nothing there for you anyway and if you really dig deep and try to figure out what your missing, then you too will find the humor in the addiction. You too will gain an understanding of yourself. You too will discover that it really doesn’t have to be that hard because so long as we are true to ourselves. So long as we always understand that we have a future to look forward to. Then there can be no doubt as to our intentions. There can be no doubt that we can win!
