Good morning Exer’s!!
I hope this day finds you happily smoke free. After all, how can we not be happy when we’re doing such a wonderful thing in our lives. Not that I don’t remember those first hard days. This is one of the many things we have in common. The fact that we must before anything else beat that physical addiction so that we can get on with the other part of our quits. The part that seems to take a while. The mental part of the addiction.
I remember how carefully I chose my quit date, even changing it a few times so that I could have what I thought would be the best opportunity for success. But as so many have said and as was proven to me by my own actions, there just isn’t a "perfect" time to quit. Nonetheless when my quit day came, I did put out that last cigarette. I did begin a journey that would improve the rest of my life. I did find the courage to rip the shackles of addiction from my mind.
And even though I thought I’d picked my quit date perfectly, as soon as the day came so did the stress in my job. As in travelling many miles in the ice and snow to various jobs. All that driving and riding had once been triggers of mine so I was prepared on those first days. I had analyzed all that could derail my quit and kept a constant watch for them, lest they sneak up on me and catch me off guard.
And then, as life would have it. At the beginning of the second month of my quit, the work just stopped! And so there I was, out of work with lot’s of stress and lot’s of free time on my hands. Something no one who beats an addiction want’s is free time! I spent a lot of that time writing my blogs and reading. As so many have mentioned here, distraction of the mind is key to winning!
And so came the creation of Mt. Freedom and the addict within. I found that simple visualization was paramount to my success. I’m not sure why this is. Perhaps it was a method to communicate with the subconscious mind, bringing both halves of the brain together or maybe it was the pure distraction of it all but all I know is that when I saw myself climbing that mountain in search of my freedom it just seemed easier to me.
And when I’d consider the constant argument going on inside, I decided to name that as well. The addict within became my name for that and for me it worked because I was able to direct my thinking at the part of the brain that was rebelling. I was somehow able to reason with the nagging voice within. I was able to laugh at this constant argument because when I really stopped to listen to myself, it was just so very funny!
Still, I carried the addict within up the mountain with me because it’s always better to know what the enemy is up to. Over time the addict within got bored enough to go to sleep for a while. And then I had my first taste of freedom! Wow! It was wonderful. I had won! The battle was at last over.
Or was it? Over the next few months, the time that we call "no man’s land", the addict did wake up on occasion and I would think, "Well hello there my old travelling companion. Didn’t miss you but it’s good to know your still around."
But you see, the addict within had changed or perhaps I should say that both parts of my brain had changed. This is the beauty of this part of the journey. The addict does wake up and send out that old signal to smoke, but the rest of the mind takes that for what it is. A simple short lived craving. No more constant conversation. Just a simple little crave and the ability to dismiss it for what it is.
So yes, though the quit seems to be won by degrees, it still becomes easier. Our minds become clearer and we actually have to learn how to be free. But what a wonderful chore that is! As we learn new ways to use our time that was once wasted, we discover so much in life. We discover that it’s not bad to sit through a movie without craving a cigarette the entire time. It’s so much easier to take that walk in the park but wait! It’s also somehow different. No longer are we holding our addiction in our hands. No longer are we inhaling death.
No, now something’s different. We notice the sweetness of the air. We see the textures of the trees and the nice stream that flows past, sparkling in the sunshine. We notice the clouds for perhaps the first time simply because we’re no longer there to smoke. NOPE. We’re there to enjoy life.
We can all experience the peace of freedom. All we have to do is take that first step onto the slopes of Mt. Freedom. All we have to do is avoid the slippery slopes along the way and soon we will be celebrating at the top of this glorious place for you see, because we never lost our belief that we could achieve this wonder. Because we never thought about today but instead thought of tomorrow. Because we stayed true to ourselves to the bitter end, we got there!
I can’t wait to join you on the summit!!
ONWARD TO FREEDOM!!
Chuck
