Good morning EXer’s!!
I hope all is well with everyone! So often in a quit we find ourselves saying things like, “This sucks” or “will this ever end?”. This is one of the most obvious manifestations of our divided minds when we quit. We know good and well that eventually there will be peace and we also know that smoking “sucks” a lot more than quitting.
The thing that we always need to remember is that quitting really is a temporary situation. There can be no real time frame for us other than understanding the physical part of a quit. Thing is, most don’t lose their resolve during the withdrawal phase. It seems to happen later after we beat the physical part of it.
I think this is partially due to the fact that we generally learn about those withdrawals and when we first start a quit, we expect those first days to be unpleasant. And so when all of the nicotine is out of our systems we feel we have really accomplished something.
But then we wake up and find a part of our minds still screaming at us! We know it makes no sense and yet this is a reality that we all must face. The physical part of a quit is over with fairly quickly but the mental part takes a while to overcome and as such we end up with the addict within creating an endless argument within us.
This is where the real fight lies in a quit I think because for one thing, this goes on for a while and since we try so hard to keep our resolve strong, we always end up arguing with ourselves. For some, this can become an almost unbearable situation. For me it was a case where I had to learn some new things to get around this one. '
The actual key to ending this is acceptance of the fact that we no longer smoke. But the reality is that this is something that generally takes time to see. Our minds have been so wrapped up with our addictions for so long that we’re almost blinded from the truth. And so we have to find ways to stay strong during this time in our lives, confident in the fact that eventually, our minds will once again be whole.
For me, I found that being aware of just what the internal argument was saying was a big help. When one really looks at the endless dialog, it really makes no sense. So why not listen to what the internal noise is saying. For me I found that the mind was comparing the new smoke free world to the past, when cigarettes were allowed. The mind may not see the addiction but rather it see’s a calmer time when we smoked. And now it compares it to the discomfort we now feel. It doesn’t see that smoking will kill us. It only compares the two scenarios.
It’s up to us to see through the comparison and add the fact to our quit that really matters. The part that tells us what a wonderful future we’ve got to look forward to so long as we stay true to ourselves. We have to see the future that we long for, and present it to ourselves in such a way that we can accept it as a part of our new reality.
Sure, it takes a little work and internal reflection but the benefits outweigh the trouble. This is one of the reasons that a website like this one is so beneficial. Because though we may not be able to see past the shroud of addiction at times, others who are on the outside looking in can see it.
We can understand for each other those things that aren’t making sense. We can help each other see past the lies of addiction to the truth that resides within all of us. Together we can see a reality that we might never see when we travel alone.
It doesn’t have to be a journey of misery. No, it can instead be one of discovery! A means of learning things about ourselves that we might never otherwise know. Every time we delve into the depths of our own psyche we learn. Everytime we change our reality to a more positive one, we learn.
Though we all know that we never should have become addicted in the first place, we have to look past that and allow ourselves to grow. We have to understand that thought we made bad choices in the past that we’re making the right choices now.
So get out there into that wonderful world! Thumb your nose at that addiction and look to the freedom ahead! You’ve already shown your love for life the moment you put out that last cigarette. Don’t degrade that love of life by giving in to a part of your mind that doesn’t yet understand the truth. Instead embrace your new reality.
Seek the truth that resides within you. Remember that behind every dark cloud lies a rainbow that was created by the very forces that also created the cloud. It’s up to us to seek out the rainbow rather than accepting the cloud for what it is.
Just remember the freedom and the peace. That’s the truth of your new reality and every step forward that you take is another step toward all that you seek.
ONWARD TO FREEDOM!!
