~~You will never be free until you free yourself from the prison of your own false thoughts.~~ Unknown
You know what I'm talking about. "I can't". "It's too hard." "I'm different." "The anxiety's too bad". "I'll quit when I feel better". "I'll quit when my life calms down". "I failed again". "I try but can't do it".
I could go on and on but you know. You've told yourself that millions of times. Until it echoes over and over in your mind. Until you believe it. Until you find yourself living it.
The mind is a powerful thing. We can convince ourselves of anything. Truly. And addiction is simply the best at grabbing our thoughts and twisting them until the only thing we care about is getting that next hit of nicotine. We NEED it. We HAVE to have just one more. We CAN'T do without it.
And a simple fix to this? Don't believe everything you think. If it hurts you, don't believe it. If it makes you feel bad about yourself, don't believe it. If it shames you, don't believe it.
Now sometimes our actions shame us and hurt us and make us feel bad about ourselves. But rather than wallow in our own guilt and self-pity and defeat, we can free ourselves from that prison of our own false thoughts. We are NOT losers!! We are NOT failures!! We are NOT doomed to living with this addiction for the rest of our lives.
You don't have to stay locked in that prison. Those painful thoughts. That self-destructive pattern that circles us right back to smoking.
All you have to do is not believe everything you think. Only those thoughts that serve you well. Only those thoughts that heal you. That lighten you. That bring you peace and comfort. Thoughts like "I can break this addiction". "I deserve better". "I am able to do this". "I will honor myself". And even "Geez, this is hard....but I'll take it one breath at a time and get through it".
Addiction itself is a prison where time is not your friend and a death sentence looms in the distance. You wouldn't want that for anyone you love....so don't want it for yourself, either. False thoughts are also a prison and can bury you under negativity so thick you lose any real perspective. But this prison is so very easy to break away from. Walk away from those false thoughts. Leave them behind you. Love yourselves through them. And let them be.
Don't believe everything you think. Love yourself enough to see through the prison bars into the light of a smoke free world. Because it's there waiting for you, if you want it. It's all in what you think.
