Share your quitting journey
Visualization was one of the tools in my “Tool Box” that I used in my early quit days to make the right choice when the Nic O. Demon was incessantly messing with my brain. It’s important not to let smoking thoughts roll around in your head for long (to quickly kick them out each & every time).
I eventually learned to swiftly dismiss these thoughts without spending a lot of time thinking about them with a simple hand gesture upward & to the right (although probably not what you may be thinking! lol). It involved using corridor signs. I’m sharing it in the hope that it may help someone.
I pictured myself literally walking down the corridor of a Multi-Use Medical Center. When I stopped at one corridor that splits off into different hallways to the left & right as possibilities instead of just straight ahead I automatically looked up at the signage hanging above to see which direction I needed to keep walking in to reach the destination I wanted in my life.
I saw these corridors as CHOICES I could make in my Stay Quit AND future life. The Radiology Department to get a CT Scan/MRI/X-rays to get the status for a suspected or ongoing medical condition was STRAIGHT AHEAD as was the Pulmonary/Respiratory Department for a follow-up appointment for asthma/COPD & other breathing issues. If nothing changed I knew I would continue to be headed straight ahead in this direction.
The corridor to the LEFT would take me to the Lab for diagnostic tests. The Physical Therapy/Rehab Depts for ongoing therapy was further down this same path. It also led to the Business Office where I could pay in person for ongoing, extensive medical care bills to keep my account up to date since incurred expenses seemed to be gaining momentum.
I could also choose to take an immediate RIGHT to head to my Primary Care Physician’s office for a routine well adult visit. A RIGHT turn would give me hope for continued healing & recovery. A RIGHT turn embraced everything right & beneficial about staying quit. I chose to take a RIGHT turn because I knew that no matter how long we smoked that it was never too late to stay quit to accrue some benefit(s) from it.
All corridors were possibilities or choices I could make for myself. The different choices led to different consequences and different outcomes in my life. A simple hand gesture upward & to the right kept me on track without thinking about smoking for any length of time. It can for you too. Don’t be afraid to change the direction YOU are heading in to impact & make a better ending for yourself.
Which corridor will YOU choose to take? Choose wisely.
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