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Share your quitting journey

REAL Reward

Ladybug--7-3-12
Member
3 5 107
‎08-30-2019 03:32 AM

Reward.png

I used to see smoking as a reward … as earned ME time.  The difference is I now see smoking as the addiction it really is and NOT in any way is it a reward.  It never was & it never will be for anyone.  Cigarette rewards are not REAL rewards.

 

I decided that I was worth better rewards than smoking.

I educated myself about nicotine addiction to change the way I saw smoking. It is a manufactured reward I needed to feed (over & over again) only because it is an addiction to nicotine.  No more, no less.

 

It was important for me to change what cigarettes meant to me in order to change ME & my perspective.  Education on nicotine addiction was my ticket to Freedom.  I latched onto anything & everything I could read about nicotine and addiction & Big Tobacco and found some amazing resources (whyquit.com being one of them).

  

I no longer could close my eyes to what Big Tobacco put in cigarettes to make us inhale deeper when we smoked.

I no longer could close my eyes to what Big Tobacco put in cigarettes to soothe our throats with menthol so we wouldn’t cough up a lung.

I no longer could close my eyes to … etc. etc. etc.

No more closed eyes for me.

 

Educating myself opened my eyes & I could no longer toss away my denial thoughts of being an addict.  I realized what I had become and what Big Tobacco had done to not only me but millions upon millions of people all in the name of $$$ for themselves.

 

Get angry at Big Tobacco.

Get angry at your addiction.

Get angry at yourself for allowing it to happen.

AND then begin to do something about it.

Go after the REAL reward for yourself … SMOBRIETY.

 

Quitting is not always easy but it really is simple.  It was doable for me and it can be for you too.  Educate yourself to change what smoking means to you, and then take your power back from Big Tobacco.  

 

AND … Don’t trade one addiction for another either by using E-Cigs/Vaping. They are NOT smoking cessation devices (no matter what others may try to tell you & that you want to believe).  You really do need to quit smoking to quit smoking.  Your lungs only love fresh, clean air inhaled into them.  

 

Time to really reward yourself!

5 Comments
About the Author
My quit is over for me. I no longer have to decide to stay smoke free, or reconsider it each & every day (or month or year). The choice to not smoke was made by me a long time ago, it’s been kept by me for a while, and being smoke free is now my normal way of living. Yes, I took smoking again off the table for me as an option from Day One/Won. Yes, I acknowledge that I will always be physically addicted to nicotine. Yes, I know I can’t have “even” just one or I will put myself at risk of a return to full-fledged smoking again. So what?! I chose to quit smoking. So I did it. I’m quit. The only requirement in order to Stay Quit is that I don’t smoke. As long as I don’t smoke my addiction to nicotine lies dormant. I don’t crave one and if I get a smoking “memory” it passes easily enough for me now (time & patience!) and life goes on smoke free. Smoking is never a solution to anything. It never has been & never will be for anyone. Smoking just adds a new problem to everything else. There will come a time in your smoke free life when you’ll need to just stop quitting & let everything having to do with the old smoking you go. I’ve arrived. I am at peace and so very grateful for my smoke free life. When you get there yourself you will be able to take the training wheels off & just get on with the living of the rest of your life. This is when your “End Journey” becomes the "New Journey" you get to actually design & live out smoke free for yourself. It's doable for everyone regardless of their circumstances or obstacles. It truly is and it's worth every bit of angst it takes to "arrive". Believe in yourself so you can achieve it too. Change what smoking means to you (educate yourself about nicotine addiction!) and then just begin. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Just Begin … "Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative or creation there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would otherwise never have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of incidents and meetings and material assistance which no one would have believed would have come one's way. Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace, and power in it." W.H. Murray The Scottish Himalaya Expedition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Helpful Resources: http://www.whyquit.com (Educate yourself on your nicotine addiction!) http://www.quitsmokingonline.com/course (Helpful for mindset. Free!) https://www.addictionsandrecovery.org/post-acute-withdrawal.htm (It IS an addiction not just a bad habit.) "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking" -- Allen Carr (Works for some; find & do whatever it takes for YOU!) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *