I've noticed a few blogs here in the last week (and one just this morning, in fact!) that talk about telling your your family and friends about your plan to quit smoking.
Or NOT telling them. Because you might fail. And then be embarassed. Again.
We are already advocating that new quitters look at quitting in a whole new way (which is "gaining" vs. "giving up"). So let's look at telling our friends and family in a whole new way, as well.
If you don't tell anyone, obviously, no one will know. If no one knows, then maybe you could smoke again. Wait. What?
Yes, let's be honest with ourselves here. That's the real reason for not telling anyone, isn't it? Being embarassed and having to eat some humble pie would definitely suck...but that's not your main motivation for not telling anyone! Deciding to keep your Quit a secret is because you are not fully committed. You want to leave that door open juuuuuust a sliver...to keep the possibility of smoking again alive...just in case.
So, what's the new way to look at this? SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!
Good heavens, why would you want to do THAT? Because there is a whole world of people out there who want to be in your support newtwork! And you've already learned just from being on EX what an amazingly strong tool a little bit of support can be, haven't you?
Support and encouragement doesn't come only from the people we know well enough to call when we are sobbing in the middle of the night. It comes from from every single person who knows we are quitting.
Why would you want to ignore such a huge resource? We need to use every tool we can find in this journey. Sometimes just one single word from a stranger can keep you on track.
How do I know this is true? I made this little paper sign and pinned it to my uniform. (Even though it says "today", I actually wore it for several days.) The endless stream of positive comments was like manna to me during those first few days!
You can do the same type of thing, modified for your own lifestyle or type of employment. It made a huge difference. AND, it helped me shut the door I talked about earlier!
