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Share your quitting journey

Use Your Imagination!

Thomas3.20.2010
0 7 15

Many if not most of us have smoked for soooo long that we have a hard time envisioning EX smoking! We wonder if Quitting will be full of misery, deprivation, sacrifice, stress, and loneliness. 

That's where BecomeanEX can set you straight!

HERE we have an entire Community filled with comradery, fun, laughter, caring and even LOVE! 

From the first Blog I wrote some 2100 days ago I was wrapped up in support by Folks I had never met before! That feeling of belonging helped me become even more determined to SUCCEED!

But it also gave me a very different picture of what it means to Become an EX!

Being an EX means that I no longer put my Addiction before Family and Friends. It means that my Friends aren't based on their own Addiction and our commanality is smoking Sickerettes together even when honestly we had very little other than that in common.

My Friends want the best for me in Body, Mind, and Soul!

I used to miss out on so many FUN TIMES because smoking was prohibited there! How many of us have ducked out halfway during a Great Movie to catch a smoke? Haven't we skipped out on Dinner gatherings "to step outside?" I shamefully hid around corners or behind buildings puffing away! Define misery, please!

I deprived myself of Health and of Happiness because I "need a Cigarette!" I knew about Cancer, of course,  but made EXcuses as to why it wouldn't be me! I call it the little Suicide now! Quitting smoking is so Life Affirming that it often leads to other healthy habits such as Nutrition and Exercise!

I sacrificed peace of Mind and Soul! I knew that this Nicotine Addiction was in contrast to my Values but I did it anyway because I was an Addict! Nothing was more important to me than my next Fix! Now, I know that I am doing all I can for ME and that I can and trust in the LORD for the rest! (Serenity Prayer!) When we turn our backs on Right we can't help but feel Wrong somehow!

As an EXer I have learned that smoking causes Stress - it doesn't truly relieve it! Yes, I get that hit of Dopamine but all it does is rob me of access to natural Dopamine use. And the artificial Dopamine wears off very quickly leaving me in need of another Sickerette! The more Stress the more likely to chain smoke the more need for more Dopamine the less true relief and ability to address stressers in my life!

At this point in my life only 1 in 5 people smoke. That leaves 8 out of 10 people who I avoided because "they can't understand!" I would slink away and hang out with my smoking buddies who "get it!" Now I have ended most of those relationships because they were senseless and have replaced them with new relationships both EXers and Nonsmokers. I also do have some smoking Friends and I encourage them to use their imaginations to envision just how much BETTER Life can become one step at a time - Smoke FREE!

I consider you my Friend whether you have been here even before me or you just joined today by the simple fact that you visited this Community and have read this Blog! For that reason, I want you to use your imagination of a Life FREE of misery, deprivation, sacrifice, stress and loneliness because that is what EXsmokers Live! You can FREE yourself one day at a time. We know because

We were where you are now and we are where you wish to be!

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About the Author
63 years old. 20 year smoker. 11 Years FREE! Diagnosed with COPD. Choosing a Quality LIFE! It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. -Galatians 5:1