Ah, yes, the beginning, way back to when I started this journey. That is etched into my mind as a tab of remembrance. Something to refer back to when I'm feeling weak and vulnerable. Information that I can flip back to easily when it all gets to be too much.
One thing I have learned is that I need to slow down and not pile so much on my plate. I need to learn to walk instead of running full steam ahead into things I'm trying to accomplish or things I'm trying to attain. A year ago I was going in circles chasing my tail. When is this going to end, when is this ever going to stop, why is this taking so long. I was basically treating quitting smoking as something that can be cured. Here are these pills for 10 days. Take them all and this will go away. I read and read and read and it seemed as though nothing was sinking in, but I stuck with it. There's got to be something to what they're saying.
I think around 2 months into it is when the relearning process began. I really starting thinking about the when, wheres and whys. You see, what makes this site great is that we all have different theories, different methods, different ways to the quitting process. We all agree that not one puff ever is the way to go. You and I are not the occasional smoker; otherwise we wouldn't be on this site. Smoking would never be a problem for us. We're not the kind of smoker that enjoys a smoke with their evening cocktail and then that's all they ever have. There are people out there that are just like that; we're just not one of them.
I do not see things as black and white. It's this way and it's the best way and the only way. I welcome other opinions and theories, other ways of attacking this crazy thing we call smoking addiction. Some believe it's only the hand to mouth ritual that we perform coupled with the nicotine that is the problem. I believe that it's more far-reaching than that, but that's my theory, my belief and I'm entitled to that. I believe that we use smoking as a crutch, a security blanket, a protector. Some believe I'm over thinking the whole process and advocating and making this harder than it should be. But there are people out there that read this and say, yes, exactly, you're right.
So wherever you are in the process, poke around the site and visit other people's profiles and click on content. That's where you will find their blogs and any information they have shared with the community at large. Read over some of the things they have written. Click on activity and see what they have posted on other people's posts. You can use your browser's back button to go back and forth between the pages. I learned most of my encouragement and really enlightenment from those posts. There were some that I came across that I didn't agree with, but that's okay. You take what you need and you leave the rest. Simply ignore it and move on. This journey you are taking is a very personal thing. We can teach you the basics but it's up to you to develop the plan. So get going and start relearning your life. This is just the beginning.
