Man, it’s such a wonderful life when we achieve the freedom that we fight for for so long! It’s so very peaceful, colorful, happy and free when we can at last live the dream that we create the first day we begin to think about quitting.
I know when I first thought of quitting, (and got over the initial fear of the idea) it became a vision of how life would be without cigarettes. I have to be honest. It didn’t seem like a very pretty dream to me. I mean, in my mind’s eye, everything I did had a cigarette involved, whether it be the simple task or the reward that comes after the task, there was always a cigarette.
But very slowly, I started to dream of what life would be like without those nasty things and over time, it started to look like a dream I wanted to turn into a reality. And so at last, I took the first step and ordered my patches. For me, that was the moment that I knew that this dream might become real.
It was also when I started accepting that this dream really was going to become a reality as I stepped onto the path of freedom by preparing. For months I learned my addiction and the components of it. The triggers and urges and how the cigarettes were intertwined into my life. At first quitting seemed like an impossible task to complete. Before my prep began, I was a chain smoker! How could I remove the cigarette from everything in my life?
But I stuck with it and allowed myself to focus more and more on the dream of life without cigarettes. Every day I kept the dream alive by focusing on how to quit. And then, over time I realized that I was ready. That I wanted to see the dream with no cigarettes in it more than the thoughts of addiction that used to be my reality.
And so I put out that last cigarette and all that was in my mind was that dream of being a nonsmoker. I saw how wonderful my life would be without the old ball and chain that I’d been dragging around for most of my life. And I knew that up ahead was a place of peace. I knew that my addicted mind would eventually accept the dream of freedom.
It did happen for me eventually. As each day of my quit got easier, so too did my ability to stay focused on the dream of freedom. I was able to cast aside the old reality that I used to live.
It all started with a single thought that became the dream of freedom. And for every day that I fought for that freedom, the dream became more real until one day I realized that I really was free! That the only thing that could now derail me was myself.
That dream is every bit as wonderful as I imagined it would be! It’s so very much worth the discomfort you might be feeling now because right now, and at every moment that we live, we’re building our future. The actions of today will determine what your future will look like.
My hope is that you’ll choose the dream of freedom because it just feels so wonderful to walk in that new world you are now creating just as I did over six years ago. Hold onto your dreams of freedom and in no time, you’ll be living those dreams!
ONWARD TO FREEDOM!!!
Chuck
