I saw a sign posted in a workmates cubicle yesterday.
Your competition isn’t other people.
Your competition is your own ego. Your competition is our own negative behavior.
Compete against that.
I had just stopped in to chat and got hit in the face with a philosophy lesson. Or maybe a tough-love lecture. Of course, everything in my brain right now is focused on becoming a non-smoker, so I’m wondering what part of this lesson I can apply.
I don’t feel that quitting smoking is a competition, especially against other people. I could make a case that I am competing against nicotine to see if I can quit smoking before Ole Nick kills me. Not a great argument, but hey; I’ve got an essay to write.
I think my bigger competition is my own image of myself as an effortless non-smoker. My non-smoking self is so smart that she decided to quit smoking and just stopped smoking. No problem; just an iron will. She looked at the cost and was appalled and quit smoking. She looked at the mess of ashes and butts and quit smoking. My non-smoking-self kinda looks down her nose at me and my struggle and says “just say no!”.
So, that’s my competition. And I have two choices. I can check my ego at the door and get all the help I need to actually, finally, completely quit smoking. Or I can continue to pretend that I am a non-smoker.
I want to be truly smoke-free WAY MORE than I want people to think it was easy for me.
The hard reality is a preference to the image.
I figured all this out on my first cup of coffee. It’s gonna be a great day!
Keep the quit
PT
