Maybe that's too many EXclamation marks but I wanted to get your attention so you would get the point. You say your world is falling apart and you just have to have a puff. Your mind is telling you that you need or want a cigarette. NO! WAIT. Think about it. You are stronger than a dead leaf wrapped in paper dipped in thousands of chemicals. It's just a cigarette.
!
Think about it. Is it going to bring your world back together again? Logic: NO!
The addiction will lie to you and say yes but don't fall for it. WAIT! Change your Stinkin Thinkin
NO, you do not have to smoke.
Whether, happy, sad, lonely, tired, hungry, angry, anxious, depressed, sick, stressful, griefing, breakup, job loss, taxes and on and on. Logic: Can a puff from burning dead leaves dipped in poison solve the problem? Hmm, I hear you saying hmm. "Just one". It is not the one cig but the one puff that will lead to another,
A wise Elder once said,
"we are only one puff away from full-blown relapse".
The addiction to nicotine is the problem. /blogs/JACKIE1-25-15-blog/2019/02/01/know-the-law?sr=search&searchId=337f02f6-33a5-4d12-b915-eb19b2f... No matter what. NOPE (Not One Puff Ever). Get past it. Breathe deep and WAIT. Of course, the thought of smoking will come but if you WAIT, in time those thoughts will be few and far in between. No matter where you are in your journey be WILLING to WAIT. Yes, you have to go through withdrawal but this is key...if you WAIT you will be able to stay on a forever journey of freedom from nicotine.
Don't let the addiction create EXcuses for you. https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex/blog/2013/08/12/understanding-excuses?sr=search...
Breathe deep, take out your handy quit kit Quit kit and WAIT.
Focus on something else. /blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instead-of-smoke?sr=search&searchId=166a...
I learned to ride the wave./blogs/Thomas3.20.2010-blog/2019/10/02/surf-the-waves It is not a fight. Let it flow and WAIT.
Mentally prepare your mind to WAIT.
Never give up, Never give in, hang tough, Stay close. Protect your quit.
CONGRATS Jackie STAYING non smoker and good teaching blog
stop and think what YOUR thinking about - gentle hug
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Yesterday I went to Walmart for one thing, just one (a new doggy jacket pattern) but as always I ended up buying more, including 2 runners for my bedroom; and did not feel like lifting them while using the self check out. Big mistake, big mistake!!! The young woman servicing the register was not fast, at all, she made me think at the little turtles in the lake nearby the house. There was a mom and daughter in front of me, yet, it took 15 minutes to check them out. Would you believe if I told you I was looking around for a pack of cigarettes (thank goodness, they don't sell those but at one single register, not mine) and even noticed a lighter with "wind protection". Really?
The struggle is real, and it can hit even some of us, elders, and we still need to think. Life requires us to think; why would quitting smoking be any different?
My mind was going places, so I told it to stop: what difference 15 min waiting would do for me??? None! I took time off today and tomorrow, did not have to fix dinner, mom was ok, watching TV and hubby was alone with her. Just because the young woman at the register was slow, my world was not going to fall apart. Now, if I had moved to the register which sells cigarettes, we would be talking about some other scenario today. But I did not. I paused my mind, forced it back to the present moment, and quietly waited for my turn, and the world did not fall apart.
Thank you Jackie for reminding us what we constantly need to do as EX smokers: pause and think. And push through as healthier people, who invested a lot in our own health as it is today, and should by all means guard it!
