~~There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the simple truth.~~ Charles Dickens
So you are quitting smoking and you probably feel like crap. You miss your 'best friend'. You feel stressed. You don't know how to make yourself feel better. And, maybe in a way you don't even understand, you really don't want to succeed in your quit. After all, failure means you get to smoke.
There are so many truths I could tell you about. That it gets better....so very, very much better! That it gets easier...so very, very much easier! That you will never, ever regret quitting once you get over that hump of letting your addiction go.
All truth. But I think even more than those truths, you need to hear something that will keep you going....something safe and strong and if you keep this in mind, you will not fail.
You are in control of your quit.
Now I know some of you are already working up your arguments against this fact. "I can't!". "I try but I fail". "I don't know how". "It's different for me!"
It's different, my friends, for each and every one of us because each and every one of us are different. What works for one person will not necessarily work for another. But each and every one of us are in control of our quits, whether we decide "This is it" or "I can't do it".
Now, as far as "I don't know how".....how many times have we said that in our lives. I didn't know how to drive a car until I did it. I didn't know how to give birth until I did it. I didn't know how to be a case manager until I did it. But I did it after I learned about it...read about it....asked questions about it...and gained knowledge from people who knew how to do it.
"I try but fail"? Well, we've all been there as well at one time or another. Whether it's quitting smoking or being married or cooking Chicken Parmesan. Failure is part of life. Rest for a minute if you must, then dust yourself off, get up, and continue on. You learn more from failures, yes? Take what you've learned and try again. You'll get it if you don't give up.
So again, the simple truth is you can quit. Some of us are happy quitters. Some of us moan and whine the whole time. Some are pragmatic. Some find freedom so glorious that they move through their quit like a duck to water. It doesn't matter how you do what you do...it matters that you know you CAN do it.
So keep that in mind when you feel scared. When you feel yourself weakening. When you feel lost. Your quit is yours to do with what you want. You can nurture it, baby it, love it into life....or you can remain scared of it and hold on to your addiction with both hands, thereby sabotaging your own efforts. And anything and everything in between the two. Learn from it and don't let it go....you will be fine.
You can. Hold on to that thought.
