~~At the end of life, what really matters is not what we bought but what we built; not what we got but what we shared; not our competence but our character; and not our success, but our significance. Live a life that matters. Live a life of love.~~ Unknown
Life a life that matters? What does that have to do with quitting???? Live a life of love? Again, how does that tie into quitting???? And our significance???? Some of you may be thinking this is just another feel good nonsense post by Pollyanna Sheri 
. She never 'gets it'.
But I do. And this quote has everything to do with quitting. Because addiction wraps chains around every aspect of out lives, my friends. It tugs at as as we eat until we have that after meal cigarette. It pulls at us the moment we wake up until we have our first drag of the day and it hits us in the face whenever we're stressed, tired, hungry, angry, happy, nervous, depressed, anxious, calm, challenged...you know? Addiction directs our lives, runs our lives, and ultimately destroys our lives.
To quit smoking, one must only not smoke, right? Out of the millions of things we do each day like blink, breathe, walk, cook, eat, laugh, cry, hug, talk, listen, sit, stand, understand, learn, sneeze, cough, smile, frown....just not picking up a cigarette should be a piece of cake.
But of course it's not. Because of the addiction. The psychological ties between everything we do in our lives and nicotine. It's there. I knew it when I was smoking. Then I started to change my thinking about smoking.
I wanted to be free to decide my actions during the day. I wanted to be able to do things that reflected my passions, my joys, my adventures. I wanted to not "have" to stop living because I had to smoke. I wanted to be significant in my actions, not ashamed of them. I wanted to live, not to continue to kill myself. I wanted to be free of addiction.
To live a life that matters, you need to feel good about what you're doing. To live a life of love, you need to love yourself as well as others. Love yourself enough to break that addiction.
This feel good quote is more than just words. It's a goal. And to reach that goal, addiction cannot continue to direct your actions and your thoughts. You need to break free.
