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Share your quitting journey

New day new beginning:Transformation

JACKIE1-25-15
Member
8 15 171

"Life is about change. Sometimes it's painful sometimes it's beautiful. But most of the time it is both. "Lana Lang, Actress

To counter the addiction to nicotine one has to be willing to make lifestyle changes and adjustments. Those changes can be either major or minor but if you incorporate them into your lifestyle you can begin the forever journey to freedom. Most of us had to make changes to quit smoking whether it was people, places, or things or just daily routines to transform from smoker to non-smoker.   We could not continue doing the same thing and expect to be free. It is crucial to relearn, rethink and reprogram years of nicotine addiction. The change can be painful or it can be beautiful or it can be both. There is a great reward to get to the beautiful side of the quit and worth any pain that we have to go through. How do we debunk the pattern of addictive thinking and behavior? It doesn't happen overnight. It takes dedication and work.

One stepping stone towards this forever freedom is rather simple... Education. I am a firm believer that education is the key to a successful quit. Educate yourself about the addiction to nicotine. Check out things like, what is in a cigarette? What happens to your body when you quit smoking? Etc. There is a wealth of information on this site to read study and research. You can even bust a crave while researching and educating yourself at the same time.  Use the magnifying glass as the search engine for numerous topics. Ask questions if you can't find what you're looking for.

Another step to this forever freedom is positive self-talk and affirmation. This key can open the door to change. Positive self-talk can start you to believe what you can achieve which makes it doable and done!  No looking back. Try it. It works. 

Simple routine changes can take you closer to the forever freedom.  For example, it is suggested by YoungAtHeart‌ in her welcome message to change the hand you normally hold your coffee cup in. I took the suggestion a little bit further and held my cup with both hands. it helped me to forget about the cigarette and I had something extra to hold on to while enjoying my coffee. Come here read and have your coffee. Another simple change; is getting up on the opposite side of the bed in the morning.  This was an eye-opener for me of doing something different.  It awakened my senses and caused me to be more mindful of how I breathed, thought reacted and moved throughout the day. Another simple change I made was not hanging out in the garage where I smoked. It was several weeks before I ventured there but when I did it was not a trigger. Look around and think of things you can do to make your transformation to a non-smoker simplier. . Of course, get rid of anything associated with smoking. All of it.

The bottom line, doing the same thing and expecting a different result is insanity.  Come out of the revolving relapse door and learn from your mistakes. Move forward.

"Cross the line from knowing what to do and do it. Jackie ism Don't smoke! No matter what. NOPE. Never give up never give in hang tough welcome the change.

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About the Author
Lay aside every weight that may be slowing you down. Make up your mind not to allow doubt cause you to stumble. You can do this! Do not allow fear , False Expectations Appearing Real to hold you down. You can do this! Break the chains of addiction, forgive yourself for ever smoking. move forward and start loving yourself more each day by staying smokefree. Put aside worry, anxiety, depression, any EXcuse that you would use to not get in or stay in the race of freedom. Take one day at a time, one step if necessary. Run the race diligently, steady and sure with endurance. Believe that you can. Keep your eye on the prize. Hang tough, stay close, be mindful, never give in, never give up.