Motivation

[Ladybug--7-3-12]

More thoughts to ponder.  On Motivation …   

"A healthy fear of the consequences of smoking is an important part of the motivation to stop.  But there is another necessary component which people often neglect.  By stopping smoking, I greatly diminish my chances of getting cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and emphysema.  But I also create other benefits, in which I can take a genuine pleasure which goes far beyond the mere absence of fear.  I can smell the air on a beautiful day in the country.  I can feel more relaxed and clean.  I have a freedom I haven't known in years.  No matter what happens with my health or life in the future, these are consequences of stopping smoking I can take real pleasure in today."

"You create your own motivation.  If I am having a bad day, or feeling poorly motivated, I do not have to passively accept the situation.  I can actively take steps to reinforce my motivation.  I can remember how I felt as a smoker, and how badly I wanted to stop.  I can look for physical and psychological benefits I have gotten from stopping smoking.  I can be more honest when I start to rationalize and justify smoking.  I can think about how I want my life to be, and how I don't want it to be.  I can find a friend to talk to.  A day may start out hard, but there is always something I can do to make it better."

"The best motivation is a selfish motivation.  I need to see reasons to stay off smoking that don't involve anyone else.  I am the only one who is always here.  If I stop smoking to please my children, what happens if I get furious at them?  If my motivation is to get along with my spouse who hates smoking, what will happen if we get divorced?  One of my most important goals is to look for selfish reasons to stay off smoking.  Reasons that will matter to me even if no one else ever knows or cares that I've stopped."

"A "victim" mind-set undermines motivation.  "I can't smoke" makes it impossible to evaluate the pros and cons of smoking versus not smoking.  Smoking simply becomes the forbidden fruit -- romantic, attractive, unattainable.  A more responsible attitude, such as, "I can smoke.  I'm stopping of my own free will, and I can change my mind if I want to.", makes real motivation possible.  If I acknowledge that I have choices, I am free to evaluate those choices.  It is only the conviction that I am free to smoke or not smoke that enables me to weigh these two options, and form an opinion about which is more important."

From "Out of the Ashes" by Peter & Peggy Holmes

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What motivates (ed) you to not smoke?

For me … health, dental & financial concerns were not major factors or motivators for me to quit smoking (although health & dental reasons should have been and nobody I know likes burning their $$$ up in smoke).  I didn't quit for anybody else either.  In fact, I had the attitude that it was a "just for me reward" vice.  The annual  "Smoke Out Day" became a joke in my circle.  No day designation by someone else was going to "make" me stop smoking. 

The reason I quit … was to get back my CONTROL over my own life once I educated myself, recognized, and admitted to myself that I was a nicotine addict.  It made me angry.  That was my motivation not to smoke.  I also changed what smoking meant to me.  My reasons for staying quit now are numerous and still keeps accruing each & every smoke free day.  I keep gratitude front & center in my smobriety.

Is YOUR reason(s) good ones and will they hold up until the end of your life?  If not … I encourage you to find ones that will hold up no matter how you may feel at a later time, what you may think or tell yourself, or whatever happens to you in life so that you are not at risk of relapse.