Okay, this one is an obvious one...so maybe realization isn’t the right word. Reminder is more fitting—Happiness comes from within. If you’re not truly happy on the inside, no external object or situation—a cigarette, or drug, or relationship, or job—will bring happiness. It starts with how you wake up, how you show up, how you carry yourself through every moment of every day. How you feel all day—driving, working, eating, sleeping, exercising, hobbies. I read something once about an elderly woman who walked into a nursing home for the first time, and as the nurse was showing her her bedroom, the woman said, before they even entered the room, “I love it.” I’ll paraphrase, but her point was “I’ve already decided to be happy before you even show me the room.” At the risk of sounding oversimplified, happiness is a choice. It may not always be a conscious choice, or seem like one; but if you rewire your thinking, you’ll rewire your feeling. So even if it’s not instantaneous, telling yourself that you are happy, or that you deserve to be happy, consciously, every day, will gradually seep into your subconscious. Telling yourself you don’t NEED a cigarette, nor do you want one, can work the same way.
I’m now 69 days in, and life is good overall. For those of you following my blogs, lots of changes, mostly good which can bring stress. But I’m not complaining. To quote a Sting song, “I’m so happy that I can’t stop crying.” Tears of joy. Keep on keeping on. Smile, and take it one step at a time.
