~~She always had a sense of inner strength...and now it showed.~~ Unknown
I know you're thinking about quitting. You've been here awhile, reading and thinking and trying finding the magic formula. You know you should for your health. You know it's the right thing to do. But yet.....
You've been a smoker as long as you've been an adult. You've smoked through your darker moments in life because it helped keep you sane. You've smoked through the stresses of life. You've smoked in celebration. You've smoked because....well, that's what you've always done.
So now you are thinking that if you quit, you're losing part of who you are. Good, bad, right, wrong. It's a part of you. What will you do instead that can give you that same sense of comfort? That same feeling of "Now I can relax."
Take a moment...just a moment...and really feel these words: Everything you are thinking is simply a lie. You think smoking comforts you...but it's just that your brain is getting the nicotine it needs to function. That's not comfort, that's addiction. Smoking is part of who you are? In truth, your addiction is part of who you are and that's not something you need to fight to keep. You've smoked through the stress in your life? You've actually smoked through everything in your life, haven't you? It didn't change anything that has happened to you, that you have gone through, that has hurt you. Smoking doesn't change anything. It's simply an addiction.
Yes, you are a smoker. But just as importantly, yes, you can live without them.
So while you're addiction is telling you all the reasons why quitting isn't for you, also listen to the real you that is telling you that you CAN live a smoke free life. The world is waiting for you to come out behind that cloud of smoke and celebrate freedom. The freedom to live without 'having' to have a quick smoke. The freedom to stay at the dinner table and talk with your family instead of having that after dinner cigarette. The freedom to wake in the morning and enjoy being alive instead of having that first one of the day.
Life is glorious when you are smoke free!! Ask anyone here and they will be more than happy to tell you that. Ask anyone here and they will be happy to tell you their quit journey. Ask anyone here and no one will ever say that they have regretted quitting.
So welcome to the beginning of freedom!! Welcome to the realization that yes, you can!! Welcome to becoming a warrior!! And ask any of us....the journey is glorious!!
