The other day, I was having brunch with my friend and one of her good friends. Let's call her Marta. Anyway, Marta is a beautiful older woman who has lived a robust life and continues to. She travels to several different countries every year, is a deep well of spiritual knowledge and guidance and has what we would call a certain "je ne sais quoi".
Did I mention that she was also quite opinionated?
C'mon - would you have expected anything less? To make a long post a little shorter, I'll get to the point. When I arrived, I had just smoked a cigarette. As I am apt to do, I immediately apologized against her embrace. I detest the smell of smoke and know that most others do as well. My apology sparked a conversation on my Become An Ex program. Who knew? She was a smoker as well - back in the 80's.
Encouraged, I started to tell her about the plan. First tracking and then separation. Her response took me aback.
"Instead of some half-assed attempt to quit, you need to just quit," she said. "You need to just quit cold turkey, like I did. Eat lots of sunflower seeds and drink water. That'll make you quit."
Oh! Had I only known that it were so simple.
Advice on breaking a habit or an addiction is just like an asshole—everybody has one. Everyone can tell you how they did it, or condemn you for it, or tell you that your process is "half-assed," but don't listen. Continue to work your process, whatever it is.
I don't know how many people have successfully quit smoking using the EX plan, but I do know from personal experience, that tracking your cigarettes works. Tracking your cigarettes really makes a difference and here's why:
Tracking Cigarettes Forces Mindfulness
Mindfulness can be easiest summarized as thus: awareness. Mindfulness plays a central role in Buddhism. It is "a calm awareness of one's body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself." This is at the root of tracking cigarettes, or any behavior that you are struggling with. Each time you light up, understanding that you will need to write down the cigarette, forces you to look at precisely when you are smoking, which is directly connected to your addiction. The "when and why" of smoking is a trigger.
Tracking Cigarettes Creates Hopefulness
At the onset of any program, you are acutely aware that there is a beginning and an end. Knowing that you are in the process helps to build a sense of optimism. You know that there will be an end to your addiction. And, as you learn more about the addiction, the "whens and whys" of the habit, you come to better understand yourself, which leads to compassion. Compassion replaces guilt; hope replaces fear.
Tracking Cigarettes Paints a Realistic Picture
Today, I realized that I had three empty packs of cigarettes in my car. That's 60 cigarettes. If that was too abstract for me, I got the picture when I saw the number in black and white (well, actually "robin-egg" blue) on my daytum profile. I felt absolutely rotten. But remember, that rotteness (i.e., "guilt) was quickly replaced with compassion. This is what I had been doing, seemingly in the dark. I never had to face up to it. Now I did. I immediately started to devise a way to ensure that the new pack that I had just purchased, would be the last pack ever. I'm currently on Day 6 - which is separation. I'm still in "Separation" because I wanted to make sure to include the workweek. So, because of this, it's time to up the ante and keep it movin'!
So, I've concluded that tracking your cigarettes isn't a half-assed approach at all. In fact, this is a very, very important step in the process and I hope that if you are looking for an effective method to quit smoking, I can definitely endorse this method.
Note: I have a blog of my own that I posted this on, but I figured that I would post here too, since this is a part of the program. If you want to check in on my, visit me at Help Yourself or follow me on Twitter.
