If you looked it up in the dictionary you would see my picture!
I didn't have the sense when I "quit" to change up the people, places, and things around me!
So I relapsed, and relapsed, and relapsed again.
Each time I told myself various excuses like "quitting is too hard," "it's not my fault!" [whose fault is it anyway?], and yes, ironically, "I can quit any time I want to."
But I refused stubbornly to give up my favorite lighter, my smoking hang outs, and hardest of all, my smoking buddies! After all, you don't give up on people just because you want to change your ways, right? [More on this subject later!]
It may sound harsh but you have to make it as hard to cheat as you do to quit and we all know that quitting is very hard!
So I finally got it through my thick skull that I had to destroy my stash, trash my ashtrays and lighters, replace these things with packs of gum, hard candies, and fresh veggies. But I'm not giving u my favorite places and friends!
And I relapsed...
Then I pounded into my mind that I just can't hang out at the old smoking areas without sooner or later, if not today the tomorrow, giving in. I had to find new places to hang out and to renovate my old smoking places around home to make them smoke-free friendly! But by golly not the guys - they care about me!
And I relapsed!
So why did I relapse? Because one of the guys offered me a sickerette and I didn't want to seem rude and say, "NOPE!" That's when I finally got it -
Real friends don't keep you hooked in your Addiction! They understand when you say you need to get a grip on your life - they support you in your journey of recovery. Most Addicts can't do that! It's not being "judgmental" to put your Recovery first! If they are true friends they will get that you can't hang out in a cloud of second hand smoke. You can still be friends but on a smoke-free basis. It's called respect!
So I replaced my smoking buddies with a Community of Quitters called BecomeanEX!
And I never relapsed again! I finally got through this knucklehead of mine to Freedom!You can, too!
LLAP! Day 3812 and counting....
