Share your quitting journey
I was thinking the other day that quitting smoking is not dissimilar to changing computer operating systems. I was a DOS baby, though I came to it very late. (I’m always the last to embrace new technology. Just leave it alone would you please?!) I knew many of the codes necessary to copy, and...what did we call ‘paste?’ Implant? No, drop in? No... oh somebody out there help me. RETRIEVE! Yes?
Anyway I still have my old 684 processor, or is it a 486? (Too many numbers to remember in old age does NOT help us!) Yes and it used those big ole’ floppies and had a hard floppy drive too. How something can be hard and soft at the same time... well - let’s not go there. HA! (Remind me to tell you about my 85 year old uncle who was trying to copy his old word processing material and I was trying to help him and I said “how big is your floppy?” That one will go down in our family history!)
So then I moved onto ... what was it XP. NO, I think it was simply WINDOWS. Then XP. And although it was totally different, and I was forced to adopt, I managed to adapt. UNWILLINGLY. I was very happy with my original operating system - DOS. And then I became somewhat satisfied with Windows and then quite comfortable with my XP. And then I got a laptop with Windows 7 on it. And although I can upload my files from my desktop XP computer to my Windows 7 lapstop (sic), I cannot now download them back because the deskstop computer is STUPID and can’t grasp the information coming back in.
And my XP computer is the one I use ALL THE TIME and dear Microsoft has said “too bad for you!” We created it and now we’re no longer gonna support it and you are scr3wed! And kicking and screaming I will move forward into the new operating system - whatever it may be.
Does this remind any of you of your own quits? It sure does me. I was purring along quite happily smoking my life away. But there was this constant gnawing annoying better wisdom part of me that knew I was being really stupid. I kept getting inputs telling me so. My operating system was slowing becoming obsolete and nobody was gonna continue to support it. And I knew it. And smoking was no longer allowed in all the places where it used to be allowed. Do you see the parallel?
So I FINALLY got a new operating system. And it was just hell trying to make the change. I’d have some days when I’d get all excited because I thought I had finally figured it out and then something else would be updated and something else wouldn’t work any more and I’d start tearing my hair out again. And then I’d go through several months of happy mind, where everything was running smoothly. And then for no seeming reason at all - yahoo mail would update and the kinks weren’t all out and why change it if it ain’t broke! and suddenly I didn’t know how to do half of what I used to be able to do. Or this site would change platforms and I couldn’t post pictures like I used to, or I would get a message in another program saying I had to migrate to.... whatever - and I don’t fly well. And I don’t like having to learn new ways of doing things that I’ve been doing quite well and quit happily for quite a long time!
And that’s EXACTLY what quitting is like. It’s an on-going altering and alternating process. And it’s frustrating as hell. And you just have to go through and get through it. That’s all. IF you want that ultimate freedom.
Eat it up, love it, digest it and get over it. MOVE ON TO THE NEXT OPERATING SYSTEM. They actually work better. Once you know the rules.
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