My dear freind Nancy aka Skygirl wrote this blog and on her one year anniversary of being smokefree I am re-posting it for the plethora of new folks we have!
This woman's strength of character and beautiful spirit not to mention incredible sense of humor has brightened my life in ways that I LOVE...We flew to Vegas & shared a hotel suite for days at the first annual EX get together...Congratulations friend...You are amazing! xo
https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/SkyGirl-blog/2013/03/07/skygirl-broken-record
1) Smoking a cigarette does NOT calm you down, ease your stress, make you happier or more able to cope. All that smoking a cigarette does is increase the level of nicotine in your body, which holds off the effects of withdrawal that started when you finished your last cigarette.
2) You do not enjoy smoking. What you are enjoying is NOT feeling a low level of nicotine in your body.
3) Educating yourself about nicotine addiction gives you a HUGE advantage in successfully quitting.
4) The way you THINK about quitting is absolutely KEY.
It is important that you banish the concepts of "trying", "attempting", "hoping it works", "wish me good luck".
It is important that you read enough about quitting until your thinking does a complete 180 degree turn from "giving up something", "sacrificing something I love", "doing without", "getting through this" into "FREEDOM".
Freedom from what? From a life that is ruled by an addiction, freedom to enjoy better health, freedom from guilt and shame, freedom from worrying when and where you can have your next cigarette, freedom from the panic when you realize you are out of cigarettes, freedom from smelling like an ashtray, freedom from hiding and making excuses.
And don't forget to think about all the free time you will gain, the money you will save, and the self-esteem that will rocket upwards when you quit.
So get that thinking flipped around so you are ready to quit successfully!
5) You CAN quit. Your addiction is no stronger and no harder to beat than anyone else's. If we can quit, then you can quit. We can ALL quit.
6) Yes, the first few days of quitting are not very pleasant. In fact, they suck. Completely suck.
But if you prepare in advance for how to handle those first days, you will make the whole process go a lot easier for yourself.
Listen to the advice of those who have already achieved what you came here to achieve.
Then FOLLOW that advice. Don't just read it in the blogs and think, "hmm, yeah, that sounds good".
You must actually do the things that have been PROVEN to help make you a successful quitter.
7) Be HAPPY. This is one of the best decisions you will ever make for yourself. Be excited to do this. And be VERY, VERY proud of yourself. We are. And we will be here to help you all the way...
xxxooo,
Sky
