"The best way out is always through."
~Robert Frost
This goes the same with the quit. In the end, their is only one way to conquer this addiction. Sooner or later you realize you are an addict and you have to stop putting nicotine in every form into your body. Their is no other way about it, no special pill or potion or pathway. The only person that can blaze the path is yourself....so do it....do it...DO IT!
This is an account of my journey, detailing the moments of a life free from nicotine and alcohol. I've found it helpful to document the ideas and events along the way to always remember where I came from and where I am heading. This will help me stay in the present moment and free from active addiction. I also hope that this blog can be used to inspire and benefit those who are also seeking refuge from their addictions.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The YES or NO Moment.
This is the moment after your quit has already started where the withdrawal and initial thrill has worn off. You still feel the residuals from smoking...anxiety, deep breathes, grumpy, agitated etc.
Something triggers you and you start to crave a cigarette. You start looking for the easy way out of the semi-uncomfortable feeling you are having. It doesn't matter the issue. What matters is that you found an excuse to smoke and now you are in that limbo moment where you are on the fence about flushing your precious quit down the drain, or keeping it and moving forward.
THIS IS THE YES OR NO MOMENT.
This is the 1st moment where the reality has sunk in that you are quitting and you can't have a puff on a cigarette to try and get that temporary relief. In that moment you are forgetting that one puff on a cigarette does not really relieve withdrawal, it starts withdrawal. We see it backwards. This cigarette you think you want so bad was and is the catalyst to the present state you are in, along with all the baggage that goes along with being a smoker.
In all reality it is a simple proposition. It is a YES or NO situation.
If you smoke;
you'll go back to your same level of usage
It'll break down your resolve.
It'll enforce those junky lies that get you believing quitting is impossible.
You'll agree to being a slave again
If you don't smoke;
You'll feel that personal wave of accomplishment flow over you and give you a new confidence.
You'll be free of an unknown amount of time you would be stuck in relapse-land trying to find freedom from all the fear, guilt and loneliness.
You'll have proven the inner junkie's lies wrong and feel empowered by your own decision...a decision you have wanted to make for who knows how long.
Beat the YES or NO moment. Look it straight in the eye, even if it makes you cry, and say
NO...THIS TIME I WILL NOT SMOKE! THIS TIME I AM IN CHARGE!
Adam
Something triggers you and you start to crave a cigarette. You start looking for the easy way out of the semi-uncomfortable feeling you are having. It doesn't matter the issue. What matters is that you found an excuse to smoke and now you are in that limbo moment where you are on the fence about flushing your precious quit down the drain, or keeping it and moving forward.
THIS IS THE YES OR NO MOMENT.
This is the 1st moment where the reality has sunk in that you are quitting and you can't have a puff on a cigarette to try and get that temporary relief. In that moment you are forgetting that one puff on a cigarette does not really relieve withdrawal, it starts withdrawal. We see it backwards. This cigarette you think you want so bad was and is the catalyst to the present state you are in, along with all the baggage that goes along with being a smoker.
In all reality it is a simple proposition. It is a YES or NO situation.
If you smoke;
you'll go back to your same level of usage
It'll break down your resolve.
It'll enforce those junky lies that get you believing quitting is impossible.
You'll agree to being a slave again
If you don't smoke;
You'll feel that personal wave of accomplishment flow over you and give you a new confidence.
You'll be free of an unknown amount of time you would be stuck in relapse-land trying to find freedom from all the fear, guilt and loneliness.
You'll have proven the inner junkie's lies wrong and feel empowered by your own decision...a decision you have wanted to make for who knows how long.
Beat the YES or NO moment. Look it straight in the eye, even if it makes you cry, and say
NO...THIS TIME I WILL NOT SMOKE! THIS TIME I AM IN CHARGE!
Adam
Saturday, September 7, 2013
What are my inner resources that I can use to overcome a crave?...
This is a huge question for me, and my friend who asked me to think on this...knows where I'm at and where I need to be taking inventory, and find coping strategies to keep from relapsing. It hit me like a stack of bricks and I'm not quite sure I know...
In all reality the only thing you need to do to overcome a crave is...YOU DON'T SMOKE!
As they say KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid!)
When the urge to smoke hits me...I can feel the withdrawal come in, my heart beats faster, I feel dizzy. What gets me out is if I think about the reality and visualize my course for the next few days if I were to smoke.
Usually it sounds like "If I decide to relapse I will probably head straight home, binge smoke, probably drink, feel sorry for myself, feel alone, feel no way out and feel the guilt and shame of relapsing...then start plotting for when I'll get up the nerve again to quit. Adam, you don't want to have to go through that torture just to end up where you are right now!"
When I solidify that thought, then I will reach outward for help and support in the moment with whatever may have triggered the crave. Whether it was an old memory or thought, or maybe it was seeing someone I used to smoke with, I have to ride the crave, deep breathe and use positive thoughts and support from friends to make it through.
Inner Resources = Thoughts
Every time I crave or hit a trigger I have to recondition and change the message to a positive thought...here are some thoughts that have helped me in the past...
*Being smoke free is the start of a new life with infinite choices! On
to a happier and healthier lifestyle!
*If I relapse now I'll have to start all over, feel shame
and who knows when I'll quit again...
*I realize I'm an Addict
*I know any thought to smoke is an excuse and junky lie
*I can never have just one knowing it's all or none
*If I smoke I am back at square one and back to all
the negative baggage smoking offers
*Smoking truly offers nothing and solves nothing
but relief from the withdrawals it caused in the 1st place
*No Doubt No Moping About...knowing this is a decision
I truly am committed too 100%!
In all reality the only thing you need to do to overcome a crave is...YOU DON'T SMOKE!
As they say KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid!)
When the urge to smoke hits me...I can feel the withdrawal come in, my heart beats faster, I feel dizzy. What gets me out is if I think about the reality and visualize my course for the next few days if I were to smoke.
Usually it sounds like "If I decide to relapse I will probably head straight home, binge smoke, probably drink, feel sorry for myself, feel alone, feel no way out and feel the guilt and shame of relapsing...then start plotting for when I'll get up the nerve again to quit. Adam, you don't want to have to go through that torture just to end up where you are right now!"
When I solidify that thought, then I will reach outward for help and support in the moment with whatever may have triggered the crave. Whether it was an old memory or thought, or maybe it was seeing someone I used to smoke with, I have to ride the crave, deep breathe and use positive thoughts and support from friends to make it through.
Inner Resources = Thoughts
Every time I crave or hit a trigger I have to recondition and change the message to a positive thought...here are some thoughts that have helped me in the past...
*Being smoke free is the start of a new life with infinite choices! On
to a happier and healthier lifestyle!
*If I relapse now I'll have to start all over, feel shame
and who knows when I'll quit again...
*I realize I'm an Addict
*I know any thought to smoke is an excuse and junky lie
*I can never have just one knowing it's all or none
*If I smoke I am back at square one and back to all
the negative baggage smoking offers
*Smoking truly offers nothing and solves nothing
but relief from the withdrawals it caused in the 1st place
*No Doubt No Moping About...knowing this is a decision
I truly am committed too 100%!
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Desire Outwits Mother Nature...
"Through some strange and powerful principle of "mental chemistry" which she has never divulged, nature wraps up in the impulse of STRONG DESIRE "that something" which recognizes no such word as impossible, and accepts no such reality as failure."
(on building desire and faith)
"...Conduct yourself just as you would, if you were ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MATERIAL THING THAT YOU ARE DEMANDING, when you call upon your subconscious mind....it will transmute into its physical equivalent..."
(on building desire and faith)
"...Conduct yourself just as you would, if you were ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MATERIAL THING THAT YOU ARE DEMANDING, when you call upon your subconscious mind....it will transmute into its physical equivalent..."
~Napoleon Hill
'Think and Grow Rich'
Friday, August 23, 2013
Napoleon Hill
"Whatever your mind can conceive and believe you can achieve"
~Napoleon Hill
(Do yourself a favor and read the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill!)
Sunday, August 4, 2013
My Favorite Quote!
Until one is committed
there is hesitancy
the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of
initiative there is
one elementary truth,
the ignorance of which
kills countless ideas
and splendid plans:
That the moment one
definitely commits oneself
then Providence
moves too.
All sorts of things occur
to help one that would otherwise
never have occurred.
A whole stream of events
issues from the decision
raising in one`s favor
all manner of incidents and meetings
and material assistance
which no man would have
believed would have come.
Whatever you think you can do
or believe you can do;
begin it.
Action has magic, grace,
and power in it.
W.H. Murray
Source: The Scottish Himalaya Expedition
there is hesitancy
the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of
initiative there is
one elementary truth,
the ignorance of which
kills countless ideas
and splendid plans:
That the moment one
definitely commits oneself
then Providence
moves too.
All sorts of things occur
to help one that would otherwise
never have occurred.
A whole stream of events
issues from the decision
raising in one`s favor
all manner of incidents and meetings
and material assistance
which no man would have
believed would have come.
Whatever you think you can do
or believe you can do;
begin it.
Action has magic, grace,
and power in it.
W.H. Murray
Source: The Scottish Himalaya Expedition
2 Good Quit Quotes
" EVERYTHING I do today is either a step
toward recovery or a step toward relapse...
So I need to watch my step today".
*********************************
"EVERY cigarette I EVER smoked
was a desperate attempt to get BACK
to the way I felt BEFORE
I smoked that very first one!"
~found on Quitnet!
toward recovery or a step toward relapse...
So I need to watch my step today".
*********************************
"EVERY cigarette I EVER smoked
was a desperate attempt to get BACK
to the way I felt BEFORE
I smoked that very first one!"
~found on Quitnet!
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