Stories & experiences

I would like to agree with you Xena, but it sounds like negative thinking out of the starting gate. It is much easier with a positive attitude going in.

When we are working towards a fulfilling goal, knowing that we are missing nothing but instead gaining everything, there are no sacrifices. There is no sacrifice to do what you DESIRE to do. Quitting is not hard with the right attitude. Each step closer brings pride and a sense of satisfaction. It can be a wonderful journey with the right attitude.

Acc3pt what bad? That you were addicted to to self poison systematically? You miss that? You miss taking time outs to feed the addiction? You can still have COFFEE breaks, rest periods, just do something else if you need to to occupy the dead time. We smoked to get a fix, to make us feel better and to not crave.....even if it was boring. Does smoking impress your family and friends? Accept what bad?

Point your mind in the right direction and the rest comes easy.

Welcome Xena Maybe you can clarify what it is you meant by bad and good.

Your choices do result in consequences for yourself and others, but we need to work out how to stop smoking and why we need to do that, what are your reasons. You will also need to read and research how others have managed and the role that "Nicotine" played in the process.

This takes work it is true, but it is not bad to try to work out these things. Maybe you can let us know if or when you have stopped smoking, and how you managed or are still managing.

Hi thanks for your input. The way my brain works is to make a commitment i need to accept the things thst i lose out on to make the commitment. Eg: several years ago bafore covid my kids school did breakfast club. I volunteered, to make that commitment i had to accept that i would have to get up at 5am everymorning and my kids up at 5.30am to be at the school by 7am. I had to make some serious changes to my life and my kids lives to make that commitment. Once i accepted the hard things i needed to do to make that happen the easier it become to achieve.
I am on my third ZERO Day.
I know quitting smoking is hard. And i accept that, i accept that I'm going to get the shakes, i accept that my temper will flair, i accept that i will be coughing up liquid from my lungs for the next 3 months. I accept all of that and because i have. I
have a plan in place to make those things easier to deal with when they happen.
To quote mark manson " accepting the positive is a negative experience, where as accepting the negative is a positive experience."
I believe that wholehearted my life changed for the better once i started accepting the negative. And changing it to work for me.

Good luck with your journeys.

A different perspective. Kind of like hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Perhaps we appreciate things more that we worked harder to achieve rather than "born with a silver spoon in our mouths".

My point is that we have been brainwashed enough about smoking. It was perceived as glamourous and portrayed in movies , deemed a habit, it was a bad habit....we didn't hear addiction. And worst of all that it was hard to quit.

Surveys are slanted. I am sure we all tried to quit years ago, but was it a New Year Resolution, just a passing thought? So by survey, of course it seemed almost impossible to quit. We prove differently here.

I want to change the perception that quitting smoking has to be hard. It certainly wasn't for myself and others who were serious and WANTED to quit and came to BELIEVE that we could.

So many imagine hardships, seek medical help and there is nothing. Thinking the journey will manifest things Make yourself sick with worry......
Why not embrace the changes and the journey itself as DESIRED, Beneficial and with Gratitude?
To give thanks for the baby steps leading to the finish line. And there is a finish line in a matter of days , or months, or years.......
WHICH do you perceive?

Thanks Zena, your beliefs are important to you, acceptance is important too. Maybe you can put in there What if! you never know you might enjoy the process more.

A commitment for school breakfast is quite different to wanting and desiring not to smoke. The rewards for your commitment needs to me met whatever your belief is. The early morning rise to do something to help your school is more of a DUTY than a commitment, your rewards (whatever they were) were given to yourself and they appear to be pretty harsh on yourself. Did you achieve it Yes! did it make you feel happy I am not so sure!. Anyway please do not close your mind to a different approach. It takes work that is true, but it can be an exciting process.

Have a look at how to GROW to be a happy non-smoker... it is a video on utube presented by NASIA DAVOS .....TEDxUniversityofPiraeus. Whatever your beliefs, Congratulations on the beginning of your journey, and please read and post whenever you want to.