The idea of never having a smoke again can be too overwhelming when we first contemplate quitting. And why shouldn't it?... We've associated it with just about everything we do...it's become part of our identity. We wonder how we could ever handle a road trip, or even a long distance phone call without a smoke. Add to that, we use cigarettes as "punctuation marks" all through our day... it's the comma, exclamation point, question mark, and even the period (our last smoke to end the day) that we use to define the moments of our daily lives.
The key is to not think of the "forever"...only focus on today. Live in the moment & take it one day at a time. When we take care of today, tomorrow will take care of itself.
A good exercise is to wake up each day and say to yourself "today I will not smoke". If you find yourself craving so bad at some point in the day, tell yourself that you will not smoke today, but tomorrow you will consider the possibility. When you lay your head on the pillow that night, you can proudly say to yourself that you kept your promise that you made to yourself. When you wake the next morning, pledge again that this day you remain smoke-free. Follow this simple little exercise, and you will be on your way to a wonderful new life of freedom from your nicotine addiction.
Take the N.O.P.E. pledge (Not One Puff Ever), and do it with sincere conviction.
I made this pledge to myself.... I made this pledge to myself with every fibre of my being... for me, it made it much easier to stay away from that first puff than thinking about the whole cigarette (or pack).
A way that we can empower ourselves over our addiction can be done by some very simple actions. One example is to destroy the last of our cigarettes (or alcohol) by our own hand, and not decide that our quits start when our supply runs out. It is that physical action that shows who is boss right off the get-go.
I used to think that I would quit when I finished the pack... over even when my disposable lighter ran out. :H That never seemed to work. When I butted out my last cigarette, I destroyed all the rest that were remaining in the pack. When I quit drinking, the last half of my drink got poured down the drain. A couple days later, I poured a 5 gallon carboy of wine down the drain. The image of that moment is forever burned into my memory... it was a defining moment that I initiated myself... it signified that I had the power over my addiction, not the other way around.
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