I want to never smoke again

[nsd_user663_26699]

I want to never smoke again, even though I could if I really wanted to.

I have made a conscious choice to not smoke, and I fully intend to never smoke again. But, if when tomorrow comes it's a really bad day, I could always have a fag to cheer me up, help me get over the argument with my wife, calm me down, help me relax, concentrate, whatever, or just because I want to!

But I won't smoke, because I don't want to smoke any more.

I have given up nothing. I have made a choice to not smoke. That choice can be reversed at any moment. I am not a prisoner or a slave. I'm an adult and I make my own decisions. My decision is to not smoke.

Why is this important?

Many people quitting smoking resign themselves to the fact that they will never be able to smoke again. They burden themselves with the dreadful thought that they have left something important behind, and that life will never be the same again. The truth is that everyone could smoke at some point in the future if they chose to. Those who are successful in their quit choose not to.

The key here is to understand that you are not giving up smoking. You are making a choice to not smoke.

Alex.

[nsd_user663_40384]

cool, that keeps it in proportion and gives perspective

[nsd_user663_26699]

Hello stranger.

Am I right in thinking congratulations are in order. One word particularly stood out for me there

Interesting post because KK wrote a really good post about choice recently. She said we deal and get through a lot of things in life because we have no choice. Quitting may fail because that choice to smoke is there and when we feel weak we make the wrong choice.

My point was less about our ability to choose to stop or start smoking and more about how we perceive the process of stopping smoking. Many people think of stopping smoking as giving up. I believe that that is the wrong mindset. Instead, one should think about not smoking as choosing to live without smoking, bearing in mind that one always has the choice to smoke.

It's a very subtle difference, but one which I feel tips the balance.

Alex.

[nsd_user663_26699]

Sorry, but I'm not talking about a method nor about using logic to choose whether one wants to smoke or not in light of the positive and negative aspects of smoking and its influence over us.

I'm talking about the fact that many people have a fear of letting go, losing a "friend" (the cigarettes/nicotine), worrying about the future and how everything will be different without smoking, what people will think, how they can replace smoking with something else, but above all, the fear of no longer being in control, and especially no longer having the choice to smoke.

Perhaps the word to focus on here is "fear", not "choice". They go hand in hand here, because the fear drives the feeling of no longer having the choice. The fear drives the feeling of not being in control. Once you are able to deal with the fear of stopping smoking, the choice to not smoke becomes a whole lot easier.

One way of dealing with that fear is to reassure yourself that if you can't make it (not smoking), you always have the choice of going back to where you were before (smoking). You want to do something very brave and daring, but luckily there is a safety-net.

I'm certainly not suggesting that this is the be-all and end-all of tips. It's simply something to mull over while comtemplating quitting.

Alex.

[nsd_user663_45659]

Hello there

Nicotine is a powerful addiction. If you have tried to quit, you know how hard it can be. Remind yourself every day why you are quitting and Listen to relaxing music.