Posted by judyb The first days of the quit, no one needs to be reminded of the Even confronting the ordinary situations of one's life--the "habit" One is reminded of the marathon runner--the mental discipline that is Then comes the time the cravings dwindle, leaving only the occasional Yet, despite having done the initial de-romancing of the cigarette, You'd think this would be enough--after all, it isn't just relying on But it is not enough. Continued mind management is necessary, because OK, so how does one maintain momentum in a quit? The answer is exactly One doesn't achieve a quit by accident, or just a fair wind--a lot of One may begin with simply *acknowledging* the need for continued Helping others is probably the best way possible for someone to keep a But there's other ways as well. Maybe going to a grade-school, But the bottom line is: we are responsible for the maintenance of our To fall into this frame of mind invites the lies back in. It's just a whole lot nicer to just do the things that helps one stay We have the most to gain from our actions, as well as the most to lose. Roadkill
on 7/10/2001, 11:45 am
Mind Management (7)
Keeping the Momentum Going....
importance of being determined.
The cravings are a near constant reminder that one is in a battle, and
there can be but one
winner.
part, such as those automatic
gestures we made when we were smoking, checking out our supply of
cigarettes, reaching for a
cigarette when having a phone conversation, etc.... all of these
circumstances keep us aware that
we are fighting a powerful addiction, and that we must be alert.
required.
thought. The temptation
to vacation from our vigilance is strong.
coming to terms with the
deviancy of the tobacco company--these are events that really help us
say good-bye to cigarettes.
Destroying the myth surrounding smoking, and the illusion that it helped
us survive, plus
understanding we were manipulated shamelessly unquestionably makes it
all but impossible to
pick up a cigarette--that is, if we have done our homework.
will-power alone, is it?
we're dealing with
addiction. The person who can maintain the momentum of their quit is by
far in a better position
than the one who lets the need for attitude slide... It's sort like when
draining the spaghetti--not
staying focused can cause one to suddenly find themselves helplessly
watching the cooked
spaghetti to slide down the drain, unable to stop it in time.
the same way one
achieve momentum in the first part of the quit. That was done with
purpose, and all that that
word implies.
work went into it. We have to
remember, whatever we do, we are the ones with the most to gain. It's
our quit.
momentum.
good frame of mind.
Perhaps one can do that by leaving the newsgroup as soon as one's own
cravings have gone, but
here's where you will find people who need support.
middle-school classroom &
talking to a group of students might be useful, at the high-school
level, maybe offering the
opportunity to have "quit buddies"--I'm sure there's plenty of teachers
who would welcome such
an offer. Setting up a group of adults as quit buddies who are not
computer minded, would be
attractive to you. Maybe it's being active, getting signed up at a site
such as smokescreen.org, for
writing to officials, etc.... You can probably get some good ideas to
suggest... What we
personally can say to someone who is smoking and wishing they weren't,
is far more valuable
than any book, or lecture, or any brochure..
quit--how we accomplish
that can vary from person to person. But I've not seen much in the way
of success in the tendency
of just forgetting one ever was a smoker, or that familiar phrase
"getting a life," or that quitting
was no big deal, and drifting off into the non-smoking sunset. An
addiction is not like getting
over a cold, where the mind, body return to its original state just like
the cold never happened.
quit, that to be faced with
re-quitting.
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