Excuse vs. Truth

[NADA]

We all had a list of excuses a mile long why we shouldn't quit.  "The damage is done." "I'll gain weight." "Quitting will ruin my social life." By allowing ourselves to accept these excuses as dogma, we often delayed quitting smoking for years or decades.

Choose an excuse that you once held and then expose the reality that shatters that excuse.  Mine:

 

Excuse: I'll get too stressed if I quit.

Truth: The most stressful thing in my life as a smoker was making sure I got my "fix" every 20-30 minutes. I would rearrange my life to make sure I could feed my addiction according to this timetable. It stressed me out if I had to participate in an event where I couldn't smoke for an hour or two. So, it turned out that not smoking was actually less stressful than smoking.

 

What's your Excuse and Truth?  

[Doreensfree]

I'm too old to Quit...the damage is done !!!!

Rubbish !!!!!

Your never too old to Quit and benieft.....

Your body starts to heal the minute you put that last cigerette out !!!!

[Boo]

2 hours ago, BKP said:

What's your Excuse and Truth?  

 

Excuse: But, but...I really enjoy smoking.

 

Truth: I was just another garden-variety addict getting my fix.

[jillar]

Great post BKP, as for me I had a few but one I used over and over again was............

 

Excuse: It's my legacy

Truth: I'm an addict who was looking for any reason I possibly could to get my fix of nicotine. 

[JimHannoonen]

My only excuse was that I thought I loved smoking. It just blows my mind that I thought that.

 

 

[garry mhudson]

All of the above posts except jillar`s. My parents did not smoke but I was around plenty of people that did as i grew older and no one really seemed to mind it much. I can recall Mom telling people to go to the living room to smoke. Living room? What a name to call a place to smoke. Some things have changed for the better.

[Reciprocity]

Excuses:

Too busy at work now to quit!

Going on vacation so why ruin that?

Christmas is almost here. I can't quit now and ruin the holidays for everyone in the family!

Summer's here and I just want to enjoy it, not suffer through quitting.

Winter is coming soon and that'll make me miserable enough, why make it worse by quitting?

 

Truth:

There's NEVER a good time to quit so just make an unbreakable commitment to yourself and do it! It will set you free and you'll never have to fret over it again   

Edited October 16, 2020 by reciprocity

[JH63]

I have had many excuses over the years. But as I got older the big one has been, the damage is already done, so why put myself through it.

The truth is that it is never to late to quit. I'm not in the ground yet. Even with the damage I've done over the years, my life will be better and longer by quitting now.

[Doreensfree]

It was my Reward !!!....for a hard day's work ...for doing the washing ....for doing the hoovering ...

For mopping the floor ... ect,ect...

Some reward !!!!.....facing Amputation is not a reward ...it's the opposite....

[c9jane29]

Excuse: That smoking is who I am and I won't know what to do with myself when I quit.

 

Truth: My quit was a beautiful metamorphosis into becoming the real me.

Nicotine rots your brain; it restricts your movements to places where you can smoke and makes anything outside of that unbareably  uncomfortable. Now, I'm FREE to do anything, to finally be me, to love me...what a wonderful feeling

[Mee]

I am not strong enough.  The longer I smoked, the more isolated and depressed I became.  I was ashamed that I knew what smoking was doing to my health and could not stop.

 

The truth is that your quit journey awakens the power within you.  The strength and confidence I acquired  not only improved my health but improved my outlook on life.  I am stronger than the family drama, negative people and the addiction that I used as my comfort and friend.   

 

 

[Mona]

Excuse:  Similar to BKP's but a little different.  I won't be able to deal with stress.

 

Truth:  This one still gets me sometimes.  It's really the only time I struggle to hang on to my quit.  From my previous quit, I know this gets better with time but in this quit, I can still go to a pretty bad place.

[Boo]

15 minutes ago, Mona said:

Excuse:  Similar to BKP's but a little different.  I won't be able to deal with stress.

 

Truth:  This one still gets me sometimes.  It's really the only time I struggle to hang on to my quit.  From my previous quit, I know this gets better with time but in this quit, I can still go to a pretty bad place.

 

Some mental blocks take longer to get over than others.  Doreen mentioned smoking as a reward for a finished job.  It took the better part of my first year quit to get over wanting my "reward" when I finished a task.  It's a distant memory now, but it took a while to get there.

 

Hang in there Mona.  You're doing a great job.

Edited October 16, 2020 by Boo

[Steven Drojensky]

Excuse: Any stress or drama going on around me. 

 

Truth: I am stronger than my addiction and this too shall pass. It isn't worth giving in to a craving and having to start all over again.

[johnny5]

A lot of these excuses to continue smoking I can relate to as I used them too.

 

Another excuse:  Smoking helps me concentrate and be more focused/creative on whatever project I was involved with at work.  I often felt that taking a few minutes away from a project to light up allowed me to step back and see my task from a bigger perspective.  I could then come back to my computer with a whole new creative focus.

 

Truth:  I was outside with my co-workers hearing the latest gossip.  I came back to my computer out of breath and the last thing I was thinking about was my work.  Since quitting smoking, if I need to step back from my work to re-focus, I can go for a walk, drink some water, etc. and come back to my project with more energy and a more positive mindset.

 

For some reason, I felt smoking really helped with creativity which is complete BS.

Edited October 16, 2020 by johnny5

[catlover]

19 hours ago, reciprocity said:

Excuses:

Too busy at work now to quit!

Going on vacation so why ruin that?

Christmas is almost here. I can't quit now and ruin the holidays for everyone in the family!

Summer's here and I just want to enjoy it, not suffer through quitting.

Winter is coming soon and that'll make me miserable enough, why make it worse by quitting?

These were big excuses for me too, especially going on holiday and Christmas. I mean what is Christmas without  drinks and a smoke. Heck I always asked for a packet of cigarettes in my stocking, that was me happy for the day!  non smoking relatives  visiting for Christmas Day really spoilt the day, as I had to keep sneaking off for a smoke, and I just wanted them to go home so I could relax and smoke. 
Excuse... Smoking made me look sexy and more appealing! 
Truth... there is nothing sexy or appealing about having stinky hair, stinky clothes, a smoke hanging out your mouth and bad breath. 

[NADA]

Yup...lots of excuses out there.

 

I used this one a lot....

 

Excuse:  There are too many bad things going on in my life right now to even think about quitting. 

Fake examples - My kid is having problems at school; my aunt is terminally ill; my house has termites; my car needs a new transmission; my back is sore; my dog won't eat; my parents can't keep up their house; my neighbors put a garden gnome village in their front yard......blah, blah, blah.

 

Truth:  There is never a time when everything is perfect and serene in life. There will always be some challenge or difficulty you'll need to deal with. They are not valid reasons to avoid the single best thing to improve your life...quitting smoking. Bad things may occasionally pop up after you quit, but at least you'll be healthier and free from a crappy addiction.   

[sgt.barney]

Sarge had only one excuse: 

"I don't *want* to quit", he lied ... to everyone (including himself) 


EZPZ

[Angeleek]

I had all of the above. The last one was I became depressed after quitting in the fall going into winter. 

 

Truth:  Smoking makes you depressed by hijacking your brain's dopamine synthesis and replacing your natural happy with nico-happy.  There are ways to cope with the blues and even full on depression while quitting smoking. 

 

Think back to when you started smoking and when your low-level depression started.  Chances are the latter started sometime after you started smoking.  Possibly weeks or months.   The longer you smoke, the more depressed you get. The longer I stay quit, the happier I get!

 

I continue to be amazed at how smoking dulls so many things...not just taste and smell. But happiness, and tactile sensation, and inner quiet...I know the list goes on!

Edited October 21, 2020 by Angeleek

[c9jane29]

Not me, but my mom:

Excuse: Everyone dies sometime...I could get hit by a bus crossing the street!

Truth: Yes, but you're not paying that bus to kill you.

[Doreensfree]

Bump...maybe someone has a excuse ,they want to add ...