Perception Shift

[Boo]

For much of the last couple of weeks, I hit a mental wall of sorts.  It wasn't that I was craving a cigarette so much as I was finding it difficult to identify myself as a nonsmoker.  Nagging, insecure thoughts were persistent.  I began to doubt if I was really done with smoking for good.  My policy to this point had been to "fight like hell."  What am I fighting?

 

The fight is with addiction of course, but do I really need to fight?  My addiction is my own creation and is not an independent entity.  Addiction cannot hide around corners, jumping me when I least expect it and force me to smoke against my will.  Addiction can only plant a seed, it is my choice to cultivate it or not.  My addiction only has the power I give it.

 

I've ceased fighting my addiction and since then, its voice has been a whimper subjugated to the back of my mind.  When I was fighting tooth-and-nail, its voice roared.  I recognize its existence, but now any irrational addiction thoughts that spring to mind are quickly silenced by reason and logic.  I am not becoming complacent, I simply realized the futility of building a thing up only to spend the rest of the day attempting to knock it down.

 

There is no reason for me to fight as I have finally realized there is nothing to fear.  Maintaining a successful quit is a simple matter of never making a conscious decision to place a cigarette in my mouth and light it on fire.  It does not get more simple than that.

 

I spent time in the darkness, but eventually saw the light.

[Boo]

One more thing, as long as I'm in testifying mode...I've spent a good deal of time reading about how nicotine rewired our addicted brains.  That's important knowledge to have when you are quitting.  Now I am more focused on how we can rewire our brains when we quit.  There is good news fellow quitters, we can change our neural pathways and rewire our brains.  The process begins as soon as we quit.

 

Here is a brief video about neuroplasticity that I think is relevant to the quitting process:

 

[BAT]

Maintaining a successful quit is a simple matter of never making a conscious decision to place a cigarette in my mouth and light it on fire.  It does not get more simple than that.

 

 

 

The simple matter of NOPE. ... Keep on rocking the quit.

[buMbLeB]

My policy to this point had been to "fight like hell."  What am I fighting?

 

EXACTLY this. I've said it before, you don't have to DO anything, you only have to NOT do something - smoke. That's it. 

 

I think this is a crucial realization, and I couldn't be more happy for you.

[Runfree]

I think it's a process.  For me it was a process, or progression.  I WAS fighting in the very beginning.  But one day it dawned on me, like it did you and many others.  Just saying for some of us, we need to fight until we don't.

 

Happy for you.

[Doreensfree]

My brain didn't know how to be a adult with smoking...52, years worth

It took a while to adjust to life with out my crutch...

Slowly doing all the same things smoke free started to feel normal...

Now I don't think of smoking much at all..

I can still remember my yureka moment...a beautiful moment...

Well done boo....never douted you buddy...xx

[Nancy]

Well said, Boo, and good for you.

[Tink]

a eureka moment for you, I love it when I see this happen  :yu:

[babs609]

GREAT POST BOO!!!!!

[Devil Doll]

 

There is no reason for me to fight as I have finally realized there is nothing to fear.  Maintaining a successful quit is a simple matter of never making a conscious decision to place a cigarette in my mouth and light it on fire.  It does not get more simple than that.

 

I spent time in the darkness, but eventually saw the light.

This!!! All freaking day this! 

Newbies this right here is the key. 

Awesome post Boo! 

[Boo]

I think it's a process.  For me it was a process, or progression.  I WAS fighting in the very beginning.  But one day it dawned on me, like it did you and many others.  Just saying for some of us, we need to fight until we don't.

 

Absolutely.  I would not tell any quitter that is fighting that they are doing it wrong.  We all have to find our own way in our own time.  I would only point out to them that once you set out to free yourself from addiction, there are basically two paths: acceptance and resistance.  I've done both and the way of acceptance is definitely the path of least resistance.  Changing course has lifted a great deal of burden from my shoulders and I hope every new quitter and soon-to-be quitter can find that same relief in time...the sooner the better.

 

 

Happy for you.

 

Thank you.

[Karen]

Boo, I told you a while back I love your posts....and THIS post is another one! It just makes so much damn sense, in all it's simplicity :good3:

[Sunnyside]

Brilliant Boo!! We as in anything in life can make it much harder by building it up to more than it is. It took me a lot longer to realize that than you. :)

[Boo]

It just makes so much damn sense, in all it's simplicity :good3:

 

Confucius said: "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."  Ain't that the truth!  I read, watched, thought and collected as much information about quitting as I possibly could.  It was when I figured out that everything I really need to know could easily fit onto a single index card that the truth revealed itself to me.

[Doreensfree]

Confucius said: "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."  Ain't that the truth!  I read, watched, thought and collected as much information about quitting as I possibly could.  It was when I figured out that everything I really need to know could easily fit onto a single index card that the truth revealed itself to me.

Brilliant boo....love Confucius quotes....here's mine...

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop......x

[Still winning]

Womderful realization, it really does take the bite out of it to realize how simple it actually is. Great job sharing it so eloquently too. x

[ChRiSpY]

Like a boss

[Boo]

Brilliant boo....love Confucius quotes....here's mine...

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop......x

 

Wise words indeed Doreen.  Another Confucius quote that makes a lot more sense to me now is: "The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat."

[buMbLeB]

Wise words indeed Doreen.  Another Confucius quote that makes a lot more sense to me now is: "The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat."

 

Tell it to Schrodinger.

 

 

(This thread is aptly named).

[Boo]

Tell it to Schrodinger.

 

Curiosity killed Schrodinger's cat.  Fortunately, the cat survived.  Me...I didn't see a thing.

[cigarettekills]

Very well said Boo

 

Every time I quit and I was fighting myself - I failed. You can't fight yourself...Nicotine addiction needs to be on defensive not you! 

With that "quitting" becomes "not smoking". Questions are very powerful tools. I used to ask myself "why should I quit" and come up with lists of reasons. Changing question to "why should I smoke" completely changed my perspective and attitude.

[Boo]

Every time I quit and I was fighting myself - I failed. You can't fight yourself...Nicotine addiction needs to be on defensive not you! 

With that "quitting" becomes "not smoking". Questions are very powerful tools. I used to ask myself "why should I quit" and come up with lists of reasons. Changing question to "why should I smoke" completely changed my perspective and attitude.

 

There it is.  When you quit fighting, you won the battle.  It's counterintuitive, but surprisingly effective.

 

"Questions are very powerful tools."  Yes indeed.  You ask the right questions and your perception begins to change.  You change your perception and you change your reality.  After that, the questions begin to answer themselves and a kind of beautiful simplicity sets in.  I like the phrase "eureka moment" that several others here used to describe it.  It is a good thing.

 

Congratulations cigarettekills it sounds like you're doing very well with this transition to the smokefree way of life.

[PorkandPancakes]

Boo - your post. It's exactly how my quit has been. I fought with myself every day for 20 years telling myself I couldn't quit. I would scream in my head that I couldn't quit. I didn't even try very hard because even the thought of quitting terrified me. The few feeble attempts I made ended very quickly. I bought patches that stayed in the cupboard, vapers that sat at the bottom of my bag, hypnosis DVDs the works. When I did quit, it was an app that did it for me but the basis of it was Allan CARR's method of retraining the brain to see smoking for what it is. It was like a light bulb. I stopped fighting. An the voice quiet end down as soon as you do that. It's still there but there's no internal screaming anymore.

 

I wish that I had your skill with words - you express what I felt so well. 5 1/2 months quit here. It just gets better.

[Sirius]

Always thought this quote put it perspective.

 

"Cigarettes are a lot like squirrels.  Perfectly harmless until you put one in your mouth and light it on fire."

                                 -unknown

 

 

:P

[Sazerac]

On 3/28/2016 at 9:13 PM, Boo said:

 

For much of the last couple of weeks, I hit a mental wall of sorts.  It wasn't that I was craving a cigarette so much as I was finding it difficult to identify myself as a nonsmoker.  Nagging, insecure thoughts were persistent.  I began to doubt if I was really done with smoking for good.  My policy to this point had been to "fight like hell."  What am I fighting?

 

The fight is with addiction of course, but do I really need to fight?  My addiction is my own creation and is not an independent entity.  Addiction cannot hide around corners, jumping me when I least expect it and force me to smoke against my will.  Addiction can only plant a seed, it is my choice to cultivate it or not.  My addiction only has the power I give it.

 

I've ceased fighting my addiction and since then, its voice has been a whimper subjugated to the back of my mind.  When I was fighting tooth-and-nail, its voice roared.  I recognize its existence, but now any irrational addiction thoughts that spring to mind are quickly silenced by reason and logic.  I am not becoming complacent, I simply realized the futility of building a thing up only to spend the rest of the day attempting to knock it down.

 

There is no reason for me to fight as I have finally realized there is nothing to fear.  Maintaining a successful quit is a simple matter of never making a conscious decision to place a cigarette in my mouth and light it on fire.  It does not get more simple than that.

 

On 3/28/2016 at 9:21 PM, Boo said:

One more thing, as long as I'm in testifying mode...I've spent a good deal of time reading about how nicotine rewired our addicted brains.  That's important knowledge to have when you are quitting.  Now I am more focused on how we can rewire our brains when we quit.  There is good news fellow quitters, we can change our neural pathways and rewire our brains.  The process begins as soon as we quit.

 

Here is a brief video about neuroplasticity that I think is relevant to the quitting process:

 

 

I spent time in the darkness, but eventually saw the light.

 

 

I was meandering around in the archives and found this GEM from Boo.

It is a great post.