There's this joke about a kid, holding up a cat by it's tail. A group of
bystanders are yelling at the kid to let go, but he holds on and stands
there looking smug. Every time someone walks up to the kid he holds out
the clawing cat in their direction to scare them off.
An older lady walks up to the kid and tries a different approach. She asks
the kid what he's doing. 'I'm showing this cat a good time'. "Surely", the
lady says, "I don't have to point out the poor thing is screaming bloody
murder, that cat for sure isn't having a good time". 'Sure', the boy says,
'but he *will* when I let go'.
--
Mental imaging.
Picture this:
Ever been in an 'old school' zoo? Ever saw mighty animals like lions,
tigers or bears pace up and down a cage coz they're stressed out?
While you're addicted to smoking you're pretty much in a constant state of
nicotine shortage with short periods of relaxation when you put nicotine
in
your system. Imagine your addiction to be a cage and the periods where you
smoke you get out of the cage for a while to relax. Smoking keeps you in
the cage while you hold the key in your own hands.
Eh, you don't smoke anymore and you're out of the cage permanently with
your quit as a key. So what's the attraction of getting out of the cage
when you're already out? In other words, why do you still want to smoke
when all the nicotine is out of your system? You think a non-smoker would
relax from smoking a cigarette? I'm no expert, but from what I read you
have to create a nicotine shortage in your system first.
Can't tell what it is like for you personally but I could think of a
couple of reasons why being inside that cage can be attractive at times.
You're outside your comfort zone still. You are still getting used to
being a non smoker and sometimes that can make you feel uncomfortable coz
it's still somewhat unfamiliar at times.
Man by nature, is a creature of habit. Sitting outside the cage expanding
your comfort-zone, might not be as attractive as being inside the cage at
times coz *that* is what you're used to. Thing is, voluntary lock-down
makes as little sense as holding yourself up by the tail. No matter how
used you are to it.
Like the rest of us, you prolly have been thinking smoking was the perfect
solution for pretty much every problem in the book, even though deep down
you knew it never was a solution. We all pretended it was, right?
At the least it bought us time. It gave us an excuse not to give up a
habit we knew was bad for us.
Remember the times when you wanted to quit? When people said you should
quit? How much time didn't we all spend finding reasons to not have to
quit? Painting our cages bright golden. Telling ourselves we didn't have
to quit yet. That we were different and it was harder for us to quit. We
didn't smoke enough to do serious damage, or we smoked to much to be able
to quit.
--
Find out what the attraction to the cage is for you and punch another hole
in your keycard if needed. You think you want to smoke for
comfort, find comfort in something else. Give a loved one a hug or put on
some comfy clothes or take a nice blanket, sit on the couch and make
yourself feel good in a more constructive way.
You think of smoking as a solution to other problems still, find better
ways to procrastinate. Find other small breaks, you get the drift. But
stop painting the cage golden and see it for what it is. As pretty as you
pretend it to be, it is still a cage and smoking means voluntary
lock-down.
Take care of yourself and your needs in a better way. Go out, do
something. Sleep, have ***. Millions of better ideas than spending the day
thinking you want to smoke. Don't stress and be ok with the craves.
Remember, craves wont kill ya.
Spot the false truths and learn to laugh about them. Craves are very real,
don't get me wrong here. They're just based on a false believe you do want
to smoke. You only *think* you want to smoke. Fact is you *want* to quit
smoking instead. Realize this and the craves will be way better to
handle.
--
I'll stop rambling after this. I never know for sure with this warped
brain of mine, but what I'm probably on about is this:
Be creative with your quit just like you have been while you were smoking.
We've all been exposed to enough information about the risk and health
consequences and managed to counter pretty much every reason to quit with
a good reason *not* to quit. Use the same energy and creativity you used
to find reasons to keep on smoking to help you stay quit.
Be creative and look at your quit from a different perspective and find
new strategies to tackle your addiction. The image of a cage or the idea
of
letting my nicoDemon pick me up by the tail works for me. Look inside
yourself and you'll probably find an image that works even better for you.
--
Sometimes, a detour is the fastest way out.
Wish you all the best in your quit,
Robin.
--
"Argue for your limitations and sure enough, they're yours."
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