Most of us found the "Reward" cigarette to be one of the hardest ones to let go of when we quit. This is an oldie post I made in another community (on 8-30-19) which may be helpful. Delaying a smoke (before you choose to quit) is great, using distractions and other tools in our Quit Box is also great when we quit, but ultimately we need to see smoking for what it really is (an addiction) and let it go if we want to reach peace & gratefulness in our Stay Quit. Choosing to quit (letting our active addiction go dormant) is and always will be the REAL reward. You are worth REAL rewards in life (and smoking is not one of them).
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I used to see smoking as a reward … as earned ME time. The difference is I now see smoking as the addiction it really is and NOT in any way is it a reward. It never was & it never will be for anyone. Cigarette rewards are not REAL rewards.
I decided that I was worth better rewards than smoking.
I educated myself about nicotine addiction to change the way I saw smoking. It is a manufactured reward I needed to feed (over & over again) only because it is an addiction to nicotine. No more, no less.
It was important for me to change what cigarettes meant to me in order to change ME & my perspective. Education on nicotine addiction was my ticket to Freedom. I latched onto anything & everything I could read about nicotine and addiction & Big Tobacco and found some amazing resources (whyquit.com being one of them).
I no longer could close my eyes to what Big Tobacco put in cigarettes to make us inhale deeper when we smoked.
I no longer could close my eyes to what Big Tobacco put in cigarettes to soothe our throats with menthol so we wouldn’t cough up a lung.
I no longer could close my eyes to … etc. etc. etc.
No more closed eyes for me.
Educating myself opened my eyes & I could no longer toss away my denial thoughts of being an addict. I realized what I had become and what Big Tobacco had done to not only me but millions upon millions of people all in the name of $$$ for themselves.
Get angry at Big Tobacco.
Get angry at your addiction.
Get angry at yourself for allowing it to happen.
AND then begin to do something about it.
Go after the REAL reward for yourself … SMOBRIETY.
Quitting is not always easy but it really is simple. It was doable for me and it can be for you too. Educate yourself to change what smoking means to you, and then take your power back from Big Tobacco.
AND … Don’t trade one addiction for another either by using E-Cigs/Vaping. They are NOT smoking cessation devices (no matter what others may try to tell you & that you want to believe). You really do need to quit smoking to quit smoking. Your lungs only love fresh, clean air inhaled into them.
Time to really reward yourself!
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