Being
Free From Smoking
Stuck with the smoking behavior?
It really is true; it is not just about
quitting
smoking. It is about good health. Good health is a way of life. It is
really about developing
a healthy outlook and purpose, giving you a healthy mind-set, and from
that, developing a healthy life in
general.
I believe that most of the people who
do not succeed at quitting smoking find themselves stuck with it
because the only change they
really try to make, is the stopping of the smoking behavior itself.
Everything else remains the same. There life doesn't really change. But
when the goal becomes "being a healthy person", then "everything"
changes. Smoking is only a symptom of an unhealthy life or unhealthy
way of thinking and believing. When a person takes an interest in
creating a healthy "life", every aspect of life becomes reconsidered
and reevaluated.
Let me give you an example; one that
applies to my life. A few years ago, in my early 50's, the people in my
inner circle who were within my age group were dropping off like flies.
Mostly from cancer. One had a heart attack but survived and is now
partially disabled. Why should this interest someone who wants to quit
smoking? I am not sharing this to tell you that smoking can make you
sick. You already know that and there are plenty of people in your life
to graciously point this out to you. You don't need one more
people-fixer to straighten you out and cause you to get frustrated,
angry and develop the desire to smoke even more just to spite them. I
am sharing about those people who got sick for the purpose of telling
you what motivated me to make a change while I still had my health.
The key point here is that I decided it
was time to develop a healthy
"life" in order to maintain my current condition while it was still
good. I realized that I was paddling down a river that had a waterfall
ahead and I did not want to fall over it. I decided to get out of that
river and get into another one that was more safe. So for me, I did not
want to get cancer or some other major physical breakdown. I want to be
healthy in my old age and to die healthy; ha, ha! As a result I
developed an interest in a healthy diet. The research I have done has
convinced me that an unhealthy, non-nutritional diet is the main cause
of internal physical illness with the help of certain
lifestyle contributing
factors.
In some of my other writings, I
mentioned that "desire" is where change
begins. I really had a desire to be on a healthy diet and to lead a
healthy lifestyle. Well, I did in fact, get on a healthy diet. Before
doing so, I was 15 pounds overweight. This did not concern me in the
slightest nor did I look overweight. I really never gave it a thought
and it was not my motivation for changing my diet. It really never
occurred to me that I would lose weight nor did I even try to. My only
thoughts were about maintaining good internal health. Now here is where
I come to the point I am making. Within two years after changing my
diet, I lost 30 pounds. This was a by-product of developing a healthy
life. (Here is a side note, then I will get back to the point. One
similarity to quitting smoking and going through nicotine withdrawal,
was quitting all the sugar and going through sugar withdrawal. This was
the most difficult part which lasted only a few months. It really can
be done when you are "inspired" to obtain a greater reward. For
nicotine withdrawal, there are products to help with this
phase. For the sugar withdrawal, I just drew on the strength of my
determination about who and what I really wanted to be. This comes from
an inspired desire that wells up from within. No one can give you that.
You either have it or you don't. It usually requires being ready for
it. This is something that comes in time and it can't be forced.)
Now, to get back to the point. After
losing the 30 pounds, I discovered
other dietary things that I believed would be even more beneficial to
my long-term health. By adding these things to my diet program, I
started losing even more weight. I did not want to, but I did. I
actually got scared. I thought I might have made myself sick; the very
opposite of what I was trying to do. I started weighing myself every
day because if this continued, I was going to run to the doctor. By the
end of the 3rd year, I lost another 10 pounds. I had now lost a total
of 40 pounds. Then finally the weight stopped coming off. I was
relieved. As it turned out, I was just fine. Since then I have enjoyed
a few foods (in moderation) that I previously eliminated. This brought
my weight back up about 10-15 pounds but I am at a nice body weight.
Here is specifically the point. Making
a change in my life for the
purpose of being a healthy person had a side benefit. Namely, weight
loss. Though this was not my purpose, it is just the natural result of
developing a healthy life in general. When our desire is "to be a
healthy person and have a healthy life", then all these other issues
(smoking, drinking, overweight, etc.) just take care of themselves,
so-to-speak. Regarding smoking, once your desire changes from "wanting
to quit the smoking behavior" to "wanting to be a healthy person with a
healthy life", then your whole life focus changes. It is no longer
about "stopping" something (which only causes frustration). Instead,
you become inspired to "become" something new; to develop something
new; a new life! It becomes more interesting and exciting. Can you feel
the difference? In many ways, you become a renewed person with a whole
new approach to life that changes many areas of your life along with a
new purpose and new lifestyle.
To your good health!
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