CIGARETTES LIE TO YOU
Nicotine addiction is a powerful force, and it will stop at nothing to keep you smoking. It'll tell you anything you need to hear, just as long as you continue to feed the addiction. That's all it cares about. That's all it wants. It doesn't care what shape you're in, or how old you are, it just needs more nicotine.
It doesn't matter if you want to quit smoking 110%. You could throw away your cigarettes in anger and vow to never smoke again. But you know what happens next? They'll tell you it was a bad mistake to throw them out, and that it might have been too early to quit. You'll even give it second thoughts. I did, foolishly. I went back many, many times.
What happens after a week and suddenly you have a stressful day at work? They'll tell you everything will be better and the stress of work will melt away if you just smoke.
"It's only been a week, you can smoke right now and jump right back on that bandwagon, and nobody will notice." That's what they will tell you.
When you're at a party and you've made it a few weeks without smoking and you suddenly see a good friend who smokes, what thoughts do you think will enter your head? Your nicotine addiction (that's not over with) will try and convince you to bum a cigarette off your buddy, or simply go outside with them when they do.
They'll tell you the party will be more fun and you can just "let loose for a night" if you smoke. It's OK because you can just quit tomorrow. You need to be prepared for this type of situation, because it will catch you off guard.
When you're faced with quitting, and all you see ahead is a full week of work, what happens? Again, nicotine will lie to you. It'll tell you it's impossible to get through the work week and not smoke. It'll tell you you'll be too stressed out to handle the day without smoking. But that is a bunch of crap, because I managed to get through it and I was a very heavy smoker. It's all a lie.
When a huge event occurs, like a death, or a wedding, or a promotion, or any major trigger, what do you think happens in your mind? Cigarettes will say, "Smoke to celebrate, smoke to cope with the loss, and smoke when you're depressed."
Any situation like this will be handled much better with lighting up, right? WRONG! It will only make matters worse, and send you back into relapse and right back into a full-blown addiction, starting out at Day 1.
Finally, when things just aren't going you're way, and you've reached the "depressed mode" of quitting, what do you think will happen? Cigarettes will tell you anything you need to hear to keep from being depressed. There is a stage in time after you quit that this will happen. It's natural and happens to everybody. You just have to realize that nicotine will stop at NOTHING to get you to go back to your old lifestyle. Your mind will play tricks on you, conjuring up the perfect scenario to convince you to smoke again. Be strong!
Prepare for the worst, expect negative thoughts, and realize that cigarettes will lie to you. Once you do that, you'll be one step ahead of beating your addiction. You can do it!
