Getting Back On The Wagon
"I tried quitting smoking before and started smoking again.
"...
Is this what you are thinking right now? If the answer is yes repeat after me: SO WHAT?? Don't let what happened in your past stop you from moving forward in your future.
Many smokers try to quit several times before they finally succeed.
I don't think there's any such thing as a non-smoker who has not fallen off the wagon, so to speak, and had a cigarette.
Let's face it, we all do it.
We all face temptation and we all give in to that temptation at some point.
It usually happens fairly early in our efforts to stop smoking because the whole concept of going without cigarettes is still so new and seems like such a burden to bear that we succumb to the powerful draw of having a cigarette.
Once you give in to the temptation and have a cigarette (or two, or three, or more), though, what comes next? Are you going to beat yourself up mercilessly because you made that choice? Are you going to feel guilty about it? Are you going to give up on your stop smoking efforts because you had a little misstep along the way? You'll probably find yourself doing all of these things in some manner, plus a whole lot more.
When you are trying to stop smoking even the slightest misstep can be cause for a whole lot of grief and disappointment.
Now here's the really important truth about all this: It's okay.
It's normal.
It's understandable.
And it's fixable.
Look, you're only human so why fight that fact? When you fall off the non-smoking wagon the best thing you can do is acknowledge what happened, figure out why it happened so you can avoid that situation in the future, and then forgive yourself.
Yes, you made a mistake but it's not the end of the world.
In reality, mistakes are some of the most powerful tools out there to help you quit smoking for good.
Each time you make a mistake you learn a lesson about yourself, and when you take that lesson seriously and apply it to your future behavior the mistake actually becomes a strength.
So go ahead and feel guilty if you have fallen off the wagon.
It's all part of the process, after all.
Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get right back at it.
You can do it!
"...
Is this what you are thinking right now? If the answer is yes repeat after me: SO WHAT?? Don't let what happened in your past stop you from moving forward in your future.
Many smokers try to quit several times before they finally succeed.
I don't think there's any such thing as a non-smoker who has not fallen off the wagon, so to speak, and had a cigarette.
Let's face it, we all do it.
We all face temptation and we all give in to that temptation at some point.
It usually happens fairly early in our efforts to stop smoking because the whole concept of going without cigarettes is still so new and seems like such a burden to bear that we succumb to the powerful draw of having a cigarette.
Once you give in to the temptation and have a cigarette (or two, or three, or more), though, what comes next? Are you going to beat yourself up mercilessly because you made that choice? Are you going to feel guilty about it? Are you going to give up on your stop smoking efforts because you had a little misstep along the way? You'll probably find yourself doing all of these things in some manner, plus a whole lot more.
When you are trying to stop smoking even the slightest misstep can be cause for a whole lot of grief and disappointment.
Now here's the really important truth about all this: It's okay.
It's normal.
It's understandable.
And it's fixable.
Look, you're only human so why fight that fact? When you fall off the non-smoking wagon the best thing you can do is acknowledge what happened, figure out why it happened so you can avoid that situation in the future, and then forgive yourself.
Yes, you made a mistake but it's not the end of the world.
In reality, mistakes are some of the most powerful tools out there to help you quit smoking for good.
Each time you make a mistake you learn a lesson about yourself, and when you take that lesson seriously and apply it to your future behavior the mistake actually becomes a strength.
So go ahead and feel guilty if you have fallen off the wagon.
It's all part of the process, after all.
Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get right back at it.
You can do it!