Common Knowledge
Everybody knows that smoking is unhealthy and just in case you would rather ignore this fact, the package itself is a reminder. Covered with a warning AND a photo of a terrifying illness caused by smoking, reminds us of the dangers, lest we forget. When searching your browser “smoking and cancer” you’ll discover that “Cigarette smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body”. Dreadful, isn’t it? It also really makes me wonder, why on earth some of us are still doing it? Why was I doing it even if I knew and felt the nasty repercussions of smoking?
Similar to cell phones nowadays, smoking, at some point, was widely present in the world’s culture and a cigarette in hand became fashionable. We can observe this dangerous trend with interest in the old movies or tv shows with action placed in the past. Think “Mad Men” and you can clearly see how deeply smoking was embedded in the culture. Depending on your age, you can find traces of it even in your old photos and videos of family events. And to imagine that smoking used to be allowed on a plane seems so alien today, but at some point in time it was considered normal that the whole aircraft stank of cigarettes and everyone was exposed to passive smoking… Bon voyage..
It truly fascinates me that smoking, something that people “used to do”, is still very much present today. Shouldn’t it have been left behind in history where it belongs together with other dangerously fashionable oddities like lead face powder, corsets, and excessive sunbathing? And some people are working really hard on giving it a new fresh cool look. Yes, I am talking about vaping which deserves a dedicated blog on its own.
Deadly Combo
There are many aspects of smoking that can keep you hooked which of course, is the aim of the industry. It’s a social trap to start with as I have never met anyone who enjoyed their first cigarette. Most of the time the bonding element and the belief that smoking does something good for your image is strong enough to override the first reaction of pure disgust.
The combination of chemical, social, cultural, habitual, and behavioral elements made us think that smoking was tricky to quit. For example with regards to the chemical aspect people were afraid that their nicotine dependency would make stopping smoking really difficult. However, as we know, this can be taken care of by a variety of pharmaceutical remedies proving that solutions exist if you do not wish to go ‘cold turkey’. Same applies for the social, cultural, habitual, and behavioral elements…….solutions do exist!
So what’s your excuse for smoking?
- “It’s become a ritual in my life”
- You can replace it with a thousand other healthier rituals such as intentional breathing or preparing a cup of herbal tea. You deserve better.
- “It helps calm me down”
- No, it doesn’t. It’s proven that it increases anxiety and stress. You deserve better.
- “It was my way of rebelling and showing my independence”
- Think back, wasn’t that the reason that got you started?.. In any case, that reason got old about 20 years ago and now you are a big boy or a big girl and you don’t need to prove anything to anyone anymore. You deserve better.
- “It’s a great excuse to take a break”
- Do you really need to self-harm to give yourself five? You deserve better.
- “It helps curb my appetite to control my weight”
- We take care of what we value. Harming yourself to achieve certain visual results is just sweeping the dirt under the carpet. You deserve better.
Action steps in preparation for doing the right thing
What is that “good thing” you believe that smoking gives you? Write it down and be honest as it does not matter at all what it is since it is one big lie anyway. Smoking is not a solution to anything. Instead of coming up with excuses why you can’t quit smoking, focus on why you should quit and write it down.
Instead of looking forward to it, remember, but really and truly remember your first experience with cigarettes and what you felt on a physical level. Write it down describing the sensations in your mouth, head, stomach.
Just be honest and see this terrible habit for what it really is. Cigarettes can indeed give you a lot such as the risk of heart and respiratory disease, cancer, vision issues, shortened life span, premature ageing, and many, many more negative impacts on your life. It can also contribute to mental and emotional aspects such as increased stress, anxiety, depression, and even affects the quality of your sleep.
What do you need?
Sometimes we need a bit of help to see things from a different perspective. If you read my article about addiction then you know that oftentimes the addiction is a cover-up for something else in your life that has to be dealt with. If you are unable to list your reasons for why you smoke in the first place, it could mean that there is a part of you that thinks that in some way smoking serves you. Rapid Transformational Therapy is a great method of self-discovery and can help you with that. You will be amazed that very often, smoking disguises some other hurt or misconception that you may not even be aware of.
See smoking in a different light and don’t light up. Instead, be enlightened.
Want to learn more?
Thank you for taking the time to read my article – if you would like to know more about me, Knot Undone Therapy, or RTT you can click here or book your free Discovery Call here. Please feel free to leave your comments below.
