Patience
by Roger (Gold)
Our society we live in today ranges from instant breakfasts and beyond, giving way to instant messages being transmitted around the globe in less than seconds. We have become a society that demands everything to be fast and easy. For the most part, this is a good positive technological advancement. It should give us more time to pursue our goals and happiness as we journey through life.
On the downside, we are becoming a world of "I want it now." The same holds true with many nicotine addicts on the road to recovery or wanting to quit smoking and stop feeding their addiction. Many search for the easy way out. Others don't understand why comfort takes time to happen.
Perhaps, too many of us have not had to struggle for much in our lives. Everything has come to us far too easily. We expect to dance without paying the fiddler. There is no free lunch that is worthwhile. For us addicts seeking comfort, the price of the fiddler is paid in ...
Patience
So just what is patience? It is many things combined to form one thing. It is an elusive virtue we all have within ourselves but never learn how to use, or simply don't want to learn how to harness.
Patience is the ability to:
- Sit back and wait for an expected outcome without experiencing anxiety, tension or frustration.
- Let go of your need or demand for instant gratification.
- Believe in the concepts of permanence and commitment.
- The ability to maintain your calmness and consideration as you handle your growth issues one at a time.
- Hang on to your quit when unexpected trouble arises that may take 3 or 4 minutes to allow a crave or trigger to pass.
- Accept the non-enthusiastic reception of others to share in the newfound truths you have learned at Freedom.
- See that overnight reformations are rarely long-lasting in the beginning and that gradual change and growth have greater lasting durability.
- Accept the universal truth that your quit, like life itself, is a journey, not an instant destination.
Moving on to the other side of the coin, there are negative impacts with being impatient. By being impatient you can:
- Waste your energy worrying about how slow things are changing instead of directing that energy towards the changes you desire.
- Ignore all the positive gains accomplished on your road to your freedom, recovery and growth, allowing you to only concentrate on what you have not yet received or accomplished.
- Become pessimistic about your quit seeing only the "half-empty cup" rather than the "half-filled cup."
- Become overwhelmed by your slower than anticipated progress and begin to lose the hope and motivation to keep on trying.
A person can increase the level of their patience by doing the following:
- Pursue your quit one day at a time. Take baby steps.
- Consider each day a gift of life that will allow you one step closer to your goal of being a comfortable ex-smoker
Confront your fears about attaining your goal. Remember, the world was not created in a day. Beautiful symphonies, works of art, literary masterpieces and your control of your addiction will not be created in a day. Remember, a lifetime is not lived in a day or week or month. It is a journey we should savor one day at a time. Always look for tomorrow to be the first day of the rest of your life.
It is very important to realize to successfully quit smoking and gain control over your addiction you don't need an immeasurable amount of patience or an impeccable positive attitude. These personal traits will develop as your quit progresses. All you need is a desire to quit and a set time to do it.
Once you have decided on the two, place them in motion, all you ever have to do to remain nicotine-free is never violate the Law of Addiction .... Never Take Another Puff!
Roger
Freedom's Gold Club
Knowledge is a Quitting Method
