ThriveWisely

I would like to offer up a hearty congratulations to…me! Yeah, I know how that sounds and I don’t really care. I have been cigarette free for 3 months and I’m going to recognize this anniversary! It’s been challenging and I’ve felt like 100% pure crap going through nic fits on occasion–though nothing quite like Ewan in Trainspotting, thankfully. So, I’m going to take a moment to pat myself on the back for sticking with it and doing something really good for myself. And, dang, I’m pretty excited about this–3 months is a long time in the addiction/habit breaking world.

Honest to god, I really don’t think we do this enough–celebrate what we do well or what we are excited to have accomplished. What is the deal with that? We’re plenty happy to bemoan our weaknesses and faults. Are we afraid of coming off as sounding conceited or cocky? Do we really prefer pity parties? To be clear, I’m not talking about some good old-fashioned self-deprecating humor or an honest laying out on the table of challenges/tough times or decisions to be faced. I’m talking full on victim mode ‘my life sucks’ stuff–and especially the ‘my life sucks way more than your life sucks’ stuff. What do those bouts serve? Is it about acknowledgment? Do we want comfort in our pain? And what’s up with us not being up front and honest about those needs? They’re real.

Um…wow…this really got off track from where I was headed…so, onward!

And back to me and my personal cigarette ban! Nic fits aside, I’ve noticed how much more freedom I have to navigate through my days. No more strategizing to work my other engagements around all those cigarettes I wanted to smoke. I like that. I’ve also noticed that I don’t take time for ’smoke breaks’ anymore. I don’t necessarily like that. There’s a sort of tunnel vision that comes over me when I’m working and, if I’m not aware and/or don’t have something or someone to pull me away, I’ll work for hours and hours on end–which might be a bit of the Capricorn in me or maybe the Protestant work ethic or the Scandinavian pragmatism–heck, it’s probably a powerful cocktail of the three. Anywho, it’s something I’ve learned to be more mindful of–especially when the quantity of work isn’t really producing the quality of work that might benefit from taking a step away. And, it’s something I’m still figuring out in terms of intentionally filling the space instead of allowing work to fill it by default.

So, that’s the latest on this bad habit. I have been toying with the idea of putting myself on a schedule to kick one bad habit per year. I figure that will ensure me a very long life indeed…to get through them all.