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Put the crown on YOUR head
We all do things because someone else made us do them.
When you're a young child and your parents tell you to go to bed, you'd
better go to bed. At an early age we learn to respect our parents, respect
authority, "do what you're told", follow directions, etc.
Without doing as we're told, society would be in constant chaos. Criminals--bank
robbers, for example--aren't doing what they're told. Instead, they disobey
laws put in place by our government to protect the safety and well-being
of law-abiding citizens.
Laws and rules and authority and leadership are very important to maintaining
order. They give each of us a cushion of trust that everyone will do the
right thing.
No one would dare drive down the street if they couldn't trust the other
drivers to stay on their side of the road, to stop at traffic lights and
stop signs, and follow all the other laws governing driving. The laws
bring order and control to what could be a deadly environment. In fact,
deaths and injuries usually only occur when someone disobeys the law.
Clearly, following rules, obeying the law, and doing as you're told is
important to your life.
But what happens when the rules and laws and control over your life become
oppressive? What happens when the control is taken from you, then taken
to extremes over you? Without getting overly political, you begin to lose
your personal freedoms and liberty. History is filled with stories of
oppressive governments that took away personal freedoms. Government leaders
wanted to control every aspect of their citizen's lives, from the jobs
they held to the thoughts in their heads.
There's another type of oppressive control that may be taking place right
now, in YOUR life: You no longer feel free to quit smoking.
At first, you were in control. You would smoke only when YOU wanted to.
It was fun, cool, exciting, defiant! You smoked when and if you wanted
to. And you probably had to really WANT to smoke when you first started,
because it tasted so bad and burned your lungs too much. You didn't like
the taste and you weren't really addicted yet, so you were in control,
consciously making the decision to smoke.
Then something changed. You started to like smoking a little. You started
to need it. You started to crave it. Just a little.
Soon, you had to have a smoke when you got stressed. It relieved tension
and made the day easier. You'd go for a few hours without a cigarette,
but then you felt a gnawing in your mouth and throat and fingers and your
mind telling you you had to smoke--NOW!
Oh, you didn't like the feeling that you HAD to do anything, so you told
yourself, "I'm not smoking anymore. I quit." But very soon,
often within hours or even minutes of stating your defiance, you were
smoking "just one more."
You realized that your once-defiant act of smoking had now come to defy
you. No longer were you in control of IF you smoked. Now, you only seemed
to control WHEN you smoked: "every morning when I get up, after breakfast,
driving to work, mid-morning at my coffee break, just before lunch, after
lunch, mid-afternoon when I'm getting sleepy, after work driving home,
again when I get home, after dinner, and just before going to sleep."
Then you realized that smoking had taken over and programmed your life.
It dictated where you went to eat, who your friends were, who you could
date and marry, where you vacation, how much money you paid for insurance
and dry cleaning, and how much money you had left over each year after
paying for cigarettes.
You realized that you had become an oppressed citizen of Cigarettes,
doing, thinking, living, feeling, spending, going, eating, sleeping, whenever
They dictated. You no longer had any rights. The Cigarettes were now in
control of every part of your life!
But you decided you weren't going to take it any more. Just like a citizen's
revolt in a country with oppressive leaders, you rose up and demanded
your rights! You removed the leaders who had control of your life and
you sent them into exile!
You knew that starting over and setting up new rules for your life wouldn't
be easy, but you knew you couldn't stand the dictators who once ruled
your life. So you gritted your teeth and set about making a plan of action.
You "laid down the law"--the new law. You were now Sheriff and
President and Dictator and King and you could make any and every law you
wanted. The Royal Crown was placed firmly upon your head!
First, you chose to admit the mistakes of the past, learn from them and
then let them go. You were moving to the future!
Second, you decided to learn from other "Kings" and "Queens"
who successfully revolted. Surely these were some wise men and women who
could properly advise you.
Third, you set a date for yourself for the time when your new "rule
of law" would go into effect. All the old laws of the previous dictatorship
would be thrown out on this specific date.
Fourth, you "cleaned house" by removing all vestiges of your
former rulers. You didn't need reminders of their tyranny lying around
your new palace.
Fifth, you made a commitment to yourself that you would never allow the
dictators whom once controlled you to regain power. You knew YOUR benevolent
form of rule was best for you and everyone else.
Sixth, you created strategies to deal with the exiled leaders when they
attempted to take your power away from you again. You knew they would
try this so you planned ways to fight them.
Seventh, you mapped out a series of rewards for yourself when your reign
of power reached various milestones. You looked forward to a royal vacation
one year after taking power!
Congratulations on your ascension to power! May you never be dethroned!
May you always wear the Royal Smoke-Free Crown!
About the author
** Article © Copyright Fred H. Kelley of QuitSmoking.com. Visit
their web site at http://www.quitsmoking.com
for great information and products designed to help smokers quit.
Be sure to sign up for their FREE, twice-monthly email newsletter,
which provides informative articles on how to quit, and stay quit,
plus stories from other smokers.
Just mailto:startsub@quitsmoking.com |
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