|
Now that the American tobacco companies have admitted to
their long-term
deception about tobacco's harmfulness, here's a question to
ask yourself:
Which has influenced your smoking the most--that deception
or your own
self-deception?
As a smoking cessation coach and as a researcher of
cessation methods and
products over the past 17 years, I've experienced not only
the lies of
those who sell tobacco but also the lies people tell
themselves when
postponing the decision to quit smoking. My purpose in this
article is to
explore these self-deceptions and to show you how you can
start to rise
above them in the process of claiming an addiction-free
lifestyle.
One of the deceptions that impacts smokers the most is
that there are
pills, tapes, books or gurus available that will allow one
to stop smoking
quickly, easily, and painlessly. This is a myth, one that is
swallowed
hook, line and sinker by many smokers. The makers of
nicotine patches and
gums imply that with just a little will power and their
product, its a
cakewalk to become smoke-free.
The fact is that, for the vast majority of smokers,
stopping and staying
free requires commitment, some work and a willingness to
take
responsibility for themselves. Most smokers who say that
they want to
quit are not willing to pay that price.
In the spiritual ways of the Native American people, the
medicine or
lesson of the coyote has to do with deception and
self-deception. In
trying to fool others and in refusing to look inside for
answers, coyote
often paves the way for his own undoing.
Take a look at the cartoon character, Wile E. Coyote who
likes to think
he's pretty smart. In his quest to conquer Roadrunner
("beep! beep!"), his
carelessness and refusal to see reality always leads to a
swift, crashing
trip to the bottom of the canyon---a trip he had envisioned
for
Roadrunner. Like many smokers, coyote can convince himself
that a skunk
smells like a rose.
He continually perfects the art of self-sabotage. This is
how he thinks:
"Let me get out on the edge of that ledge again. It's the
same place I've
fallen from every time I've gone there. But this time will
be different."
Do you keep falling into the same smoking traps over and
over again?
If you're a "closet smoker", do you really think that people
don't pick up
on your aroma after you've ducked outside for a secretive
cigarette?
Here's big news: You smell bad.
While the tobacco company executives are finally
acknowledging the
addictive nature of their products, very few smokers do. Its
easier to
look at it as a habit, or just something to do out of
boredom. The truth:
it is an addiction just as much as the use of heroin or
cocaine.
The Russian mystic-philosopher Gurdjieff suggested that most
people go
through their lives "asleep". Unconscious of their true
selves, to the
meaning of their lives, people generally do not want to
awaken to life's
realities. Its much more comfortable to avoid confronting
ourselves.
An example: "If I say its just a habit, its just a habit.
I'm no addict."
We can perpetuate our "sleep" with distractions like tobacco
or
recreational drugs. Its easy. It is the trick we play on
ourselves. And
yet it is also an abandoning of our true selves. That is the
price of
our self-deception.
Another little trick: "Cancer just happens to other
people." Who are you
really fooling?
Most smokers are also unaware of the additives in
cigarettes. When you
smoke, you get carcinogens, mutagens and
radioactivity--no
kidding--inhaled into your body. Most popular-brand
cigarette papers
contain selenious acid, something that Webster's Dictionary
calls a
"colorless, poisonous powder".
Most smokers don't want to hear it.
Maybe there have been times you've said this to yourself: "I
am going to
quit smoking when my spouse isn't so moody (or the boss
treats me better
or I hit the lottery next Saturday)." If you wait for your
life to be
carefree before you stop smoking, you might just be waiting
for the rest
of your life.
There are lots of people who think the best way to
indulge themselves when
they've got the blues is to down a pint of ice cream. Does
that make any
sense? Compare it to a cigarette: it builds you up just to
let you down.
Both are like the sensuous lover who can give you such
pleasure when you're
together, yet--deep down you know--is cheating on you and
laughing about
it.
Many smokers use their cigarettes as mood managers. The big
lie is that
cigarettes can help end a bad mood or create a good one.
Reality says
that while you may get a short-term boost in energy or mood,
cigarettes
are a depressant which also injure the body and deplete you
of energy and
thinking ability. Less than 20 minutes after you butt out a
cigarette,
your tension level starts going up as your body starts to
beg for another
nicotine fix.
Many smokers who make the commitment to quit tell themselves
that it must
be done right away. For most, the odds of long-term success
are greatly
enhanced by careful planning, support and the commitment to
specific
actions and boundaries. Professional, supportive coaching
can make the
difference.
If you've quit before, then what are you going to do
differently this time
to help ensure your success?
The self-deception that goes with any addiction is something
you can
choose to release. Your biggest step in letting go is to
simply decide to
be honest with yourself. Each time you choose to do that,
you take
another important step in empowering yourself. And that's no
lie.
copyright 1997 Smoking Release
Associates
If most of what we've said here makes sense to you, we
invite you to
inspect the rest of our web site and then take the next step
towards a
smoke-free life with our system.
Call us with any questions you may have.
RETURN
|