What a horrible image! Makes you think doesn't it?
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 I woke up and said to myself, “I don’t feel like smoking anymore!” It wasn’t something I planned or thought much about in advance. I have talked about quitting smoking but always told myself that I had other things to fix in my life before I gave up the tobacco. Here was my list:
- Get my spending/bad money habits under control (working on this!)
- Lose 40-50 lbs (already did that)
- Wait for my significant other to be ready to quit (he’s just not ready)
- New Year’s (or this date or that date – like ‘after my birthday’)
- When I move into my new place (that didn’t happen)
Excuses, excuses – and sometimes the spontaneous things we do in life are the most effective. So with Tuesday morning’s revelation, I just gave it to God and decided to run with it. I should note, I’ve been on a spiritual recovery journey these last 2 years anyway, and have overcome a gambling addiction, and have vastly improved my unhealthy relationship with money. The foundation for my recovery has come from Celebrate Recovery and the work I’m doing there has allowed me to gather up the tools I need to get my life in order. This time around, the quitting smoking is entirely different for me because I’m viewing it as an act of worship that is pleasing to God.
Some days, this is how I feel.
So what brought this on? I’m not 100% sure, but I know it’s a God thing. This past weekend in church a very wise young pastor talked about the importance of community – he shared statistics that stated that a person who is totally healthy and totally lonely will typically not live as long as the person who smokes and drinks but is actively involved in community. The by-line was something to the effect of – it’s better to eat a twinkie with friends than to eat an apple alone. (Remember this is all a paraphrase, but the message was profound). So, since I am actively involved in community, I thought it would be even better to get healthy AND be in community – so I can live to be 120! (I’m sure my kids will love that!)
So in line with that, I am leaning on my community to hold me accountable. I currently co-lead a women’s 12-step study at my church to help others through their journey to let go of life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups, but I’m also realizing that I need far more than that small group to hold me accountable. That’s where Social Media comes in.
The rough math – in my real “in person” life, I probably have about 20 people who I would look to keep me in check and hold me accountable to not smoke – but knowing myself and my lack of will power I decided to take it to the masses. If I add up my current online social networks – just including Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn, the numbers amount to about 3,300 connections. To some that number may seems small in the world of social networking, but for me that’s over 3,000 that can hold me accountable to not smoke.
I hadn’t intended to use my online connections for this purpose, but one Tweet and one Facebook status update (both which fed to my LinkedIn status) amassed many many comments in just mere moments, and the comments and praise continue to come.
The kinds words from all of my Social Media “friends” and “tweeps” and “connections” are truly helping to keep me motivated. The only one I’m truly accountable to is God, but the “You Go Girl!”, “You can do it!” (and my personal favorite) “Just think about how much money you will save!” are really helping me to stay motivated. Here are my other 3 reasons for quitting:
So for those that don’t want to hear about it – sorry, but I will continue to tweet and post until I feel I’m free and clear – and to those who are taking the 30 seconds to leave an encouraging word – I AM TRULY GRATEFUL!
If you would like to join my accountability team and watch my progress, please send me a friend request, or catch up on Twitter! Not only do I already feel better… but I smell better too! :)
Please Re-Tweet this post! Maybe we can get just one more person the encouragement they need to quit smoking too! We can do this!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome Wendy, you can do this… you are the ultimate ‘I can do it’ person… and I know you’ll overcome this… Yes, you smell better
… wait til your taste buds realize what you did! They’ll be on their tiptoes watching, waiting for that artichoke ;0)
Love you, you are an inspiration to the masses…
Lynne
Wendy:
Time will sometimes feel like it’s dragging on forever–but then you’ll soon realize how much time you’ve wasted smoking (especially if you work in a non-smoking environment and have to go somewhere else to puff). When I quit, I was working on the 11th floor of an office building and didn’t realize how much time it kept taking for a nicotine break.
You won’t notice the change in smell until somebody else who IS a smoker walks by you. At first, you’ll go “hmm, nice” as your cravings kick in. In about a month or three, you’ll go “Uck! did I stink like that!!!” and as yo walk through the crowd of smokers at the door of a mall or office building, you’ll be holding your breath!
I’m super proud of you, my friend. You have made such huge changes even since we met. I can’t wait to see what else God has in store for you. I am proud to call you my friend!!!
Thank you Buzzy! You are one of my greatest accountability partners in my real life. I’m so thankful to have you as a friend.
Larry – so true. I’ve done well on the time killing aspect of it. But I work primarily in a non-smoking environment, and pretty much all of my friends/family are non-smokers. So it makes it easier to be around non-smokers.
My challenge is the “in the car” time. Especially right after work, but I now carry with me an boat load of gum and chew chew chew and before I know it I’m at my destination!
Thanks for taking the time to leave me a note and share your experience I truly appreciate it. The more stories I hear, the better off I am!
Thanks Lynne
The thought of Artichokes tasting even better is quite something to look forward to!
when I was set free from smoking 9 years now driving was one of my hangups too. I purposely chewed cinnamon gum, and sang while driving loud as I could on the radio. I mean seriuos sining like people would look at me like I was nuts. 9 years of less nails in my coffin and saved $ thanks be to Jesus. you can do it . oh and I also put half of my $ away and splurged on something for us. I’ll be praying . Ialso have a shamed story i’ll tell later.
Phil,
Thanks for the note and the prayers are definitely appreciated. I look forward to hearing your shame story.
Each person that encourages and shares with me, makes it that much easier to abstain, so thanks again!
Wendy
Hmmm…you have commented this week about how focused you have been…how much work you have done. Do you think the two are related? How motivating to think that food, especially artichokes, will start tasting even better. Wow. You always wow me. You are a strong woman. Keep rollin.
Sue
Just went to add your blog post to Digg…and it was there! I dugg it.
Sue