When I tried to quit smoking it took me about 7 years. I had managed to quit for a year while I was pregnant (for which I am still grateful) but a year after my daughter was born, I started again. I hated that she might be subjected to second hand smoke so I was motivated to try and quit. I’d quit for a year or two and then I’d start up again. For a long time I was under the illusion that I could “have just one”. Of course if I smoke one, I’m going to smoke a whole pack. Eventually, I realized that I am someone who can’t even have just one, so I worked on strategies for how to not “have just one”.
I haven’t smoked since 1990, but the lessons I learned from it stick with me to this day.
These days I’m working on changing my eating habits. There are stretches of time where I do really well and then others where I fall off the wagon. But what I learned from quitting smoking is to not give up on myself. Even if it takes a while to get back to working on the problem, it’s OK. Every bit of experience I gain with it helps in the end. I just have to “get back on the horse that threw me” with a new strategy for staying on!
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