Motivation For Quitters

My friend TZ, from Laffaday, offered these wise motivational words for people trying to quit something they know is bad for them. I had to republish them here.

And TZ, quit stealing my stuff!


Greetings Laff Lovers,
It's been about a month since I quit smoking cigars, and thank God, I think I'm getting over the cravings. I'm always surprised at the mental gymnastics I go through when quitting a vice. Here are a few of the things I have repeated to help me through the toughest of cravings. I believe these thoughts are generic enough to apply to whatever addiction you want to break.

I'll smoke tomorrow.

I feel so stupid.

It's over.

Alcohol is the product of the devil.

The large corporations are soulless. They couldn't care less about our wellbeing because they know they will just as easily recruit our children, who WE have conditioned, to be their little vice consumers by setting a bad example. I refuse to support them anymore. F**k them all. While it may have been fashionable to have a death wish when I was younger, I'm over forty now and realize that I want to live a long time--without a respirator.

Did I say 'f**k those evil corporations'?

Those are some of my favorite thoughts for quitting. Now I'm not saying that all this s**t should be outlawed. No. I like my freedom. And my favorite freedom is the freedom to say 'No'.

Negatively-motivatedly,
TZ


Greetings Laff Lovers,
I dreamt I was in the cigar shop by my house buying a box of cigars from the guy who told me I'd never quit. I felt strange buying them--weak, but I bought them anyway. The clerk winked and welcomed me back. I didn't say anything, but suddenly I was in a green meadow with yellow flowers all around. It was a beautiful day and I was leaning against a barn. I was alone smoking a cigar. I panicked briefly when I realized I was smoking. "You don't smoke anymore!" I told myself. But I kept smoking, and it tasted good. I took a long pull and felt the fiery smoke flow down my throat and into my lungs as I inhaled. "Damn that tastes good...but I blew it. I had quit for a month...I blew it...I blew it..." Then I woke up and remembered I had almost the same dream when I quit smoking cigarettes nearly ten years ago. What a shitty feeling it is when you dream you caved in to something you thought you had beat. The good thing is that the dream is actually a motivator in real life, because I now know how bad I'd feel if I smoked. Now if I could just understand the significance of my recurring dream where I'm in the Blue Oyster bar doing shots with a guy in a leather leotard while the bartender asks me if I want a foot long kielbasa. Sometimes the subconscious messages are difficult to read.

Jungianly,
TZ