GOOD HEALTH IS WEALTH: Michael Walsh: NOTE: If you are in denial about your addiction, don’t bother reading further:

The eyebrows of my cardiologist lifted when I admitted that I once smoked 40 cigarettes a day.  Smiling, he replied that had I said I had never smoked, he wouldn’t have known. 

My lungs had completely recovered from the effects of 25 years of heavy smoking.  My addiction started when I was a 16-year-old sailor and continued until I was 40 years old.

I had, of course, stopped smoking many times. As the comedian quipped, ‘Giving up smoking is easy. I do it every week.’

The Secret of Giving Up

So, how did I finally succeed easily after having failed the stress test so many times before? After all, at that point, most smokers surrender to the habit and carry on without testing their doggedness further.

One of the easiest things I have ever done

Surprisingly, giving up smoking was one of the easiest things I had ever done.

Only afterwards did I realize the reason for my success was my approach. When in the past I had ‘given up’, I set myself a target. ‘I will see if I can reach midnight, the weekend or whatever.’

That was self-defeating for that ploy conceded that I might fail. If you think there’s a possibility of failure, don’t waste your time on it. Avoid pursuing anything you doubt you can achieve. You have already capitulated.

I changed my strategy

I changed my strategy, and I remember the incident clearly. I hadn’t planned on giving up, not the night or the week before. My decision to never again smoke was purely an impulse.

Having lit my cigarette, I immediately stubbed it out in the ashtray at the side of my bed.

As I did so, I made a decision. Whatever the consequences, and regardless of suffering, a cigarette would never touch my lips again.

The Secret

I never touched cigarettes ever again. Why? I discovered that giving up smoking was easy. It really was one of the easiest things I had ever done in my life. Why was this so when on scores of previous attempts, I had miserably failed and sometimes within hours.

By accident, I had discovered the secret to ridding myself of the smoking habit.

I was sincere in my grit

I succeeded because not once did I argue that. ‘I will see if I can hold out until midnight (Sunday, the end of the month). Equally importantly, not once did I consider that I might fail.

Unyielding, I assured myself that never again would I smoke, and it really was as simple as that.  I had burned my bridges, and there could be no return.

Here is the interesting bit

Here is the interesting bit that I describe only in similarity. Imagine little gremlins are inside you. They are determined to make you suffer if you give up smoking. They will make your life hell each time you try.

But, in my case, the gremlins surrendered. My unbending resolve and inner conviction ensured that I would never again touch tobacco.

Amazing Success

Astonishingly, from that moment on, the perceived stress of giving up was far less, quite bearable and quickly evaporated. Within four weeks, I had succeeded.

No kidding, I hadn’t suffered much at all. Even the thought of placing a cigarette in my mouth would have knocked me sick.

What was the secret?

I had not whispered to myself: ‘I will see if I can last out until ………….’  Instead, I had whispered to myself: ‘No way will I ever place a cigarette in my mouth again.’

The Gremlins knew they were on a losing streak. They realized there was no way I would ever smoke again, no matter how much I suffered.

Napoleon understood a fundamental principle of war. He stated: ‘The first rule is to convince your enemy (in my case, the gremlins) that they cannot win.’

The Worrywarts

The worrywarts convince themselves that irreversible damage is already done. They believe it is pointless to deprive oneself of a little ‘harmless pleasure.’

This is a damned lie; the bronchial system, within minutes, begins to recover. You can actually feel the benefits of giving up smoking within an hour.

They are not unpleasant sensations

Anyone who has tried to kick the habit will have experienced unfamiliar sensations in their chest as they breathe. It is worrying, isn’t it? Until you realize that the strange sensation is not negative but a positive.

It is a WONDERFUL sensation. These sensations indicate that your lung membranes were previously denied oxygen by the tar-like nicotine. Now they are experiencing the passage of healthy and fresh life-giving oxygen.

It was motivating

When I realized this, I gloried in the breath-by-breath signs of my improving health. Finally, good pure oxygen was free to nourish my body.

Wet blankets also claim that you gain weight when you give up smoking. Again, this is a damnable lie. In fact, non-smokers, because they are healthier and burn up more calories, do not put on weight. Before and after, my weight remained at 88 kg.

In fact, as I carried on for another healthy 43 years, my weight after stabilizing reduced. At 83 years of age, I am now fighting fit.

A Final Point

A final point: The UK regime snatches 80% of taxation on each pack of cigarettes sold. This adds up to £8 billion each year.  If you are an American, you are coughing up $24 billion every year to your government.

No wonder the migrants are so well looked after. As a smoker, you’re paying for them. ~ Michael Walsh.

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