GOD GRANT ME SERENITY,
TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE,
COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND
THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
As smokers trying to stop smoking, we cannot change the craving for cigarettes, but even if we can't change the craving, we can accept it. The truth is that until we can accept our craving for cigarettes, we will not stop smoking. Lighting another cigarette is what we do if we decide we cannot accept the craving!
It's that simple: If you want a cigarette and you will not accept the craving, then you will surely light a cigarette. Or maybe you will have "one puff" to get you through, but even one puff is "not accepting" the things that you cannot change.
Accepting the craving does not mean we want the craving or like it. Accepting it means, first, recognizing the craving for what it is: a strong desire, physical or psychological, not a need, for a cigarette. That's all. We do not fight this craving; rather we look at it, letting it be, not getting panic stricken or feeling sorry for ourselves, but saying, "Yes, I really am craving a cigarette right now."
We do not practice self-deception and try to trick ourselves into thinking we don't want to smoke. This is an honest program. Nor do we try to hate the habit (or ourselves) so much that we quit. No, we cannot make ourselves stop smoking, but we can live with the craving, and so we pray for...
The courage to change the things I can...
The thing that we can change is our unwillingness to live, even for a short time, with the craving for the next cigarette. We can, with God's help and the support of the group, change our old way of dealing with craving, and we deal with it in a new way: We become willing to live with the craving; we no longer light a cigarette to get rid of the pain of craving. Our lighting up shows that we have not accepted what we cannot change and have not acted with the courage to change the things we can. Of course, living with a craving is hard, sometimes very hard, but you are not alone-with God's help you can do it. That is what this Serenity Prayer is all about.
So we ask God to help us accept the craving, and then we ask God to give us the courage not to take care of this craving--as we have always done--by smoking one more cigarette. Thus, we need the strength to accept the craving, and the courage not to light up...
And the wisdom to know the difference...
The wisdom we ask for here is to become aware of the difference between our old way of handling the discomfort of craving in the past (by compulsively lighting up) and the new way of dealing with cravings: accepting the craving until it passes, uncomfortable though we may be for a few moments.
The strength and courage to live as ex-smokers with this discomfort does come if we ask for it, even though it may take time. What we receive is not raw will power, but Power that comes from God, from the group, and from our inner-most self The power that we want is actually love! It is only with this kind of power that we can become ex-smokers and receive a new life free from nicotine addiction.
The reason we did not become ex-smokers years ago is that we chose not to live with the craving. Every time we craved a cigarette, we gave in and smoked it. And kept on hoping that in some magic way a day would arrive when the craving would disappear or we would find an absolutely painless way to stop smoking. That day never came. Each of us kept using our favorite rationalizations or excuses for lighting up, our own justification for not living with the craving. And we kept on craving and smoking, craving and smoking, year after year. But now we can change all that: The moment we can accept what is -- "I want to smoke" -- and face it with the courage God gives us, we can say, "I choose not to handle this craving by smoking a cigarette" then we become ex-smokers!
If you continue to smoke even though you say this prayer, then say it again, and again, and keep on saying it while you reflect what it means to you, a smoker. Eventually it will work. It will not work if you are not sincere, but if all you can do at first is to say the prayer without believing it, then at least do that! Some time may be needed for you to receive the power to live with the discomfort that comes from craving without lighting up, but eventually it will come. In time, the craving will diminish greatly, and someday, we trust. it will disappear altogether. If you have a slip, however, and you light one up, accept yourself reverently and say the prayer again the next time!
Remember, it really is not the stress, frustration or even the craving that causes us to have another cigarette, but rather our lack of strength to deal with the craving. That strength comes from God, from the group, and from your own healthy inner self! May God be with you now! - J.S.
**LauraChristine's Quit Mantra of the Day**
MY PERSONAL QUIT DATE: 01/01/01
QuitMeter Counter courtesy of quitmeter.com.
I can keep on smoking 3 to 5 packs of Merits a day and look forward to definitely developing Emphysema, being hooked up to an oxygen tank to breath-and carry that oxygen tank with me everywhere I go, and if I'm real lucky, I could wind up in a wheelchair too. Emphysema is a slow,
painful, expensive terminal illness. And then there is the pain I'll see in my daughters eyes' every single day. I'll see the smile my husband puts on for us all, but when I look into his eyes, I will see so much sorrow and so much pain. I won't even mention things that I haven't gotten around to doing yet. All the plans....and not-so-plans....never to happen..all because I'd rather inhale over 600 toxins into my
lungs...not to mention paying out the rear-end to do this to myself in the process!
OR I can give up these nasty things...sure it'll be hard, and I'll suffer for it, but in the end I'll be better off. I'll have to go through all the discomfort of giving up not only something that's a habit for me, but something that I am also very addicted to...NICOTINE!! In the end...I WILL WIN! Because I'll be here for all the Christmas', Thanksgivings, Easters, Halloweens, 4th of July's...and ALL of our birthdays! I'll get to watch all three of my daughters in their plays, athletic events, choirs. Be able to attend their open houses', conferences, and yes I'll even get to have those mother/daughter fights! I'll be here for them when they go out on their first date, and yes their first heartbreaks too...and any that follow.... I'll also be able to watch them all grow into fine, competent, young women. Help each of them on 'their' wedding day, and oh-of course, to become a Grandma!! But NO big rush on either of those two last stated! And there will be so much more!!! All of this, I get to experience, right along side my loving husband, Tommy.....
I had attempted quitting several times, before I decided to make this website in December of 2000. This website, I feel, has helped me tremendously, and still helps me, with my quit. It keeps my mind occupied, and I learn a lot of information, "Quit Smoking" related. I can sit in front of my
computer, with a few ideas to add to this page, and I can often forget that I am quitting smoking. Or that I even want one of them deadly things! Well till I sit back, to look at my work and I'll find myself looking around on my desk, for 'you-know-what'....but that's just a habit I got to break. This site is a very important part of my quit.
I surfed the net this past Spring of 2000, and was in awe at all the Quit Smoking web pages that I came across. But what really, really angered me was the web sites that claimed that their product is THE PRODUCT to get you to quit smoking-and they say for easily as well! All they successfully do is take your money from you. And when a smoker is desperate to quit, but can't quite seem to do it on their own, they'll shell out the money time and time again, until, like myself...it hits em....this is all Bull$hit! Please don't mistake me, I have nothing against Zyban, the patch, the inhaler, the gum, or even the nasal sprays...if they help you well then more power to you. Heck, I'm even using the patch myself. It's just all those other so-called-programs that get me so upset!
I hope that on this web page you will find whatever information it is you need, or at least take you somewhere that can. I also have a lot of other pages included too, that's not quite so "Quit Smoking" related. But if whatever you come across on this page, helps you find answers, or helps you to keep your mind off your quit, then hey, that's ALL that matters to me. Someone even stated to me just the other day, how one day, someone desperate to quit smoking will run across my page, and who knows??? Maybe it'll be just what they need to get their a$$ in gear....and QUIT!!! Thank you for stopping by, and do come back again, and remember to always "KEEP YOUR QUIT". NO matter what...IT IS WORTH IT!!!!
"I have not failed 10,000 times, but have successfully found 10,000 ways that do not work." Thomas A. Edison
"What doesn't kill me, only makes me stronger." Nietzche
TAKE A VERY CLOSE LOOK AT THESE:
The lung on the left are healthy lungs, those on the right are the lungs of someone with terminal Emphysema!
YES, these pictures are gross, but they are also a daily reminder for me, that if I go back to smoking, this is what I have to look forward to!
"SMOKERS PRAYER"
Heavenly Father, hear my plea,
and grant my lungs serenity.
Give me strength to kick the smoking
that's been causing all my choking.
Let my breath be fresh and clean
without a trace of nicotine.
Each ciggie I smoke so often
Adds another nail in my coffin
Guide me Lord, by your holy means
past all those cigarette machines.
It hurts to hear My Loved ones say
kissing ya's like lickin' an ashtray.
Please oh Lord, Hear my voice,
Give me will power, while I have a choice.
I ask your help and it's no wonder
Because if I don't quit, I'm six feet under.
Excellent site, for those who suffer from COPD! When I found this prayer, and read it, I couldn't help but feel as though it was written especially for me, although I know it wasn't!
"A healthy attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier." Anonymous
"Keep your mind on the things you want and off the things you don't want." Hannah Whitall Smith
Tips, Strategies, Steps and Info to Help You with Your Quit
~I've collected these from all over the web~
"The greater the obstacle, the more joy in overcoming it." Moliere
"You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt"
"I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward." Thomas Alva Edison
Just about every smoker that has successfully quit has on at least one or more occasion tried and failed, which if you think about it, means just by having a setback but not giving up, means that you have ultimately just increased your odds of finally succeeding for good!
Smoke Free Day Prayer
Thank you, God, that I have known
This smoke free day to call my own.
And tomorrow, this I pray,
Grant me one more smoke free day.
"Don't quit before the miracle happens." Anonymous
"Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one." Hans Selye
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." Herm Albright
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Website Created by LauraChristine 2001 Updated July 20, 2008 |