No Smoking!

I apologize for not posting updates more regularly but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. This post has nothing to do with any quote, just my own thoughts. I’ve been thinking about smoking. Before you jump to any conclusions, let me assure you this is not going to be a typical message about the dangers of cigarette smoking!

When I say ‘smoking’ you probably think of cigarettes, designated smoking areas, non-smoking restaurants and hotel rooms, the Surgeon General, and lung cancer. If you are someone who currently smokes, or if you used to smoke, you might have thoughts might along the line of nicotine patches, nicorette gum, or the phrase, “cold turkey.”

There are literally millions of people around the world who smoke. Humor me for a minute as I review what should be some pretty obvious facts. Smoking is not good for your health. It stains your teeth, which means it taints your smile. It leaves behind a distinctive, unmistakable aroma. And lets not forget it’s expensive! I am amazed at the amount of money people spend on cigarettes. Cigarettes are heavily taxed, possibly as a disincentive? With every breath you are inhaling poison. In short, smoking is bad for your health and it stinks! Did I miss anything?

I know several people who smoke. Many of these people are intelligent, confident, likeable, hard-working people; the kind of people that most of us would enjoy having as a neighbor, if not as a friend. But they continue to smoke. I don’t know why, but they do. They are not ignorant of the health risks, they are not oblivious to the expense, they know it is a self-destructive habit and yet they continue to smoke.

One person I know who used to smoke says it can all be explained in one simple word, “addiction.” They have become addicted to the habit and it’s a very hard addiction to overcome. I have never smoked, and therefore have no real concept of what this addiction is like. I try to my very best to encourage anyone who is trying to quit that terrible habit.

By now you are probably pretty convinced that I’m talking about the physical act of smoking. You know, lighting a cigarette, inhaling, exhaling, etc. If that is what you are thinking, then you are very mistaken. I’m talking about what I call, “mental smoking.”

You see there are many more people who smoke mentally. These people inhale into their minds, their brains, and their consciences a different type of smoke. Instead of physically inhaling toxic air, they ingest the toxins mentally.

When I speak of this ‘mental nicotine’ I’m talking about all of the many, many little things we do every day to destroy ourselves. We say we want to lose weight while we just finish off the last bite of food, before it goes bad - here, take a little puff, it won’t hurt. We talk about how we need to get into shape and then park as close to the door as possible – have another little puff. Are you beginning to get the idea? But these things are only the beginning. These little things are like the yellow teeth of physical smoking – they are fairly obvious.

Lets go deeper and take a look at the cancer that is struggling to break free inside. The key similarity is that like most cancers the problem is invisible on the outside. It’s inside that the real battle is taking place. What is going on inside your head? That is where the real ‘smoking’ addiction is. I say this because this is where we really act like an addict.

We “smoke” by talking ourselves out of the possibilities and opportunities that surround us. We listen to the toxic voice inside that says, “its too much work,” or, “it will never work,” instead of the voice that proposed the idea in the first place. We allow our minds and thoughts to be polluted with negative thoughts about why we can’t change our lives. We feed our addiction by rationalizing why nothing will work and why we should just continue “smoking.” Besides, if you talk to just about anyone you’ll find they are doing it to!

You might be thinking to yourself that there is no way this could apply to me. But let me tell you, I am always amazed at people who smoke and how much they are able to accomplish with a cigarette in their hands. Smoking doesn’t really appear to slow them down. They drive cars, put on make-up, and make change with a cigarette in their hands. I would suggest that your “mental smoking” is much the same for you. You carry on your life apparently not being slowed down at all.

But the truth is, you are slowly killing yourself. Every day you continue the habit, you short-change your life. You limit what you are really capable of doing. When was the last time you acted on an idea that you had? Do you have any idea how many fortunes have been made by such ideas? Are you familiar with the story of a salesman who lost a critical sale because his fountain pen exploded on the crucial contract? He took his frustration and decided to do something about it. Instead of “smoking” and engaging in all the self-destructive behaviors that “mental smoking” involves, Lewis Waterman started out to make a better fountain pen and over seventy years later, the Waterman pen company still bears his name.

If you really stop to think about it, all of the little things you tell yourself to rationalize why you can’t make your life better fall into what I call “mental smoking.” If you really want to stop, its important to understand that as a human being, you never really break a habit. What we do is replace one habit with another. If you’re going to give up this “mental smoking” habit that is slowly thought by thought destroying your life, you are going to have to replace it with a different habit.

Perhaps you could start by reading something positive. Currently less than 3% of the population currently has a library card. If you read only the best selling books in fiction and non-fiction for a year, you would have read more books than the average college graduate reads in their career!

For what its worth, I would suggest you put up a “No Smoking” sign on your desk, on your mirror, someplace where you will be forced to look at it. Stop smoking – for your mental health.