It’s a frustrating cycle: you try, the anxiety hits, and suddenly you’re thinking, ‘I am unable to quit smoking.’ But what if your past relapses weren’t failures, but the experience you need to finally succeed?..
“The truth is, I’m just too hooked on tobacco. I’ve thought about quitting before, but the cravings are so intense that I’m just unable to do it.”
“But have you actually tried?”
“Yeah, but I always end up going back. I can’t stand the anxiety it gives me, and in the end, for one reason or another, I find myself lighting a cigarette.”
“I hear you. Quitting smoking isn’t easy.”
“Man, remember that guy who—”
“Yeah,” he interrupts, “there’s always someone who says they quit without any trouble, but that’s like the person who never plays the lottery and wins the jackpot the one time they do.”
“Luck?”
“Call it luck, call it a fluke, call it whatever you want. But the normal thing is for it to be hard to quit, to a greater or lesser degree.”
“But I feel like it’s impossible for me…” you tell him.
“I know… but I used to think the same thing. Don’t you remember that I used to smoke even more than you do?”
“Yeah, but…”
“But nothing. Look, I get why you think that. But don’t think for a second that you’re a lost cause. Because plenty of people who struggled as much or even more than you eventually set their minds to it and made it happen.”
“But I already tried and I didn’t succeed.”
Why Saying «I Am Unable to Quit Smoking» is Part of the Process
“I know… and the same thing happened to me. I gave up more than once, but every time I tried, you know what? I learned something. I gained experience. I’d reflect on what I could do to avoid smoking the next time I found myself in the same situation that made me relapse…”
“What you’re saying sounds great, but the thing is…”