Monday, June 25, 2007

My Reasons for Quitting

So I am supposed to list out my reasons for quitting and doing so is supposed to somehow help me stay committed to doing this. The reasons seem rather obvious and I would imagine most of deciding to quit smoking are doing so for basically the same reasons. I doubt that there are many of us who are quitting "just because". So... lets see... I will try to post them in a somewhat numbered list though really all my reasons are equally important in there own ways and certainly tied in together. What it really comes down to is that I don't want to be a smoker anymore.

  1. My Health - This one is a no brainer. Smoking is bad for me. I am out of shape, I can't breathe, I hack up a lung every morning. I want to have more energy and be able to smell and taste my food. My grandmother died of lung cancer and my mother has emphysema. That should be reason enough to convince anyone to stop smoking.
  2. My Skin - While this may seem like the same issue for me it is in a way a separate one. I have a skin condition that is exacerbated by smoking. Not to mention that smoking ages your skin. I am 35 and right now I still look younger than my years but I can see that changing everyday when I look in the mirror.
  3. My Appearance/Smell - I never claimed I wasn't vain in some ways. I want to look and smell good. I want my teeth to be white and my hands and nails to not be yellow. I want to exercise more so I can get rid of this little pooch my tummy has developed and being a smoker keeps me from regularly exercising. I don't want to look 50 when I am 40; I want to look 30.
  4. My Money - I am poor. I don't mean kinda poor, I mean I really don't have the money to continue smoking anymore. I am at a point where I needed to decide if I wanted to continue smoking or continue eating. I am thinking food may be more important.
  5. My Family - I made a promise long ago to my son who is now 18 that I would quit smoking. I broke that promise and I have never forgiven myself. I don't want to be that person. I care about my family and friends as well and don't want to continue exposing them to my smoking. Every time I smoke near my mother I am killing her due to her emphysema.
  6. My Life - I need to make a POSITIVE CHANGE in my life and now is the time to do that. I can't keep going on the way I am and expecting to eventually find happiness. If I haven't found it yet doing things the way I have been doing them, then I need to face that it isn't going to happen till I do something different. Quitting smoking has become for me that something as it will change nearly every aspect of my life.

2 comments:

maggie said...

An excellent reminder. We share many of the same. I'm also 35 and look younger, but now that I've seen the first few wrinkles and know that smoking brings that many more, no thanks. In general hitting 35 has made me take health a little more seriously (OK, in between Taco Bell trips). I'm a big girl now - time to quit smoking like I'm still a kid who doesn't know any better. My body is becoming less forgiving.

Lakasha said...

That is exactly it... far less forgiving body. I have always been able to eat/drink/smoke not excercise and still look decent. That is changing and I need to accept that and take better care of myself.

Maybe it is a vain reason but hey.. if it motivates me.