~Melody Beattie~
When we quit smoking, it pays to take stock of all that we're thankful for in our lives. For many of us, gratitude plays a significant role in our recovery from addiction.
Adopt an attitude of gratitude!
Avoid complacency by keeping your memory green and listing out the positives in your life.Smoking Cessation Forum members have compiled the following list of benefits they've found since quitting tobacco. Make your own list - it's a great way to bring the value of quitting into sharper focus.
- I'm grateful for courage and faith. They have become stronger since I quit smoking!
- I'm thankful for fear - overcoming it is such a wonderful process.
- Every breath that I take that is full and deep and smoke free.
- I'm grateful for my family, my many friends, for our great country, for my health, for the talents and gifts that God granted me, for the beauty of the world.
- I'm learning now to accept and confront negative feelings and deal with them, instead of letting the negativity dictate and run my life. I'm grateful that quitting smoking has taught me to do that.
- I am grateful for the humor we can find in this process of quitting tobacco, and in this life and the ability to not take ourselves so seriously.
- Stopping smoking is one of the greatest gifts in my life today. I'm understanding that it's not only about putting away the cigarettes, but a lot more about stopping to smell the roses, getting excited over sensations, and being able to express myself instantly.
- I am grateful for the air I am breathing. I am grateful that it doesn't hurt, that I'm not wheezing, or huffing and puffing anymore. Grateful for another chance at making my life more garbage-free.
- I am thankful for this place in cyberspace. The encouragement and support I've received have made a tremendous difference in going through the withdrawal and the beginning of life as an ex-smoker.
- I'm thankful for the desire to quit. I had that strong desire when I began this quit and that desire has not changed; I still want very very much to be smoke free!
- I am thankful that in a crowd of miserable people, I can make one smile and change their day just by simply holding a door open or smiling first, even if the door is slammed on me, and nobody smiles back. I am thankful that I remain kind and may be the one to break the cycle for one moment in that day.
- I am thankful for the gift of life I have been given.
- I am thankful that I am living for myself now instead of for the cigarettes. I have a chance to save myself from a smoking related disease. I can breathe without assistance. I am a good role-model for my daughter and her little friends. I am calmer and more relaxed now that I Don't smoke. I appreciate myself and my time so much more.
- I have 2 shopping bags full of tickets to the theatre, baseball memorabilia, motel receipts from places I've gone, all kinds of remembrances of places I've been and yes, including books of matches with fancy restaurants or whatever printed on them. They come from all over the U.S. and Canada. I am overwhelmed with gratitude when I go through these.
- I'm thankful that I live in a free country and for the ones who fight to keep it that way.
- I feel so grateful for oxygen.
- I am thankful for the life I live now, free of nicotine. I am grateful for my good health and increased energy. I do not take cessation for granted. It is truly the best gift I have ever, ever given myself.
- This day is a gift, and I welcome it with open arms! I'm thankful that I have the strength to meet the challenges that come my way today. I understand that challenges are opportunities(not obstacles) for me to learn and grow. I'm grateful for this day in front of me and will relax and let it unfold as it will.
