So I can think straight. Illusion #6 "Ok, good, I've got a smoke, now I can think straight." Ummm... Was I not thinking straight before? Was my thinking crooked? Bent out of shape? Out of whack? I know I was usually running late for things, and I know I certainly wasn't the most organized person in the world, but heck, I couldn't even think straight. For that reason I once again justified my 'need' to smoke. So I could think straight. HA! Yeah. I needed to smoke so I could 'think straight' like I needed more chemicals in my already intoxicated body. Crap, crap and more crap I fed myself. Believeing that I needed this dangerous toxin so I could think straight. How do you even think straight? I mean is there something wrong with the way we already think that was not in God's own Image and likeness that we had to create cigarettes to compensate for our imperfect brains? Somehow we figured out that there was a handicap in humanity, that our thinking was off. Off? Was it turned off? Who turned it off?? Or had someone forgotten to turn it on when we started out? How exactly, did our thinking go awry to begin with? Hmm let's take a look at that... Well here we have a society that makes it's living off of a profittable industry (among other things not mentioned here). So, somewhere along this way somebody figured out that if there were 'cool' products out there that people would buy them and they would make money, so they decided to convince people that tobacco was cool with advertising smoking ads selling us the idea that we are something special with that disgusting piece of filtered ash hanging out of our mouths or statuesque and romantic looking in between our fingers. That type of advertising in turn GOT US THINKING about how society viewed who we are. Oh, if we don't have these we are not 'cool'. Better do something about the way other people look at us. Truth: We were made to feel like we NOW had to worry about what others thought of us. My truth: I never cared about what other people thought of me, until I was 13 years old. That's when I took my first puff. Wait no that's premature. My first ACTUAL puff was when I was 11. See, my mom smoked, in fact my dad smoked too. I grew up in a house full of smoke. My grandfather smoked a pipe. Many of my

Eve, This illusion goes right along with the "so I can concentrate" line of thought. We feel this way because after we put out a cig, we start going into withdrawal again. You get busy, hurried, no time for a cig right now, then, "I can't think straight". We are antsy, our body is calling out for a fix, our minds can't stay on task, WE NEED A FIX! I really couldn't think straight until I got my fix and could quiet the junkie for a while so I could get back to the jobs in front of me. But, it was the constant withdrawal from nicotine that was at the root of it. Great post. It is wonderful to learn to live without this addiction...to be on our own. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/25/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 44 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,205 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $165 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 4 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2

Another excellent post in an excellent series, Eve. Like many here, I'm sure, your story sent me back to my beginnings. Just trying it be cool, just trying to fit in. :) Shevie [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/23/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 411 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 8,221 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1561.8 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 76 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 9 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2

EVE, You present many great points! Thinking for yourself is key and this is your quit :) It is not cool and never was, it was always in the eye of the beholder. Many of us had those cool jaded eyes. I am glad to see you are on the right track and are able to share your insight with us. Keep Strong, Josie ______________________ The SSC Support Team.