The Myth of a Single Cigarette

For some reason, I have been lately having strong urges to smoke that legendary one cigarette. At first, I was feeling a bit confused, because I could not understand, why my urge to smoke has returned from its grave. However, after my initial shock was passed, I was soon able to realize, what was really going on. I had become too proud and careless. In a way, I had forgotten that I am addicted to Nicotine. I also remember that this moment has been the end of my other attempts to stop smoking. So, why do I feel that this attempt will be any different?

First of all, this time I am prepared to feel this way. I have identified the reasons behind my feelings and I know, what is the only course of action I can take as a reasonable human being. These feelings are the plot of my internal addict. It has not yet given up on me and its goal is clear. My internal addict wants more Nicotine and I am the one, who can deliver it. Understanding this helps me to make the correct decision. I am sorry my old friend, but it is time for us to continue our lives without each other. Now that I know the reason, why want to smoke just one more cigarette, I will choose not to do it. It really is not worth it.

It is not a secret that most of people, who have decided to stop smoking, will have this same feeling. I call this feeling the myth of a single cigarette. This feeling is created by a thought that smoking is just a bad habit. After a person has not smoked for a while, it is so easy to think that one cigarette cannot do you any harm. If smoking would be just a habit, this would be an understandable way of thinking (perhaps not acceptable though). However, since smoking is caused by Nicotine addiction, this kind of thinking is not just erroneous. It will ensure that a person will stay as a Nicotine addict and continue smoking after he/she cannot resist the myth of a single cigarette.

I was almost caught by this myth at Friday, when I decided to drink a few beers in my local pub. The only problem was that a large number of its customer were smoking. Does this situation sound familiar to you? I bet it does. In any case, I have visited that bar many times before Friday without any problems. I believe that my current problems were caused by fact that I have not been smoking in a month. I know that it is not much, but I still feel that it is a kind of a milestone. That is exactly, why I am being tormented by my internal addict.

A human mind can be brilliant of creating obstacles to one’s course. This is especially true, if the person in question is an addict like me. I solved my problem at Friday by leaving the bar and returning back to my home. That was a good way to solve the problem, but it taught me a lesson, which I must remember in the future. I must be very careful, when I reach a milestone in my stop smoking challenge. I know that my internal addict will be waiting for me to do so. After that, it will try to deliver a blow in my jar, but this time I will be ready. I will not have to resist the myth of a single cigarette. I can simply choose to ignore it.