Today, I want to talk about smoking cigarettes and how it has affected me. I didn’t start smoking when I was in high school or even in middle school, but when I was much younger. It all began when I was between four and eight years old. I don’t recall what caused me to start smoking, but I recall wandering around and picking up unfinished cigarettes in Russia. At such a young age, I didn’t see anything wrong with picking up cigarettes and smoking them.

I stopped smoking after I was adopted and moved to America in 2001. I didn’t smoke again until 2010 when I was in high school. One day, I saw some classmates smoking and thought I would try it. From that point until last year I would smoke for one to three months and then stop for several months.

Last year I started smoking cigarettes regularly, and have been smoking every day since. Throughout this year I have tried to quit smoking by going cold turkey, taking nicotine gum, substituting dip tobacco, and even getting a vape. I realized that I could try any method I wanted, but if I wasn’t serious about quitting I wouldn’t succeed.

I found motivation to quit smoking by looking at what I desired and what was preventing me from achieving my goals. I discovered my desire for self-improvement was so strong it was constantly on my mind. Every time I bought a pack of cigarettes to fix my craving I would often have one or three from the pack and throw the rest away. Yes, I would literally throw away brand new packs that I spent 5 dollars or more on.

Currently, I am avoiding areas where I know people smoke. I’m also trying to keep myself busy by working towards my goals.  This helps a lot.  I also use this blog to keep myself focused on my goals.

I haven’t had a cigarette in 7 days.  By focusing on self-improvement, I no longer have a strong craving to smoke (trying to improve my cardio also keeps me focused on my goal). My lungs are in the process of clearing up and I don’t smell like smoke.  I will keep track of days I am smoke free on my blogs “about me” section.

Now you know my problem with smoking. My next posts will be about how to overcome and self-improve on the problem.

*feel free to comment anything related to the topic.