You just quit your addiction. It took a lot of courage to finally do it. His friends and family have long been on his case to quit smoking. You have also been in your case. So is life still the same as before, except you don’t have your addiction?
I say no, you can’t. Quitting an addiction is one of the most important things anyone can do for themselves. Along with that, you should make some changes in your everyday life. I know from myself, when I stopped drinking I was living with my sister who was still drinking. I would come home from work and she would often sit in the living room drinking wine and chain smoking cigarettes. Not drinking alcohol was so new to me and I didn’t want anything to stop me from losing my new found serenity.
So I’d go home, put on my jeans and sneakers, and head out to a beautiful strip of land, just above the Santa Barbara beach, and walk 45 minutes every night. I also took my walkman with a spiritual tape of some kind. I loved this routine. It helped me turn my life from drinking almost every day to living an alcohol free life that finally had some peace.
I used a different technique when I quit smoking. I used to take private singing lessons and would practice every night after coming home from work and having a cigarette. When I quit smoking I came home, fed the cats and immediately started practicing my singing. After practicing, I would “fool” myself into thinking that I had already smoked my cigarette. After doing this day after day, I finally stopped thinking about smoking altogether (by then, I was down to 2 cigarettes a day).
So what do you need to do differently in your life now that you’ve quit smoking? And if you haven’t kicked your addiction yet and you’re still thinking about your “strategy,” that’s okay. If you need to figure everything out ahead of time, great. Whatever is needed. Just know that from what I’ve seen with people who quit their addictions, you need to make changes so you don’t get back into the addiction. But know that this can be a very exciting time for you. You are changing your world! Instead of thinking of it as a bummer, think of it as a positive step in the direction you really want to go.
So what can you do? During the few hours you used to go to happy hour several nights a week, you can pursue a hobby, visit friends, read a book, take classes. I think one of the best things you can do is volunteer. Why do I say that? Because addictions keep you always thinking about you. It’s just the nature of being addicted: you’re always thinking about what YOU want and what YOU need. Volunteering takes you out of yourself and helps someone in front of you who needs help NOW. Personally, I think it’s one of the best ways to help you overcome the obstacles to overcoming an addiction. To this day I am a volunteer. I’m good with the elderly, so I volunteer at nursing homes. But pick a hobby or something that excites you and do it.