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The Monkey............................

17 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2364

[IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f190/cuddlebug230/aap12.gif[/IMG] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 12/25/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 15 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 308 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $54 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 9 [B]Seconds:[/B] 55

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 64

Excellent post Brent. Keep it up. I love reading your stuff. Smokefree2 [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 12/1/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 48 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 965 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $192 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 9 [B]Seconds:[/B] 20

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$22,713.50

Amount Saved
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Days: 5344 Hours: 10

Minutes: 10 Seconds: 22

Life Gained
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45427

Smoke Free Days
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227,135

Cigarettes Not Smoked

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 711

I gave a workshop the other day about counselling skills for managers. It's part of a programme for newly promoted supervisors or junior managers over a number of days. Counselling involves many skills.......among them, the ability to communicate well......the ability to actively listen and of course the wisdom to facilitate change. We have to counsel employees when there is a problem, either the employee can't do something or won't do something. People bring all sorts of baggage to work and have all sorts of issues that they have to deal with, and sometimes they need help. I have a number of simple role-play exercises that I use on this workshop......really basic stuff, for example, an employee who is consistently late and you, the manager, have to deal with it. People get to have a go and we video the interviews, playing them back afterwards. Two things that over the years have amazed me in their consistency. Firstly, how easy it is to get sucked into trying to treat the symptoms and not the problem. I might have a blister on my foot. I can put some ointment on it but I am not treating the problem. The problem may be that my shoe is too tight. Secondly, how people encourage the monkey that is sitting on the employees shoulder, to jump onto their own shoulder! "Ok......he's lost it folks"...... "The mad englishman is ready for the funny farm!"........ "He's seeing monkeys now!"....... Let me explain............. We ask the delegates to imagine the problem as a monkey sitting on the employee's shoulder. The name of the game is to get the person with the problem to solve it themselves. If a person is late for work on a regular basis, then they have got to sort it out....it's no good the manager running round to get them out of bed and giving them a lift. That's not solving the problem. If you try to solve people's problems for them, you end up collapsing under the weight of an entire tribe of the blinking things! (monkeys that is) So, where are we? Have I forgotten the thought process behind this post? Ah......yes.......smoking is a problem, or is it? Is it not the symptom of an addiction? Can we help others to stop? Of course we can! but we cannot take the monkey, we cannot physically stop smoking for them, we can only

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2364

bump

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 327

good god brent!!!!!!! :8o: your putting the willys up me!!! to deep for my thinking .......woosh it went right over my head! im going back to mr men!!! love ya jan xxx [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/13/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 96 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,415 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �379.2 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 9 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 36 [B]Seconds:[/B] 46

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 42

I so enjoy reading your posts Brent, you give us so much to think about, thanks [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/14/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 3 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 97 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $29.4 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 21 [B]Seconds:[/B] 27

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 453

"Monkey on his/her back" has been a euphemism for addiction in this country for many years: From the Dictionary of American Slang, 1960: "monkey on [one's] back" refers to drug addiction; considered to be an excessive burden of financial, physical, and/or mental responsibility; the drug habit; lit., a strong addiction that one spends most of one's energy to support. --Common addict use, now universally known: i.e. When without drugs an addict feels weighted down and depressed and when buying drugs an addict is supporting pushers and his drug habit, thus, fig., the addict carries an extra burden; it may be a large or small monkey--some have a $100-a-day monkey. Perhaps based on the observation "have a turkey on one's back." Interesting, huh, how these things get started and changed over the years. I'm not sure I appreciate the "turkey" reference though... Cold Turkeys don't get along w/ monkeys... Mc [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/31/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 189 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,843 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $756 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 18 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 31 [B]Seconds:[/B] 7

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 65

Im stuck for words brentw1 so Ill just :) and say NOPE :eg: [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/7/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 224 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,492 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �1075.2 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 37 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 51 [B]Seconds:[/B] 3

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 5195

Great Post Mad Englishman! [quote] Where smoking is concerned, none of the above are problems, they are reasons that we give to ourselves to justify smoking again. Are we treating the symptoms.......or have we identified and accepted the real problem......the addiction. [/quote] As addicts we are really good at justification. We can justify anything if we try hard enough. I "choose" to justify my freedom! :p [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 7/1/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 200 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,012 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $700 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 17 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 16 [B]Seconds:[/B] 35

18 years ago 0 +0 / -0 563

Brent, Very thoughtful and insightful post Mr. Englishman! Your analogy of the monkey was right on the mark, as well as treating the symptoms and not the problem. Excellent material! Poor Duffis.. his carpet is catching hell!! :p [b][color=Green]Be Strong. Be Smart. Be Quit.[/color] [color=black]Joe[/color] [size=3][color=Blue]Knowledge Replaces Fear[/color][/size] [size=2][color=black]Illegitimus non carborundum est[/color][/size][/b] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/15/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 247 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,191 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $605.15 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 43 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 3 [B]Seconds:[/B] 55

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$36,341.60

Amount Saved
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Days: 9770 Hours: 15

Minutes: 3 Seconds: 52

Life Gained
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45427

Smoke Free Days
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363,416

Cigarettes Not Smoked

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The Monkey............................