Curvy, Jan, and Everyone Else -- I want to say we've ALL been in your shoes, but since I don't know that that's strictly true, I will say that no one has quit more times than I!
Um, I wonder if I might inject a spiritual element? God knows, we all love Monica and her wonderful Jewish guilt, which we (okay, I) joke about a lot. I was raised Roman Catholic, and we can teach the Jews a thing or two about guilt!
But all joking aside, in strictly spiritual terms, guilt is not a good thing; it's a very evil thing inasmuch as it holds us down and persuades us that we'll never amount to jack. In that sense, guilt is a tool of the devil, who wants us to remain addicted and enslaved.
Guilt is a big old black boot on our throat while we are down and out. That is not helpful.
We go 60, 90, 120, 900 days without a cigaratte, and then we cave; guilt tells us our quit was worthless, just like we're worthless.
Guilt, my dear friends and fellow addicts, is a tool of the addiction: it seeks to keep us imprisoned. Guilt is among our strongest and worst enemies, most to be feared. Some of us are afraid of liquor; some are afraid of anger; some are afraid of whatever trigger du jour sets us off. Me, I've been afraid of all of those things and still am. But there's a far greater danger on our horizon, dear hearts.
It's not the booze, it's not the anger, it's not the trigger: it's the threat of guilt (failure personified -- I just made that up) that tells us we're losers and we'll never succeed in this -- or any other -- quit.
More heresy from good old pete -- I think it's not going to kill us to smoke again. Some among us know that one puff leads to one pack leads to a return to slavery, but that's not what's going to get us in the end. What's going to get us is the door we unlock with that first forbidden post-quit puff: guilt. (No, not GELT, Monica, so stop salivating!!) Guilt.
My dear dudes and dudettes: we can deal with slips, relapses, and complete changes of heart. We do it all the time. Guilt. however, defeats us, which is its goal and purpose. Guilt tells us we failed because at the core of our being, we're failures.
Let's expose guilt's lies and deceit for the sake of those who choose/decide/need/want to get just one mor