A
Conspiracy?
We all know the stereotype.
The main
character in the TV show decides to quit smoking.
We see him in bad-humor, walking up-and-down the room being torn
apart by some intangible force.
Soon we see him in a mood where he will virtually kill to get a
cigarette - as he jumps up and down tearing his hair out. Who in their right
mind would want to face that kind of agony ?
And what better way
could you get to persuade people NOT TO EVEN TRY?
I wonder if it is only a coincidence that
many of the early American TV shows where this MYTH first originated were
sponsored by the psychological departments of the large tobacco companies ?
Enough said.
The
Power Of Myth
What is really
sad about this myth,
though, is not only that TV and Film companies continue to perpetuate it,
but that people who genuinely want to give up are put off and frightened
by these powerful images.
And as a result, put off the day ( if it ever comes
at all !) they will quit smoking in order to avoid this pain - AND IT IS ALL AN
ILLUSION.
But because people
BELIEVE IT IS TRUE, IT
AFFECTS THEM ACCORDINGLY.
A belief may not be true in reality - but if
we believe that it IS - then it will affect us deeply as if it were
true.
When
The Earth Was Flat........
A startling example of this is that
for CENTURIES people believed that the earth was flat.......
And so for
centuries, people were afraid to cross the sea where the sky and the
sea met in case they fell off the earth !
Even though, at that time
this belief was factually incorrect, the FACT that people
BELIEVED it was TRUE AFFECTED their whole lives in regard to
travel.
All their attitudes, feelings and plans
about traveling to different places were colored by this
belief.
It took one courageous man to challenge this
belief and to show people that there was no
need for fear and terror if they wanted to sail around the
world.
Immediately, when people realized this was
true their WHOLE attitude to travel was transformed.
All their fear and apprehension at the
prospect of traveling vanished.
Right
now, you, too have a false belief and fear
that terrible pains and horrors await you if you quit smoking.....
And because you have
believed this for so
long, like the travelers of old, you begin to really feel terribly
fearful if you have to quit smoking.
A
Story.......
Imagine you were alive at the time
when the world really believed the earth was
flat.
You
believe that if you
travel too far out to sea you could fall off the
edge into oblivion.....
When,
one day, you are asked by the king to sail out to sea to
find the king's lost money. And you are given
no choice.
Now it is
the night before sailing.................
How do you think you would be feeling?
Tense ?
Anxious?
In fact, probably pure simple dread, because like
everybody else, you believe that if you sail too far out you might
die and never be heard of again.
Then, suddenly next morning, you hear the
exciting news that has just reached your area and you can't believe it.
A
Spanish sailor has sailed around the world and discovered that the earth
is round and that sailing is one of the safest forms of travel
available!
In
one instant, your whole attitude to your
journey is transformed, and now you are full of excitement and joy at the
adventure ahead of you.
As a smoker, the old belief that the journey
ahead of you will be hard and terrible is false, but if you continue to
follow that old belief, you will feel the same fear and emotions as the
travelers of old.
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KEY
IDEA |
The old belief that the
journey ahead of you must be hard and terrible is false but if you
continue to follow that belief you will experience the same old fear, pain
and uncertainty.
Millions
and millions of us have ALREADY made
the journey and we have already made the great
discovery:
If you approach the
journey in
the right way, there is nothing ahead of you but success, joy and
freedom as you reach the land where non-smokers flourish.
The only thing between you and that
reality is a core belief that says that quitting smoking must
be agony and should be avoided.
It's a lie.
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