Quitting Smoking The Most Expensive Way
Addict Brain vs. Promise Brain
Addict Brain
I was coming back from our mail drop when I crossed paths with a young man who works in our over-55 community. He’s probably mid-thirties and he was smoking as I approached.
I called out, “You need to quit that!” and he smiled wryly.
“I know. I keep trying. But then I give in.”
I told him that I know that dance all too well. It’s like somebody else takes control of your body. You want to quit, but somehow you find yourself at the convenience store counter buying another pack. It really feels like you are under a spell, acting against your will.
It’s addiction. It’s Addict Brain. Whether it’s tobacco, alcohol, or drugs, it has you in its grip. It is in control, and truly it is not weakness or any failing on your part: it just is what it is.
I told him that I finally quit when I thought I was going to die after helping pick up and move a humongously heavy deck. You can easily skip this part if you want, but he was too polite to walk away from an old man’s babbles.
The Deck
Over two and a half decades ago, I and eleven other fools moved an oversized, double planked oak deck uphill. By hand, no equipment but our…
