Topic I've Avoided

[salsabike]

Good for you for posting this.

I smoked for many years before I quit. The most helpful thing I found was not just being physically active--I smoked during 12 years of being a dancer, as lots of other dancers did. It was years later on, when I made a training commitment to goals that required lots of regular, strenuous activity, like a long bike ride or a triathlon, that it got easier to quit. I would find myself thinking, "Do you really want to have diminished breathing capacity tomorrow, when you have to do X activity on your training schedule?" And often the answer was, "No, not worth it; I'd rather feel good when I do this activity." And eventually I didn't need to smoke anymore.

Smoking is a very public habit and it's easy to judge smokers. I have often wondered what private, not-good habits those judgers have, that are just less visible. Anyone trying to quit smoking deserves support. It is not an easy addiction to conquer. Good for you for continuing to try.