Structure and Routine

by Tracee Sioux

The holidays are finally over and now it's back to daily structure and routine. What a relief.

I used to believe certain things about myself which were tied to smoking. Perhaps you can relate.

Probably do to the portrayal of smoking in films or television, I believed it signified my carefree, come-what-may, laissez fair, free spirit personality.

Then I quit smoking and what I missed the most was the structure and routine smoking provided in my life.

I did not smoke in a care free kind of way. I smoked at strategically placed intervals throughout the day and I wasn't the least flexible about it.

I smoked with my first cup of coffee, on my way to work, during breaks at work, after meals, while on the phone, after getting in the car, before and after tasks, etc.

If someone messed with my routine, by suggesting I skip the cigarette for another activity, I might very well lose it.

The most uncomfortable times during my quit has been those very structured times when I would stop what I was doing and have a cigarette.

Since there were 20 cigarettes during the day, there were 20 places that felt foreign and uncomfortable for me because my routine had been messed with.

It has been a totally achievable struggle to invent another routine for myself. A healthier routine that includes gree tea treats, walks, yoga and large glasses of water.

Post-Quit I now realize I'm not not really a laissez-fair, come-what-may kind of girl. I'm a girl who likes routine and feels secure within structure. I work from home so my structure is self-imposed, but it makes me feel more stable, secure, productive and safe to impose it on myself.

Has anyone else realized their need for structure was integral to their personality and connected it to smoking?

Know When to Quit

I love Martha Beck, who writes a column in Oprah Magazine. This month she wrote a great article about quitting.

You should really stop by and read Know When to Fold 'Em.

Recently, psychologists Gregory Miller and Carsten Wrosch set out to investigate the mental and physical health of people who resist quitting, and of those who throw in the towel when facing unattainable goals. The second group—the quitters—were healthier than their persistent peers on almost every variable. They suffered fewer health problems, from digestive trouble to rashes, and showed fewer signs of psychological stress, Martha writes.

If you're like me, and you are or you wouldn't be here, when you quit smoking you realized it was a bigger deal than you thought. Like the smoking was this thing keeping you tied to anger and immaturity or other habits you believed were too hard to change.

But, when you finally let go of the smoking you thought, hey if I can do that - what else do I want to change?

It's a little like a snowball. The smoking is the one thing that leads to more exercise, which leads to better eating, which leads to less drinking, which leads to more productivity, which leads to better parenting, which leads to a better marriage.

Before you know it - you're the best quitter on the block and your whole lifestyle is one that's healthier and feels better and . . .

Well, just go read that article. It puts a healthier, happier face on quitting. Gives you a great perspective on change.

Changing Life

You quit smoking so your life is changing in ways you couldn't predict. When free of addict thinking you become free to reinvent great big portions of you life. What will you do with your opportunity.

I told you before I took up the Law of Attraction and a spiritual quest. I welcome you on the same journey. I'm participating in A New Earth reading with Oprah and Eckhart Tolle.

I also won that Law of Attraction in 7 Days Action Pack from my new mentor Jeff Howard.

Since then I have attracted my perfect house with all the perfect colors and rooms in the perfect neighborhood. Even my daughter has a neighborhood full of new friends and I specifically prayed for that.

I've attracted a more harmonious marriage and a better relationship with my kids. I've attracted better friends - people I find more interesting, exciting and accepting of who I am.

I've become completely free of depression and learned to exercise for fun. I found the perfect jeans.

Just the other day I got an email offering me my dream Mac laptop for an unbelievable price. The exact amount I had to spend. It's like it popped right off my dream board into my hands. A gift.

I've received and cashed the same exact $500 check three times. This can only be explained by the Law of Attraction and a miracle from God.

I'm telling you this Law of Attraction thing works. Now my mentor Jeff Howard is teaching a teleseminar on Wednesdays for the next 5 weeks. He's asked me to speak tonight about my experience. I'm inviting all of you to participate in this event to improve your own life.

You wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on smoking. You wasted uncountable hours on it. You believed you had to do it to be happy - regardless of the obvious self-destruction involved. This is an opportunity to do something different.

Come to the Attraction Mastery Teleseminar Series.

Brain on Chantix

New York Magazine This is My Brain on Chantix. Don't drink on chantix people - it's just not a good idea.

Flowering of Human Consciousness

Who is putting the kids to bed 15 minutes earlier tonight to make time to attend Oprah's online class?

Me, of course.

Are you too going to make time to discuss the Flowering of Human Consciousness as Eckhart Tolle describes?

If so, please join me at So Sioux Me where I'll be discussing the online course simultaneously over the next 10 weeks.

Awaken tonight at 8 pm Central time at Oprah.com and So Sioux Me.