On a smoking cessation forum the other day (not this one), someone expressed being displeased with people who use e-cigarettes for the wrong reasons.
"the wrong reasons?"
Seriously? Is this The Bachelorette?
One trembles to imagine what those reasons might be.
In what benighted horrorverse are there "wrong reasons" for wishing to reduce - even cease - the daily inhalation of toxic substances?
What the person meant, of course, is that he's displeased by people who use e-cigarettes for reasons that do not conform to his beliefs.
Speaking of reasons, I should thank him for such a clear illustration of Reason Number 7,926 that I'm SO glad I found ECF before stumbling into any of the many, many other 79,260 such groups all over the internet.
"Find a support group" was the Number 2 Item on my Smoking Cessation Preparedness List.
I was steeling myself for the task of lurking around dozens of the things for weeks, months, even, but the universe spared me the task by plopping me here before I'd even finished Item Number One, "educate self re: options."
The universe had its reasons, I guess.
I have no doubt that had I been obliged to endure the tedium of all that support group-shopping, I would have seen all kinds of text strings, that while they might be facepalm-inducing for ME, cued up the cones of light and angel choirs for somebody else.
Choosing the support group that's right for you, is, according to my beliefs, one of the single most important elements in any plan to change any behavior, whether it's ceasing to smoke or learning Ancient Icelandic.
It doesn't matter so much whether most of the people in your support group have the same beliefs you have nearly as much as it matters whether they share the same level of tolerance for other peoples' beliefs that you do.
But wait - wasn't I just hurling snark at that wrong reasons-believin' person? What's tolerant about that?
Ahh, this is exactly where we crotchety old ladies are so often misunderstood!
See, if his reasons for ceasing to smoke, ceasing the ingestion of nicotine, or both, are belief-based, no matter how cockamamie those beliefs might seem to me, I have no problem with that.
Nor does it bother me one bit if my beliefs seem to him to be incomprehensible, wacky, or both.
We're not here to support each other in cleaving to a particular creed or doctrine, we're here to help each other change a behavior that, if we're successful, help many of us live to believe another day.
That's the common ground, that's the thing we share, that transcends all this other stuff, and ratchets up how much we care about each other
Even if it's the only thing we share, it's a pretty big one.
So here's today's gibbet of Authentic little old lady advice: Whether your support group preferences are belief-based or sciencynerdy, when you find one where the people are glad you're there, give them a rose. @}}>----
"the wrong reasons?"
Seriously? Is this The Bachelorette?
One trembles to imagine what those reasons might be.
In what benighted horrorverse are there "wrong reasons" for wishing to reduce - even cease - the daily inhalation of toxic substances?
What the person meant, of course, is that he's displeased by people who use e-cigarettes for reasons that do not conform to his beliefs.
Speaking of reasons, I should thank him for such a clear illustration of Reason Number 7,926 that I'm SO glad I found ECF before stumbling into any of the many, many other 79,260 such groups all over the internet.
"Find a support group" was the Number 2 Item on my Smoking Cessation Preparedness List.
I was steeling myself for the task of lurking around dozens of the things for weeks, months, even, but the universe spared me the task by plopping me here before I'd even finished Item Number One, "educate self re: options."
The universe had its reasons, I guess.
I have no doubt that had I been obliged to endure the tedium of all that support group-shopping, I would have seen all kinds of text strings, that while they might be facepalm-inducing for ME, cued up the cones of light and angel choirs for somebody else.
Choosing the support group that's right for you, is, according to my beliefs, one of the single most important elements in any plan to change any behavior, whether it's ceasing to smoke or learning Ancient Icelandic.
It doesn't matter so much whether most of the people in your support group have the same beliefs you have nearly as much as it matters whether they share the same level of tolerance for other peoples' beliefs that you do.
But wait - wasn't I just hurling snark at that wrong reasons-believin' person? What's tolerant about that?
Ahh, this is exactly where we crotchety old ladies are so often misunderstood!
See, if his reasons for ceasing to smoke, ceasing the ingestion of nicotine, or both, are belief-based, no matter how cockamamie those beliefs might seem to me, I have no problem with that.
Nor does it bother me one bit if my beliefs seem to him to be incomprehensible, wacky, or both.
We're not here to support each other in cleaving to a particular creed or doctrine, we're here to help each other change a behavior that, if we're successful, help many of us live to believe another day.
That's the common ground, that's the thing we share, that transcends all this other stuff, and ratchets up how much we care about each other
Even if it's the only thing we share, it's a pretty big one.
So here's today's gibbet of Authentic little old lady advice: Whether your support group preferences are belief-based or sciencynerdy, when you find one where the people are glad you're there, give them a rose. @}}>----
