Chocolate, Coffee, & Cigarettes.

Mmmm... Chocolate, Coffee & Cigarettes.  Sounds pretty good doesn't it?  Well, maybe not to everyone, but these are the things that I find myself enjoying often.  There's something about the the creamy chocolate taste, the warmth and jump start effect of the coffee, and the relaxing sensation of a cigarette that always seems to suck me in.  Three of the best, yet worst things.

I have recently decided that I was going to stop smoking cigarettes.  I never was a full-blown addict, or so I thought, until I decided to stop smoking.  For the past few years, I have enjoyed an average of 3-5 cigarettes a day. Not too many, but enough.  I thought compared to the average cigarette sucker I had nothing to worry about.  I was wrong.  Dropping cigarettes has been a challenge.  Let me tell you... the addiction SNEAKS UP ON YOU.

My decision to try and stop smoking was based on the fact that I found myself escaping or putting off issues, using a cigarette to avoid dealing with that issue. I would go have a smoke when work got stressful.  I would go have a smoke when I felt lonely.  I would go have a smoke when my mind was worried.  It was a way for me to deal with things, without really dealing with things at all.  And while I enjoyed a social cigarette with friends from time to time, it was the cigarettes I was smoking alone that were the problem. 

So as I battle the addiction to cigarettes, and I learn to face my thoughts and anxieties up front, I can't help but think, what other items am I "hiding behind"?  When I asked myself that question, it was easy for me to answer... Chocolate and Coffee.  Chocolate and coffee are like cigarettes to me.  They are comfort. Something to eat or drink in order to get that satisfying feeling for a moment of time. While they aren't as extreme as cigarettes, they have no longer become a "treat" in my life, they have become a routine.

Each day I eat a couple little chocolates through out, drink down 6 cups of coffee, then add on the 3-5 cigarettes.  If I keep this up I should have yellow teeth and high blood pressure in no time! Yuck.  I'm proud to say that I have limited my smoking.  While there are some days I struggle, I feel I have done a good job at slowing down. I hope and strive to get to a point where these items are no longer a daily routine, but a 'once in while' enjoyment. 



So to chocolate, coffee, and cigarettes: You three found my weak spot! But I don't need you in my daily routine anymore.  :)