I quit smoking
This is my story about how I stopped smoking the age of 20. I first considered quitting whilst I was at a songwriting retreat at Epoch Grove in Mount Camel (Roughly an hour and a half north of Melbourne, Australia). The songwriting retreat was facilitated by my good friend and mentor Patrick Blooming.
Patrick gave me some crucial advice whilst we were co-writing a song together. The song was about how I was feeling numb and unable to cry. This interaction played a pivotal role in my decision to quit smoking.
He noticed that I was smoking a lot of weed, and told me something that would change my life forever.
He told me “take it or leave it, but that if you want to take songwriting seriously, you should consider quitting weed.” Patrick had a friend who turned to weed to numb the pain after their parents died. As a songwriter, you don’t want to numb yourself, you want to be able to express yourself.
At the time, my 20th birthday was just around the corner. I decided to take him up on that and cut back on smoking from the day I turned 20.
To my surprise, after cutting back on weed for a month, I was able to feel things with more emotion and express myself so much more efficiently, which is crucial for songwriting. I went from being a heavy bong user who smoked everyday to smoking once or twice a week. My numbness had gone away and I was able to cry again! Since I was seeing results, I decided to quit weed for good, and stopped smoking tobacco soon after as well. I was very close to exclusively smoking vapes, but I had a good friend who told me that I shouldn't get rid of one bad habit and turn to another. Because of that friend, I decided to stop smoking for good. BEST DECISION I ever made in my life.
I went from not even being a being able to write one song to writing a song a day.
This goes to show that your environment really matters, and who you surround yourself with is really important. Just like the saying goes “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.”
Especially at the start when I first quit, it was very hard. The temptations to smoke again were unreal! Having a good mindset and incentive helped me overcome these temptations, and overtime it became easier and easier to resist. My incentive was to get better at songwriting (which is why I quit weed) and to get better at singing and preserve my voice (which is why I quit smoking altogether). You need to find something that will motivate you to fight the voices in your head, to do the things that you don’t want to do and seek delayed gratification.
Every time I was given the opportunity to smoke, especially when I first stopped, I would ask myself “Is it taking me towards or away from my goals?” Now, after not smoking for so long, I don’t even have to question it. I just don’t smoke and I say no in a heartbeat. It gets easier and easier the longer you resist.
To strengthen my mindset, I looked up artists who don’t smoke either. Some of the artists that came up include: Taylor Swift, Eminem, 50 Cent, Nicki Minaj, Kid Kudi, Amy Grant, etc.
I started to look up to these people. They inspired me in so many different ways, and really gave me the clarity to transform my mindset.
On the right you will find some photos from the songwriting retreat.
