Post by judyb on Mar 18, 2018 7:25:06 GMT -5
Hmmm, I thought I was the only one who did that. Actually in my case it
isn't a real person. I just made up a character I call "Nick Jones". It
sounds pretty silly, but it sometimes help to visualize the cravings as an
actual person. That way you can abuse them and tell 'em to get lost. Nick
Jones is a very old friend of mine. We met in high school. Nick was known
by everyone and thought to be a somewhat unsavory character, but it
was sort of cool to hang out with him due to the danger and "taboo"
factors. And, of course, when you first meet Nick he gives you a little
buzz when you hang out with him - but of course as soon as he's
ingratiated himself into your life, he starts withholding that little favor.
Old Nick, he's a friendly guy. Charming. He says nice things to you,
makes you feel good. He never abandons you, and he's always got time
to talk and listen to your troubles. He's never to busy to take a break and
shoot the sh*t with you. I hung out with Nick (and his pal, Joe Camel) all
through high school, college, and up until four days ago, when I told him
to get lost. Now, Nick and I, we had a lot of good times together. I can
hardly remember even one time in my life when I was truly having a lot of
fun and Nick wasn't there. Parties, concerts, dates, late nights -
everything. And of course he was there to help me out in the bad times,
too. To be completely honest, I like Nick. I always enjoyed his company,
right up until the moment I kicked him out. I still like Nick. I probably
always will. But I couldn't deal with the collateral damage. He was just too
dangerous and expensive (in more ways than money) to keep company
with any longer. So now I've said to Nick Jones: "Sorry, pal, but you're
outta here. I never want to see you again". And old Nick, he's
pissed off. He doesn't like it one bit. He isn't gonna leave so easily. He's
still hanging around bugging me even though I'm ignoring him. I'm
using my patch as a talisman, to ward him off like a cross with a vampire.
I'm hoping he'll eventually give up and go away, and I can toss my magic
amulet. But meanwhile he's still here, constantly, bugging me. He taps
me on the shoulder every five minutes and says "Hey, pal, remember
me?" Sometimes he whispers in my ear, sometimes beats me over the
head with a hammer and it's so sudden and powerful that I have a really
hard time ignoring it. And when the direct approach doesn't work, he
gets even more evil. He starts in with the guilt trips. He'll say things like
"Don't you like me any more?", or "Remember all the good times
we had?", or "Who's been here with you, right by your side all
these years?". And that's really tough to deal with. The tactic that he
has the most success with, the one that almost gets me, is
reasonableness. He'll say things like "We'll just hang out on the
weekends, OK? I promise I won't bug you during the week.
Really." Or he'll say "Hey, let's just get together once a day, you
know, for five minutes - catch up on old times. You know you
want to." And I do want to. But Nick, I know he's a liar. I know that he
won't settle for halfway. Oh, sure, maybe he'd stick to his promise for a
week or two. But then he'd be dropping by on Tuesday "just for a
second", and the next thing I know he'd be a constant companion
again. I can't have that. I have to be strong. It's tough to be so mean to
someone you know so well, to such and old and dear friend. But I have to
be strong because I know that in the end, someday, he's going to turn on
me and kill me. He can't take me down just yet, I'm still young and strong
and healthy. But Mr. Nick Jones is a patient man. He'll bide his time and
wait until I'm not looking. And someday, when I'm so used to having him
around that I almost don't know he's there, he'll stick the knife in and
twist it. No, keeping company with Nick Jones, no matter how much you
like him, is just asking for trouble. It's like keeping a "tame" bear around
the house. It's cute when it's young, and fun to play with, and seems
harmless enough. But when that bear cub becomes an adult, someday
it's gonna maul you. I can't physically assault Nick. After all, he's invisible.
But I can mentally punch him, and shout at him, and tell him to scram.
Hopefully I'll be successful eventually and he's move off to a safe
distance. But I know he'll never go away. I'm not strong enough to kill
him completely, like some people can. For me, he'll always be there on
the perimeter, waiting for my weak moments. If I ever even acknowledge
his presence again, just say "hi", he'll be back at my side in a flash.
Because Nick's a really forgiving guy. No matter how much I abuse him,
he's always ready to forgive me. All I have to do is greet him again, even
reluctantly, and all will be forgotten. He'll still be happy to be my pal, just
like the good old days. Nick doesn't hold grudges, and he's always happy
to see you. People always comment on how silly it is for a company to
sell a product that kills its customers. And I always answer with the old
parable about the frog and the scorpion. You know the one. A frog is
about to swim across a river when a scorpion comes by and asks it for a
ride across. The frog says "No, because you'll sting me." The
scorpion promises that he won't sting the frog - why would he? Then
they'd both drown. So the frog starts across the river with the scorpion
on its back. Halfway across, the scorpion stings the frog. As they go
down, the frog asks "Why did you do that? Now we're both going
to die!" And the scorpion says "It's in my nature." Nick Jones has a
nature just like that scorpion. And even though he's a really friendly
scorpion, he's still going to sting you in the end.
--- Doug Linder from the alt-support-stop-smoking board (as3)
isn't a real person. I just made up a character I call "Nick Jones". It
sounds pretty silly, but it sometimes help to visualize the cravings as an
actual person. That way you can abuse them and tell 'em to get lost. Nick
Jones is a very old friend of mine. We met in high school. Nick was known
by everyone and thought to be a somewhat unsavory character, but it
was sort of cool to hang out with him due to the danger and "taboo"
factors. And, of course, when you first meet Nick he gives you a little
buzz when you hang out with him - but of course as soon as he's
ingratiated himself into your life, he starts withholding that little favor.
Old Nick, he's a friendly guy. Charming. He says nice things to you,
makes you feel good. He never abandons you, and he's always got time
to talk and listen to your troubles. He's never to busy to take a break and
shoot the sh*t with you. I hung out with Nick (and his pal, Joe Camel) all
through high school, college, and up until four days ago, when I told him
to get lost. Now, Nick and I, we had a lot of good times together. I can
hardly remember even one time in my life when I was truly having a lot of
fun and Nick wasn't there. Parties, concerts, dates, late nights -
everything. And of course he was there to help me out in the bad times,
too. To be completely honest, I like Nick. I always enjoyed his company,
right up until the moment I kicked him out. I still like Nick. I probably
always will. But I couldn't deal with the collateral damage. He was just too
dangerous and expensive (in more ways than money) to keep company
with any longer. So now I've said to Nick Jones: "Sorry, pal, but you're
outta here. I never want to see you again". And old Nick, he's
pissed off. He doesn't like it one bit. He isn't gonna leave so easily. He's
still hanging around bugging me even though I'm ignoring him. I'm
using my patch as a talisman, to ward him off like a cross with a vampire.
I'm hoping he'll eventually give up and go away, and I can toss my magic
amulet. But meanwhile he's still here, constantly, bugging me. He taps
me on the shoulder every five minutes and says "Hey, pal, remember
me?" Sometimes he whispers in my ear, sometimes beats me over the
head with a hammer and it's so sudden and powerful that I have a really
hard time ignoring it. And when the direct approach doesn't work, he
gets even more evil. He starts in with the guilt trips. He'll say things like
"Don't you like me any more?", or "Remember all the good times
we had?", or "Who's been here with you, right by your side all
these years?". And that's really tough to deal with. The tactic that he
has the most success with, the one that almost gets me, is
reasonableness. He'll say things like "We'll just hang out on the
weekends, OK? I promise I won't bug you during the week.
Really." Or he'll say "Hey, let's just get together once a day, you
know, for five minutes - catch up on old times. You know you
want to." And I do want to. But Nick, I know he's a liar. I know that he
won't settle for halfway. Oh, sure, maybe he'd stick to his promise for a
week or two. But then he'd be dropping by on Tuesday "just for a
second", and the next thing I know he'd be a constant companion
again. I can't have that. I have to be strong. It's tough to be so mean to
someone you know so well, to such and old and dear friend. But I have to
be strong because I know that in the end, someday, he's going to turn on
me and kill me. He can't take me down just yet, I'm still young and strong
and healthy. But Mr. Nick Jones is a patient man. He'll bide his time and
wait until I'm not looking. And someday, when I'm so used to having him
around that I almost don't know he's there, he'll stick the knife in and
twist it. No, keeping company with Nick Jones, no matter how much you
like him, is just asking for trouble. It's like keeping a "tame" bear around
the house. It's cute when it's young, and fun to play with, and seems
harmless enough. But when that bear cub becomes an adult, someday
it's gonna maul you. I can't physically assault Nick. After all, he's invisible.
But I can mentally punch him, and shout at him, and tell him to scram.
Hopefully I'll be successful eventually and he's move off to a safe
distance. But I know he'll never go away. I'm not strong enough to kill
him completely, like some people can. For me, he'll always be there on
the perimeter, waiting for my weak moments. If I ever even acknowledge
his presence again, just say "hi", he'll be back at my side in a flash.
Because Nick's a really forgiving guy. No matter how much I abuse him,
he's always ready to forgive me. All I have to do is greet him again, even
reluctantly, and all will be forgotten. He'll still be happy to be my pal, just
like the good old days. Nick doesn't hold grudges, and he's always happy
to see you. People always comment on how silly it is for a company to
sell a product that kills its customers. And I always answer with the old
parable about the frog and the scorpion. You know the one. A frog is
about to swim across a river when a scorpion comes by and asks it for a
ride across. The frog says "No, because you'll sting me." The
scorpion promises that he won't sting the frog - why would he? Then
they'd both drown. So the frog starts across the river with the scorpion
on its back. Halfway across, the scorpion stings the frog. As they go
down, the frog asks "Why did you do that? Now we're both going
to die!" And the scorpion says "It's in my nature." Nick Jones has a
nature just like that scorpion. And even though he's a really friendly
scorpion, he's still going to sting you in the end.
--- Doug Linder from the alt-support-stop-smoking board (as3)