Happy “Spotlight Day”!
Today, I’m excited to share with you some of this week’s most inspiring success stories and tips from the CBQ community.
Let’s dive in!
Inspiring Milestone
This week, CBQ Program member Joy Aelbers from British Columbia, Canada, celebrated 3 years smoke-free! Joy had been a smoker her entire life and spent 30 years actively trying to quit.
She discovered the CBQ Quit Smoking Program at 59. Despite her doubts and fears of failure, she took a leap of faith.
The result? She quit smoking and her life transformed. Now 3 years later, at 62, Joy feels healthier than ever. She’s taken up bike riding and even completed a 10K walk/run—things she never imagined doing before.
Here’s what Joy shared with me just a couple of days ago:
This is Joy with her CBQ Success Certificate:
Inspiring Success
This week, Joe Wilson from England, UK, celebrated 4 years smoke-free! After smoking heavily for 25 years, Joe quit smoking on June 20, 2021, on Father’s Day.
He also wrote a goodbye letter during the CBQ Course, in the form of an amazing poem and listed all the reasons why he didn’t want tobacco in his life anymore.
Here it is:
Two fingers to the Toxic Trickster
Goodbye, good riddance
You’ve always been my go-to
When I need to take time out
To switch off, to relax with
To run away to and explore my doubts
Farewell, Adieu
You’ve always been a poisonous reward
A void in my routine
A sewer of escape to nowhere
But spiralling around in a cycle of despair
Ta-ra duck, I’m done
Cos you’re just not right
For me, at all, any more
I cannot keep going
back and forth with you
Szia, we’re over
I hate how I’ve had to plan
My day, my life around you
It’s distasteful how you’ve made
My mouth taste so monstrous
My gums gone infected
My teeth rotting in their sockets
I’ve been such a Muppet
But now I see the hold that you’ve held over me
The trick on my mind that I need you to exist
But I don’t, I never did
Two fingers to the toxic trickster
I’ve outgrown this toxic relationship, here it ends
I choose to be present, for my family and my friends
Clean lungs, full of energy, free to be me
No fear, no worries, an incredible future I can see
All you’ve ever brought me is trouble
I hate the regret
I’ve decided it’s time for me to move on
And be smoke-free again
As I was when I was born
I deserve for me to be free
A happy non-smoker
Now I’m putting myself first
I’ve dismantled you as a limiting belief
Your illusion’s totally burst
You have no power, over me, any more
So don’t call
Two fingers, to you, Toxic trickster
And that’s all
Sincerely, your ex
The authentic Joe says so
Thank you for sharing this, Joe!
Now Joe is living his best life!
This is what he shared with me about his current life as a non-smoker:
“Thanks to you and your programme I am still smoke-free, xx
A happy dad, partner, musician, director of SoMi Academy & MADULA and helping many people to express themselves through music.
Thank you for dedicating your life in the way you have”
Tip of the Week
This week’s tip comes from CBQ Program member Marilou Russo who celebrated 4 years smoke-free this week!
Marilou’s tip: Smoking never changes a thing.
“This is the longest I’ve ever quit, I owe it to CBQ. Do you know what I learned here? I learned having that cigarette doesn’t change a dog gone thing, it only made me feel worse than I already did. On this journey, remember you are in control, you control your emotions, what ever you are feeling that drives you to that cigarette, remember this 1 thing, “smoking is not going to change it”. Have your cry, have your moment of sadness, have your moment of anxiety, just have your moment without a cigarette. The first time you get through that moment, like that, you will be so proud of yourself, the euphoria it brings its life-changing. good luck, you can do it. We are all here to support you”
To your freedom,
Nasia Davos (MBPsS, IPPA, MA)
Ex-Smoker, Psychologist, Creator of the CBQ Method™
P.S. Feeling inspired to break up with nicotine… but don’t know how ready you are to say goodbye? Take this quiz to find out how ready you are to quit smoking this year:
cbqquiz.com
This free assessment will reveal your “Readiness to Quit Smoking” score, show you how close you are to success, identify what might be sabotaging your efforts, and suggest the next best step to take. It’s insightful, personalized, and quick!
