How I was finally able to quit smoking: Project Freedom 2021

Okay, Beshies, so this is the project that I was vaguely mentioning in my videos, stories, and posts last year: PROJECT FREEDOM.

Project Freedom is my road to quitting smoking. I've been smoking since I was 16 and I've been chained to the habit for 17 years. It's been that long and been too long; last year, I decided to finally quit.

But it's not my first time, actually. I tried to quit in 2015 due to health reasons, but I went back when I started feeling better, health- wise, again. Many people would recount stories of health scares and death related to smoking to help me quit, but sadly, they weren't able to sway me.

But deep inside, I have always wanted to quit; I've been waiting for the day when I can finally say that I am no longer a slave to the habit.

2021 made me realize and do a lot of things, and one of which is Project Freedom. There were bumps along the journey, but I was able to bounce back and I did better than in 2015. I attribute its success to some key factors and most of all, to two questions that helped improve my determination and made Project Freedom successful.

If you are smoking or do you have bad habits and vices that you wish to break, let me ask you: are you ready to quit? If yes, then read on.

WHAT IS PROJECT FREEDOM?

It's what I called my quit smoking mission last 2021. Basically, I had to take my cigarettes and Starbucks budget from my bank every day, but instead of spending it on those, I had to direct them to a fund. I came up with the idea because I thought that quitting would be more effective if I rejuvenate the habit instead of eliminating it; a 17-year old habit would be tough to break and I will definitely encounter a lot of failures, which I wanted to minimize because I really, really wanted to quit last 2021.

This is the premise of Project Freedom: everyday, I took my cigarettes and Starbucks budget as if I was going to spend it, but instead of actually spending it on those things, I redirected it to a reward fund. It's a 1- year project and whatever money I amassed in the fund, I gave myself permission to spend it all on what I wanted to get myself for the year.

The premise that I designed for Project Freedom is what made it very successful; instead of making it fear- based (health scares, lung cancer, death- related premises that people would often use to motivate themselves to quit smoking), I made it incentive- based; the positive premise made it really enjoyable to do, therefore I was able to do it all the way.

TWO VERY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS THAT LED TO PROJECT FREEDOM'S SUCCESS

How was I able to form a strong premise for the project? Part of my creative and strategic thinking process is I always like asking myself questions. I've asked myself many questions and what I have learned about myself when it comes to trying to break a habit is the end goal is always the most important for me since I've always been a goal- driven and motivated individual; this led me to two important questions upon which I based the premise of Project Freedom:

1. WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?

2. IF THAT MOTIVATION WILL TAKE FORM, WHAT WILL IT BE?

What motivates me? A lot of things, but since smoking and Starbucks are highly related to pleasure and luxuries, I thought to myself, how do I divert my attention and motivation to better luxuries and a more rewarding kind of pleasure? Easy. It was shopping (LOL) and buying the things that I'm saving up for each year.

And if that motivation will take form, what will it look like? Easy. A new luxury handbag, which is the only thing that I always save up for each year. I'm not an impulsive shopper anymore, I just buy a luxury handbag or two each year and I'm good.

And when I've found the answer to these things, I just felt my determination shoot up, I jumped on the project, saved a whopping P168K+ for 2021, bought one of the bags that I'm eyeing which is Louis Vuitton On The Go MM, an iPhone 13 Pro Max for a better vlog resolution, and I paid off my VUL insurance for 2021 without having to touch my salary for January of the following year for it (which always happened before because I would always find that I don't have enough budget for it anymore just because I was spending my money on a lot of unnecessary things).

And here are some key take aways from this project. If you're planning to do it this year, here are some learnings to help you do it better (much better than me!):

1. WRITE.EVERYTHING.DOWN. I was foolish enough to think that I will remember to put money every day in the fund because I generally have good memory, but it's not true as I ended up shelling out a lot of money in one go to cover up for the days that I have missed.

2. This will depend on your level of comfort and trust in the people around you, but I personally decided to keep the money in my house. Because it's impractical and unsafe to keep on going to the bank to deposit a day or even a week's worth of funds. It's also more motivating when you start to see your funds slowly grow.

3. Embrace all the emotions you feel during this journey. Suppressing your emotions is one surefire way to fail. I admit, I encountered a hump in the journey because all of my client prospects disappeared when the second lockdown was imposed and the economy sank even deeper. I felt really anxious, frustrated, and sad, and I went back to smoking. I gave myself time to feel all the emotions; eventually, I was able to talk myself out of it and I went bounced back in my journey stronger than ever. You are your own support system. Be kind to yourself.

I also uploaded a Youtube version of this: I shared there my story on why I became a chain smoker, my journey, my learnings, and of course, the stuff that I bought! Click HERE for the video.

May you find the freedom that you have been yearning for this 2022. :)