You learn something new (about smoking) every day

I remember Allen said this to me once - he said that years after he stopped smoking that he learned something new about smoking every day.

I have to admit I wondered what he meant, how could you learn something new about smoking every single day? Having met about 4,000 smokers now as a therapist I do now know what he meant.

Although clients learn from me every single day as the mouthpiece for Allen's method, I also learn from the clients about smoking, aspects which may not have been observed by me when I was a smoker.

For example, a fine gentleman who attended a corporate session I conducted at Ball Packaging came to me at the end and said one thing which stuck out for him was the isolation of smoking. I assumed he meant that by going out in the cold smokers isolated themselves from others.

Actually what he meant was that he and his wife would often go out with two other couples, 5 out of the party of 6 were smokers. He would feel guilt and shame, not for smoking but for the fact that his wife was sat inside with no one to talk to, feeling a little like a lemon! Although she never complained, this man was overjoyed at the fact she would never be left on her own again, as he knows he will never smoke again.

Thanks for the lesson!