What’s Your Proudest Individual Achievement?

What’s your proudest individual achievement?

Four years ago today, I quit smoking. I started when I was 18 and quit when I was 37. (Last year, I wrote about how I did it.)

Everything in my life’s improved since I quit smoking, but I’m not sure if that’s the primary reason it’s my proudest individual achievement.

What do you think?

What’s your proudest individual achievement?

(Seriously … please stop reading and participate. Think about it for a moment …)

Now … why?

Did your achievement come with little effort?

Did someone hand it to you?

Did it happen instantaneously?

Did it happen while you were sitting on the couch?

Did it happen while you were watching television?

Did it happen on Facebook?

Did it happen on Pinterest?

Did it require no sacrifice?

Did it require no commitment?

Did it ever occur to you that the greatest epidemic plaguing us today might be the desire for instant gratification? Or maybe this notion that stuff should be easy?

I’m still a smoker. Today, though, I’m making the effort not to smoke. I’ve made that same commitment every day for the last 1461 days or so.

Is it fun? No.

Do I miss it? Yes.

If I could smoke just one – even two – a day, would I still be smoking? Absolutely.

But I can’t. So I don’t.

And that’s life. And that’s the choice I choose. And I accept the responsibility of my actions today.

What choice is it time for you to make?