In this episode, I share one of the most surprising lessons I’ve learned from the book The Easiest Way to Stop Smoking , and how it applies directly to returning to your home country after living abroad.

What the author says about quitting smoking is exactly what we need to understand about going back home: it’s all about changing your associations, breaking the old brainwash, and deciding who you are now.

For the first 8 minutes, I talk about the core lessons of the book:

• Why quitting is not about willpower

• Why you don’t need to “avoid thinking about smoking”

• Why the withdrawal phase is just old reflexes

• Why you should celebrate your life getting better instead of feeling deprived

• How identity (“I’m not a smoker anymore”) is the real switch

Then I show how we do the exact same thing when we return home.

I explain:

• The stories we tell ourselves about our country (“I can’t do that here…”)

• How we associate “abroad” with freedom and aliveness

• Why feeling free abroad wasn’t about the place, it was about being present

• How I felt trapped even in Canada, proving it wasn’t the country but the situation

• How last year I decided to return home with a different identity: open-minded, less judgmental, fully myself

• How being grateful for both your time abroad and your time at home changes everything

• How being back home is like withdrawal: triggering because of old conditioning, not because something is wrong

• And why reacting differently creates a completely different reality

I share how “introducing the new me” at home changed my entire life: I set boundaries, chose myself more, said no without guilt, and even spoke on stage, because I stopped pretending.

I break down the poker analogy from the book: you already have the winning cards.

People around you may try to pull you back into who you were, but your skills, growth, and transformation from living abroad are still there.

And finally: when you miss your time abroad, celebrate what’s good in your life right now.
Use it as proof of how much you’ve evolved, not as a sign to run away.

This episode will help you return home without losing yourself… and maybe even help you fall in love with your life again.

Follow me on Instagram for daily insights and support: @The returner support

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