3 steps to create an identity shift and change your life forever.

It’s time to go inwards, not outwards.

Paco Chávez
6 min readNov 15, 2022
Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash

I used to be a heavy smoker, even though I was also an athlete. That’s because I identified as one. I justified the fact that I could run a complete marathon and still light a cigarette or even worst, spend a whole day puffing on those awful e-cigs. This is a very dangerous place to be in, because even though you can look good and perform good, you’re still creating a damage that will eventually bite you in the ass. And it did. I smoked daily for 6 years until I had a serious back injury with was caused by the combination of excessive heavy lifting and smoking. It wasn’t until I lost the ability to run and lift that it hit me really hard, I needed to change. From running 42 kilometers and feeling somewhat okay (42k is still a bitch), to running two kilometers and feeling like my back was going to break in two. It got even worse when I became a DJ. Every gig would leave me even worse since I couldn’t say no to smoking. When you’re the artist, everybody wants to be your “friend”. They crawl up to you like moths to a lamp, and since they’re fucked up, they think you want to be too. So they pass the joint, the offer to light your cigarette. Don’t have one? Have 3. Here’s a beer. Have a shot with me. Want some molly to lift you up? How about some PCP or cocaine? Let’s have a…

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Paco Chávez
Paco Chávez

Written by Paco Chávez

I write about mental health, exercise, nutrition and mindset for your daily life.

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