So you found this site, you want to quit smoking...
Where do you start and more importantly....WHEN
Or perhaps , now looking at my last statement :"Where do you start...."
Both are as equally important.
WHERE TO START -WHEN and then of course...HOW.
Hang on cause your in for a ride of your life. Think of it as an amusement park and your going to venture onto every ride on the way, some you will enjoy, some you will cringe at.
WHERE TO START
Your doing that now. Your here. You have many options here on advise. EVERYONE on this site wants to see you succeed. Everyone has YOUR best interest at heart and EVERYONE here will share their experiences , what worked for them, what didn't. NOBODY here will be bashing anyones suggestions because we ALL had to discover the best route to our quit that fit for us. You will too.
Personally I am one to say that you should prepare as though your going to war, because in such as way you are. With nicotine. And as any soldier knows, going to battle prepared is most generally going to give you a better chance at winning the battle.
As every soldier knows....they have to remain vigilant. Ever watching for the enemy to provoke a sneak attack ( crave).
They begin with an outline, a plan and they don't divert from it. They look to their fellow soldiers for support and they lean on them when they come across the least resistance.
So I always advise to get a good understanding about your enemy before going to war. Read blogs, read Allen Carrs book ' The Easyway to stop smoking' ( short and VERY informative). Get a list going of what triggers your craves and what your going to do when the hit.
WHEN TO START
I always recommend all of the above first. As a gal who failed miserably many times I found my greatest strength came from the knowledge . Once I knew what I was up against and understood WHY I was craving, I knew better what to do. Like a good soldier...I went into battle fully loaded. Now some here will tell you TODAY is a great day to start. And for many it is. Again, I speck from my own experience and I failed over and over and over again until I quit prepared. Thats just me. And for me it makes sense. I used to break horses years ago. I would never get on a horse without understanding something about it...or I would get bucked off. I needed to do my 'groundwork' first. I needed to understand the beast I was training. Same goes for me and the smokes.
HOW TO START
One day at a time. Using the above outline and stay near this site. If your a praying person, reach out to your Higher Power. Come here and blog. Ask questions and be prepared for many different opinions. Some will work, some will not.,...for you....but its not the end of the world.
You have today. Thats all.
This one day
What will you do with it?
I find that reaching out to help someone else will always life me up...even when I do not need lifted. Try it. Pay it forward at the grocery, online...on this site. Get away from yourself and any negative thinking that you can't do this because I am here to tell you ,,...you can.
Start picturing a healthy you under the fabric of your life. Maybe you have some health issues already...okay, so do I. Many if us in here do. We are not yet pushing daisies though and perhaps we can now begin to heal in areas of our life we never expected to.
This is a long read, I know. Thats cool if you made it through this far, thanks!
I will always be an addict to nicotine. I know I can NEVER smoke just one because as someone else said, " They travel in packs"....Well I am here to tell you WE TRAVEL IN A PACK ALSO. Its called EXcommunity. We help keep each other accountable and strong in our quits. I hope you join us. We truly are a family.
Now go do yourself a favor. Quit going back and forth and get busy getting on with your quit. The suns out here....its all good.
