When I started out on this journey, there were a few guides along the way. So I decided to "map" out my destination with some of the guides suggested routes in mind. Folks, it is easy to get sick of the journey occasionally, but if you don't keep going you will never get there. This is the reason they have you plan out what you are going to do when you get tempted to give in and have just one. It is hard to maintain our joy in quitting after some time passes and our cheering section is back at the starting gate. So I made my rules for myself at the beginning and I have to remind myself from time to time. Our feeling are not to be trusted, we have to trick our addicted selfs into behaving like a non-smoker in order to be one! So my rules are:
1. You can't make someone else responsible for your smoking or not smoking it is your choice.
2. With rule one in mind, you can't bum a smoke from someone else, if you choose to have your one puff, you have to go buy your pack take one and destroy the rest. (You are just wanting one puff right?).
3. You have to pay the fine for that one puff of a days worth of smoke money (in my case $5.00)
4. Realize just one puff will most likely will cause a relapse and a relapse means you have to forfeit your saved smoke money to your smoking buddy.
5. You are not allowed to have a hidden just in case pack. That will just cause you problems.
I have yet to find anyone who didn't back off of buying a pack and tearing up all but one cigarette and paying a fine on top of that. The whole point of this is to have no excuse to smoke and give yourself time to get over the brief moments of I want to smoke. Because you will, but delay, deep breath, drink water, do something else.
Thanks for listening. : )
