Thank you to everyone who has helped me celebrate today! My quit still amazes me - and I celebrate each and every day! I attribute being successful to several things - the reading I did to prepare (Carr's book - http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf - and www.quitsmokingonline.com, the medication I took (Welbutrin) - but, the biggest thing was the SUPPORT here!! There were people here who convinced me that this could actually be done! After 40 years of smoking - I wasn't sure and it is still such a powerful thing to me - that the words of others who have accomplished this - could mean so very much and make such a difference! You see, when I first came here, I was one of those who thought "I will give this a try...", "I will give it my best shot...". I quickly found out from listening to the wise voices here - voices from people who had walked the walk - that this wasn't about trying - this was about about doing, and that I could indeed do it!
And you know what is also amazing - many of those people are STILL here helping people! Thank you to those people and to so many others - including those who have come along in more recent times. Your journey helps me on my journey! That, as I have said before, is the beauty and power of this place!
Many, with new quits, may feel that 7 years is beyond even imagining - I share with you some words I wrote on Day 6 -
"I am more than half way through day 6. I can't believe it! After 40 years of smoking - I never imagined being free! I realize I have a long road ahead...but I feel confident. I must thank the folks who blog here - when I discovered this site, I really thought it was pretty hopeless to imagine quitting after so many years. Then I saw so many of your stories of success after 10, 20, 30, and yes, even 40 years! I truly believe that is what gave me courage to get past my fear and do this!
On the last day I smoked (last Saturday) I made a conscious effort to take notice of all of my feelings. So many feelings came up during the day – irritation, frustration, fear, boredom, and joy – every emotion you can imagine in a typical day. The point here is I was SMOKING during all of those feelings – it didn’t prevent me from feeling frustrated or irritated or scared, etc. I keep remembering that during the past 6 days - each challenge that pops up I remind myself that smoking didn't stop me from getting frustrated, irritated, or anything else - it didn't enhance good feelings either - I just thought it was doing all of that! I swear it truly feels like I’m in the middle of a beautiful dream!"
The dream continues!! Thank you ALL!
(The attached picture is of a bracelet I bought for myself at year 3 - I add a bead each year! Please - find a special way to celebrate your quit!)
