Most criminals careers start young. they want something they can't have so they take it. they didn't earn it but hey, they didn't get caught and it didn't cost them anything so they do it again and again. reality sets in when they're caught.
this is the problem with slipping. if you just ignore it and don't reset your clock, you may be more tempted in the future to do it again. after all, there was no punishment, it's just you you are answering to, right?
when you come here, the major reason is support but part of support has to be accountability to others rather than just yourself. believe me, this accountability is one of the most important functions of this site when it comes to breaking the "addict" thinking.
so if you slip, adjust your quit date from when you last smoked. it's what we do to be accountable. it's the payment that makes you remember to not do it again simply because you don't want to start over again.
it isn't fair to everyone else here who never slipped or those who slipped but were accountable and payed the price and learned a lesson by paying the price that you count the days quit from before you slipped as part of your total days quit.
once again, admitting you slipped is simply not as powerful as admitting you slipped and paying a penalty so you aren't tempted to do it again.
just my thoughts on honesty in quitting
