I wrote a blog post on my 100th DOF (https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/people/tw5152017/blog/2017/08/23/100-days) about some of the things that helped me reach that point in my journey. One of them was a little routine I had of saying, “Yay me!” to myself as each day ended. Back then, I thought it was kind of silly. But looking back, I realize that praise is a very powerful motivator. It became doubly important to get that praise from this community when I was going thru No Man’s Land, because friends & family think you should be over any difficulties, and not only quit praising you, but question why you are even still thinking about smoking. On EX however, I could start a post saying something like, “I’m on my 51st DOF and wondering if anyone else…”, and not only would I get an answer to my question, but everyone would be congratulating and celebrating me for 51 days quit, or any other random number in my quit. How can that not feel good!
As I got to my 6th month and beyond, the craves all but disappeared, and I rarely thought about smoking anymore. I no longer needed any praise or encouragement. So that’s the best news. There really does come a time when thoughts of smoking almost never cross your mind. The other good news is, I saw my doctor today for the first time since I quit. She and her nurse were sooooo happy! I’d forgotten just how good it feels to have people genuinely happy for you.
Yay me!
Tom
284 DOF
