Hello Everybody--Newbies, No-Man-Landers, Elders, and those thinking about quitting smoking.
My blog tonight is mostly for you newbies out there--I have a report of what you may possibly expect as you exit week 2 of your quit (14 days--that is all it takes).
I am officially entering the third week into my quit. WOW--I can't believe I can actually say that!!! I have NOT even had a single puff. Do you realize that I have NEVER been able to say that--NOT one puff (I always cheated in the past quits). Which is why, I cannot even begin to stress the importance of "N.O.P.E" (Not One Puff Ever). It is a mantra that I have learned to love, and IT WORKS. How do you expect to "quit" if you are in fact "not quit"?
Confidence in yourself is very important--you must believe in yourself. Understand, I am certainly not claiming that I am no longer an addict. I know my journey is far from over. I know that I will ALWAYS have to be careful with this addiction. I know that I can NEVER even have one puff--NOT EVER!!! However, I am totally okay with that. I have made my peace with never smoking again, and it feels so incredibly liberating.
Since my journey began, it has been interesting for me to notice a relatively rapid change in my mindset. Before I quit, as a smoker, I went from loving smoking--to hating it. I loved my cigarettes, but I hated feeling that I HAD to feed the addiction. I loved smoking, but I hated how I felt when I couldn't smoke--long plane flights, UGH that feeling just sucks. As a smoker, I loved my "time-outs" with my cigarettes, but I hated knowing that with every puff, I was killing myself.
Since I quit, I went from loving being around and smoking with my fellow victims--to now realizing that we had nothing in common but smoking. I went from fantasizing and daydreaming about smoking--to having nightmares that I had "blown" my quit. I went from not being able to be around someone who was smoking for fear of bumming a butt--to being able to sit near a smoker without so much as considering a drag. I went from feeling like I was doomed to die an early death--to being able to envision a long and healthy life without smoking. I went from "believing" that I could not LIVE for more than a few hours without a cigarette, to "knowing" that I can. I went from being a slave, to finally busting the shackles off and being liberated. FREE, FREE AT LAST.
