Quitting is hard. That sentence is the entirety of my blog distilled into one thought. It’s just stinking hard and it’s hard for a long time.
It’s hard because we are fighting addiction.
It’s hard because we are fighting habit.
It’s hard because we have adjusted our entire lives around smoking – whether or not we realize we are doing it.
Sometimes it takes several attempts before your quit sticks. Let me be completely honest here: it took many several many dozen attempts for MY quit to stick.
This blog is for all my fellow quitters who are having a tough time sticking. You may just be lurking here on the forum, but staying hidden. Maybe you started taking the pledge but stopped because you broke your quit and after the first couple of times were just too embarrassed to come back. Maybe you plan on making yourself known when you have some solid time to boast. Maybe you were (are) a closet smoker and can’t reach out for help and support because that would blow your cover.
I feel your pain and frustration and embarrassment. I feel you because I am you.
I started my quit in March of 2019. I just stopped posting my quit date because it moved so often. I didn’t want to admit to slipping. I didn’t want to hear the advice and wise counsel of the long-time quitters here. This was an error of hubris.
We all get to our quit by different routes. I took the long way to find the right way. It took me 6 months to admit that the way I was trying to quit wasn’t working. It took me another 3 months to figure out something different to try. The entire time I knew I was searching for a way to quit but I felt like an imposter through the whole process.
You know what would have worked from the get-go if I had done it? Posting every day. Yep. Posting. Every. Day. It takes courage and humility to post your DOF every single day. Food for thought for the serial quitters.
For as long as it takes you
For as often as you need to start over
Keep quitting until you are quit
Keep the quit.
PT
12 DOF
