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NOPE

Nope

I am not going to smoke today. NOPE.

N O P E

Yep to NOPE!!!

NOPE

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever

I am saying NOPE to smoking for today.

NOPE!

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever

NOPE!!

NOPE!

N.O.P.E.

NOPE for today !

NOPE today!

NOPE!

NOPE

NOPE…

NOPE for today!

N.O.P.E.

NOPE!

I remember those occasional tough days.Mind keeps thinking about how nice it would be to have that first puff. That's the nicodemon whispering sweet nothings in your head. It's a suggestion, not a command. Keep your goal at the feront of your mind during these early days. Quitting is your desired goal and that's completely within your control. Hey, those days aren't easy but you CAN get through them even tough it might mentally exhausting. Those days won't stick around for long. You'll soon have an iron grip on your quit so hand in there. It's doable! And yes, reading some of the past posts & stories on the forum is a great idea. There's also a bunch of quit smoking videos on the Joel Spitzer's Quit Smoking Video Library page. He's quite a character but his videos make a lot of sense about how completely irrevelant smoking really is.

@FinalAttempt; you'll still have golf, buddies & beers, you're just ditching the cigars & with the money you're saving from not smoking, your wallet won't be taking such a beating Don't let your nicotine addiction or your buddies sway you from your ultimate goal! That goal, quitting the smokes for life, needs to be job 1. I mentioned savings because that's an important positive result of quitting and focusing on those positives helps a lot to keep you on track. Aslo, happy to see you back on the forum. Hadn't seen you for a couple of days and was hoping you weren't bush whacked by the nicodemon! You're at two weeks quit now which is fabulous. Well done!!

Spring/Summer will definitely be a challenge for me as well. I recall most of my quit usually started as a New Year resolution, and most of my relapses happed on a golf course. Probably because of the deadly combination of fresh air, golfing with buddies, beers and cigars! Golf courses here (Toronto area) will open in about a month, I need to prepare for it.

I've been away for a week, visiting my son's family about 300 miles away, just got back yesterday. I thought this quit was going to be a breeze because the first 10 days went by quickly with no problem. I guess because I was with family the whole time, and I was always occupied with all non-smokers doing something; there were various urges but they came and went quickly. My wife went to work early this morning so I found myself home alone with nothing to do, and the urge for a smoke has been lingering all morning. I've tried to keep myself busy by looking for work around the house, cleaning up, organizing, looking for things to fix, etc. but the urge just doesn't go away I'm going to hang around this forum today and read through the materials, hopefully to keep this quit my actual FinalAttempt!

@Cbdave - you must have some serious tides down there! The Bay of Fundy on Canada's east coast is similar in terms of huge tidal swings. up to 35 ft tide in some places. Nope!

NOPE…

I hope you're doing ok @FinalAttempt and the urge to smoke has gone.

You have been given sound advice I would just add watching the 3 Smoking Documentary’s help me so much They opened my eyes to this addiction,and how those companies worked so hard to keep me hooked I swore I would never give them another penny of my hard earned money Settle down and watch them and then come back and tell me what your thinking ,

I am saying NOPE to smoking for today.

Keep going The more you play golf and don’t smoke The normal this will become . You might surprise yourself and actually enjoy it . Not having to try and light up when it’s windy, that ash blowing in your eyes yes you know the one , when that hot ash blows right back in your eye ball Geez I don’t miss that Enjoy your golf

Preparation is key and it's good you've a month to plan. I'm assuming others at the golf course smoke, if yes, this is a part I'm working on for myself, being around others who smoke is hard. You'll be further into your quit by then and much stronger. I'm thinking of ways to stop temptations in Spring/Summer especially in social situations. Once I have some sort of a list I'll share and hopefully it may help you/others too. I understand what works for one may not work for another but it's worth a try! Regardless, we will not be smoking in the Spring or Summer

Hey @FinalAttempt, you're doing so well not smoking especially when you were away! Absolutely do read the materials on this site, it really does help. I know sometimes the cravings can be stronger especially in the early days but you can fight this and I promise it WILL go away! Looks like you've already tried the boring distractions of clearing up/organising, if it helps, take a deep breath and slowing exhale, a few times and continue reading the helpful threads on here. I too still get strong cravings at times (although not as many as the first month) that don't go away as quickly as I'd like. I've even taken myself off to bed for a nap/cry/whatever lol but appreciate that can't be done at times! This will pass, I promise it will

Thanks guys, for the Birthday Wishes, and Cat greetings I’ve had a great day, just back from a Thai meal with the hubby

Even starting with gentle exercise will be a huge help @Keith

NOPE

Golf was a huge part of my quit. That first round was tough, ngl. But I got through it and realized the cigs didn't make it any more or less enjoyable. After about my 3rd round without cigs I would look forward to playing and even enjoy the smell of someone else's freshly lit cigarette. In fact, golfing was about the only time I could get any relief from the constant craving attacks I would get so I played a lot. So focus on the golf and enjoy that and I think you'll find that you don't need the cigs to have fun. good luck

10 Steps to Starting Again (Quitnet Repost, 12/22/1997) Many years ago, I started a journy to stop smoking and found a lot of wisdom and support at a site called Quitnet. I did have long stretches where I stopped smoking as a result of the awesome support and wisdom from this site. I did save a large library of quotes and information from this site that I like to go back to from time to time to help me keep my quit strong. I will start to share some of the wisdom of this site in this thread in the hope that it will help others in their smoke free journey., Keep the Quit. Gene REPOST: 10 Steps to Starting Again From Pic on 12/22/1997 11:58:35 PM 10 Steps to Starting Again 1. "Try" to quit (try, as opposed to "do") 2. Idealize what life will be like without smoking 3. Associate your daily problems and disappointments with the fact that you’re not smoking. 4. Begin to buy into the idea that you’re more miserable now than before you quit 5. Start responding to your problems with, "If this keeps up, I’m going to smoke" then add "anyhow" then add "so why suffer anymore?" (Alternate 3-5: 3. Associate your success with the idea that you’ve licked the nicotine habit. 4. Begin to buy into the idea that you could smoke without getting hooked again 5. Follow-up this idea with, "I haven’t smoked in ___ days/weeks/months/years" then add "I haven’t had any cravings" then add "I could have just one" ) 6. Buy, borrow or steal a cigarette. 7. Find a quiet, secluded place where you can be alone with the substance to which you have attributed all power and promise for fulfillment of your needs. 8. Feel yourself calming down even before you light up, which is actually the beast ceasing to scratch at your insides as you prepared to feed the addiction. 9. Light-up and suck in all the poison you can get in that first drag, while beginning the battle against being disappointed in yourself, noticing that this fight is not half as ferocious as it was to get the nicotine. 10. Within a few hits, feel dizzy, cough a little, smell the stink, and realize you’re not going to stop smoking that cigarette, you’ll keep smoking despite the bad feelings, and wish you hadn’t given in. I hope this scenario scares you as much as it scares me. In writing it, I drew from my personal experience and noticed some things that might be helpful in the future: A RELAPSE STARTS IN MY HEAD Steps 1-5 all have to do with how I think. IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO FULLY RELAPSE without doing some or all of 1-5. A CIGARETTE IS NOT THE ANSWER AND THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ONE.

Yes, definitely stay close to this forum because it will help so much. The urges, I promise you, will go away. Unfortunately, it takes time and the first few months are the worst. Keep busy as much as you can. In my early days of quitting, I would take cinnamon sticks and pretend they were cigarettes, sucking the air in and pretending to blow the smoke out. It really did help me. If you don't like cinnamon, you can use cut up straws. Give it a try!

A what???? Oh just a Mexicaanse naakthond. Yacarekaaiman

NOPE

NOPE!

Gday I used to joke that I had a bushman’s breakfast. A pee. A smoke. And finally a quik look around. Then rush into the day. Now it’s a longer look around. Check out the house block to discover those little things. A branch down the cobwebs over paths. Does the gardens need a water to protect from what the summer heat draws. Feed the chickens. Simple things. The dogs awake …. Finally. She waits by her lead on the back veranda. And it’s off for a walk. I own the morning. It’s mine. I don’t have to answer the call for nicotine. I call the shots.

Thank you for sharing Reciprocity! That is one thing I have not done yet, is change my lifestyle incorporating a new that does not involve smoking. And is something to seriously start thinking about. Currently my lifestyle remains the same just without smoking. At the end of the day I pat myself on the back and go to bed. Kind of like taking the AA approach one day at a time. But, I do smile on how much money I have saved so far. Here in WI, unless you search out a two-pack deal which might save you a buck fifty. One will pay around $14.00 a pack and as a pack a day smoker, as of today that is $840.00 I've saved since January. That's actually quite a bit of money considering one is paying for something with no ROI except for another nicotine craving a half an hour down the road.

@Keith, Some time after I quit I realised that the most time consuming part of quitting was becoming comfortable with changing my daily lifestyle that had become so intertwined with my nicotine addiction that it really did take the best part of a whole year to complete that change in my daily expectations around smoking and to begin feeling comfortable with my new non-smoking life. That change really does become a daily rinse & repeat effort for quite some time but in the end I realized, this is the way my life should be lived and that's true freedom from nicotine addiction

FinalAttempt, like you I have also smoked for over four decades and have quit numerous times as well. Sometimes for months, sometimes for weeks and sometimes simply hours. I'd go to bed at night saying to self, I am done, I am not smoking tomorrow. Morning comes, make some coffee, while that's brewing head to the garage to burn one and think about my work day agenda (Quit smoking in the house when my first kid was born back in the 80's) And as you imply, they were always my final attempt at quitting. That said: There is nothing to be embarrassed about. The addict within is always quitting tomorrow but tomorrow never comes and is endless. Also, like you, I've said to self: I can't quit today, I just left my job both voluntarily and involuntarily. I can't quit today, I'm going through a divorce, quit smoking? Ya right, I'm going down to have a talk with miss whiskey and will buy another pack on my way. The stories we make up in our head our endless and you are not alone. I have read Allen Carr's book "Easy way to stop smoking" numerous times. Did I stop smoking easily? No, what I believe I did learn from this book though is quitting smoking can by easy depending how you look at it. I've touched on this in my first introduction thread. Nicotine does expel from the body fairly quickly and believe for us long term smokers maybe 3/4 days. After a couple of weeks which are the worst for identifying how you will deal with cravings, etc and after a few weeks. I've adjusted my train of thought not to think of these instances when I want to burn one as cravings but thoughts instead. "Self, this isn't a nicotine craving because that nicotine is long gone from this body but a thought instead and need to change this thought. To my surprise in not too long that craving aka "Thought" is gone. Make it a great smoke-free day everyone!

How you feeling today @FinalAttempt? Every day in that first week is usually a challenge.

Good morning, This quitnet gem will take about five minutes of your time to read but it is well worth it. When we start realizing that we do not have to struggle or fight anything to get rid of nicotine/smoking addiction, then we find the real freedom that always exisisted before we started smoking. Keep the quit! Moving to Acceptance that Being Smoke Free is Normal RE: Help please From 4Derby on 12/30/2006 12:31:09 AM Post: originally by Bob Seems to be a common occurrence... Usually, somewhere between say 4 weeks and 4 months, sometimes a tad earlier, occasionally a bit later, we reach a hurdle. We've been through withdrawal. We've gotten ourselves really good at reconditioning triggers. But, something's still lingering. I've seen it described as a sense of doubt, a dread, a dark cloud. It's threatening. It's frightening. Here's my take. And, it's based in part on the grieving process associated with giving up nicotine described in this post (Emotional Loss Experienced from Quitting Smoking), but not entirely. I believe the hurdle we reach has to do with the bridge from depression (the 4th phase of the grieving process) to acceptance (the 5th and final phase). Crossing that bridge is the final major hurdle, and many of us find ourselves with our feet stuck in the muck of depression as we struggle with what appears to be a daunting crossing. During our pre-quit, our withdrawal, and our early trigger reconditioning, we deal with heavy doses of the first 3 stages (denial, anger, bargaining). It's not always pleasant, but it IS something we can sink our teeth into. There's something to push against. As long as we've got a tangible enemy to fight, things tend to be, if not pleasant, exciting and clear-cut. Meet your enemy head on.... defeat it with truth, and sometimes sheer stubbornness. Then.... gradually, the struggle lessens. Comfort begins to kick in. We discover, "hey! this is doable!" BUT... as we sit there, face to face with the prospect of our own success: --The tangible struggle fades. Triggers happen, but they're fewer and farther between. We know how to deal with them now, and we recognize that they're temporary. Physical withdrawal seems a distant memory. The excitement is over. It's just me and my life, and it's time to get on with it. And, nicotine isn't a part of it. Neither is "quitting" -- I DID quit. In some ways it's like the aftermath of hosting a big party. The madness of preparation, the fun of the festivities... then, everyone's gone home, and there's just clean-up to do, and work the next day. --We ponder our success. We ponder our identity. We're on the verge of making a transition. We've been a "smoker who's quitting" for weeks, maybe months. But, now we're feeling the comfort. We know it's doable in terms of winning the battles. We've won so many.... but, now we're at the point where something is suddenly becoming very real.... our identity as an ex-smoker... Success. This is acceptance... and for many of us, it's terrifying! In some respects, it's simply another form of junky reasoning. But, in this case, it hits where we're still most vulnerable... our identity... our self-confidence. "I've smoked through everything. Every celebration. Every crisis. Every monotonous moment of boredom, every study session, after meals, during the drive, after shopping, after making love, at the bar, in the bathroom, at my desk, on my porch, with Jim Bob, with Sue, with my lawyer, with my doctor, after work, during breaks, at football games, at weddings. Smoking was part of my life through every difficulty, no matter how horrific, or inconsequential. I wanted to quit badly, but deep down inside, I wonder, "can I really do this forever? Can I really manage to forge a new life for myself where I do all of the things that make up my day-to-day living without that constant security blanket?" We question a future where celebrations and defeats, excitement and boredom are experienced without the presence of the powerful drug to which we were actively addicted for years. We question our mettle. We've made it this far, and we've proven to ourselves that it's doable. But, now we're playing for keeps. This is for good. This is permanent. Can we imagine the rest of our life as an ex-smoker? It feels particularly difficult when we're going through it for a couple of reasons. 1) we haven't had to struggle that hard lately, and it catches us unprepared. 2) the very nature of the transition -- acceptance of yourself as an ex-smoker -- is rooted in permanence. Where before, the struggles were day-to-day, this is suddenly about me vs. eternity. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, what to do? The truth is that dealing with this transition is not really all that different from how we deal with all the other hurdles we've faced since we quit. We make this transition by getting back to the fundamentals that got us to this point. Honesty --Was smoking really a part of my identity? Did it define, in part, who I am? Or, was smoking a way to relieve the discomfort of nicotine withdrawal every half-hour or so? --Are my memories of smoking drifting toward the "ahh" cigarette, and neglecting all the other, mindlessly smoked ones, forced into the cold to poison myself, late-night runs to the liquor store to spend hard-earned money on a fix, staining my fingers and teeth, making me reek, giving my children scratchy throats, turning colds into bronchitis, threatening me with early death and disfigurement with every puff? --If I smoked today, how would I truly feel tonight? Tomorrow? Next year... Ponder it for a bit. Envision yourself back on the other side of the line, looking back across it at yourself now. Picture yourself with the stick in your mouth, inhaling, knowing the full-measure of what that cigarette was doing to you. Question whether you'd rather be reminiscing about the odd "ahh" cigarette once in a while, or be reminiscing about the few weeks/months of comfort you achieved when you quit. --Remind yourself that there is no such thing as one, and extrapolate it out over the years. Shine the light of truth on it. Have a look around at elderly smokers (the ones who've made it to old age). Put yourself in their shoes. Remember which side of the line you're on. Remind yourself why you chose this side of the line.... why you want to stay on this side. One day at a time Permanence is frightening. But, it's achievable in small doses. Just because you're an "experienced quitter" doesn't mean the basic principles change. Today is doable. The next hour is doable. Never stop celebrating Quitting smoking is a tremendous gift you've given yourself. Unlike many other gifts, this one should never lose its luster over time. In fact, the opposite is true. Over time, this gift becomes more important, more impactful..... Measure it in terms of health, self-esteem, life, freedom..... but MEASURE IT. Celebrate every day of this gift. You've earned it. Acceptance is an Embrace Finally, don't simply accept your new status -- "ex-smoker"; Embrace it. Sit down and look at it honestly. Compare this new identity to the old one (whatever label you want to attach to what you were when you smoked.... I was a slave). Separate yourself for a minute, and observe the 2 "yous" as an impartial 3rd party. Look them over thoroughly. Which do you want for yourself? Choose one. And, then, embrace it. Life will go on, there will be good days, and bad days. Terrible sadness, and joyous elation. Regardless what life is bringing you at the moment, embrace this thing that is only positive. Embrace your decision for life