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G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever

Nope

I am not going to smoke today. NOPE.

N O P E

Yep to NOPE!!!

NOPE

N.O.P.E.

NOPE

NOPE…

NOPE for today!

NOPE

NOPE!

NOPE!

I am saying NOPE to smoking for today.

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

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!

@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!!

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

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.

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

NOPE!!

I am saying NOPE to smoking for today.

It’s a NOPE from Me Happy Birthday @catlover Have a great Day

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

@Reciprocity, hey, I got you! without a thought I have been dealing with the extra time one saves without going out to burn one. Now, that burning one could be a few minutes saying to self this taste like shit, why I am I smoking this to seven minutes burning a full one? In other words, I have done this (whatever that may be) instead of stepping out and realizing I just did this without smoking. Seasonal's? You just gave me something to think about and could turn into story time? My wife would ask me, Why does it take you all afternoon to mow the lawn? Keith says: Well, we first have to pick up sticks that are not ours from the neighbors (Maybe a half an hour front and back?). Then we mow a bit, take a break, drink a couple of beers, have a couple of smokes, rinse and repeat. Seems to take all afternoon. Then, when complete, have a couple more beers probably several more smokes and admire what you just accomplished. Weekly yard mowing done and yup, took all afternoon. Thank you, I guess I will plow into it and see how it shakes out? One thing is for sure, I won't be smoking and most likely be replacing beer with water. That will be difficult performing summer yard work? Or, self says get use to it bud, we can do it! Gday and that's exactly it, you have it down. You own the morning and the rest of the day too. If we think about all the time smoking instead of doing whatever else it's huge! I've yet to do that yet but warmer weather is on its way and the first thing I am thinking about is exercising at least start walking to start. Oh boy, story behind that too. Gday and that's exactly it, you have it down. You own the morning and the rest of the day too. If we think about all the time smoking instead of doing whatever else it's huge! I've yet to do that yet but warmer weather is on its way and the first thing I am thinking about is exercising at least start walking to start. Oh boy, story behind that too. Doreensfree, I am still drinking coffee which is odd as the smokes go hand in hand so well? I don't know if it's because I am older but some things seem so well controlled than when I was younger? And a bit odd also is I expected to smell and taste better by now at 9 weeks of quit. I can smell the coffee brewing a bit better but so far waiting for that to kick in. LOL at your gif, that is funny :), thank you!

hey, I got you! without a thought I have been dealing with the extra time one saves without going out to burn one. Now, that burning one could be a few minutes saying to self this taste like shit, why I am I smoking this to seven minutes burning a full one? In other words, I have done this (whatever that may be) instead of stepping out and realizing I just did this without smoking. Seasonal's? You just gave me something to think about and could turn into story time? My wife would ask me, Why does it take you all afternoon to mow the lawn? Keith says: Well, we first have to pick up sticks that are not ours from the neighbors (Maybe a half an hour front and back?). Then we mow a bit, take a break, drink a couple of beers, have a couple of smokes, rinse and repeat. Seems to take all afternoon. Then, when complete, have a couple more beers probably several more smokes and admire what you just accomplished. Weekly yard mowing done and yup, took all afternoon. Thank you, I guess I will plow into it and see how it shakes out? One thing is for sure, I won't be smoking and most likely be replacing beer with water. That will be difficult performing summer yard work? Or, self says get use to it bud, we can do it!

Changing little things Kieth , instead of coffee for my breakfast I would have juice then don’t sit at the table for long get up and shower The first spring , I noticed when I had cut the grass the smell of the cut lawn was so good , my nose had come alive , I could smell somebody smoking in thier garden from a good distance I didn’t think I was that nose dead before , but I was. Your right to give yourself a Pat on the back .. your doing amazing

In that you are thinking about those things @SD2026 demonstrates you have already dealt with them mentally so you won't be hit with an "out of the blue" craving. You'll have no problem getting past those issues and when you've faced them once, they will never be an issue again. All part of that 1st year quitting

Yes @Cbdave the simple things. To me It feels like a calmness that wasn't there before, which proves to me that smoking makes you stressed. I would never have believed that before I quit!

@Reciprocity this is what I've been thinking of recently, I already know Spring/Summer will be a trigger for me but at least I won't be caught off guard and will just try to prepare myself in some way.

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.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying about changing your lifestyle @Keith. What I meant is learning what to do with all that time you spent smoking. You now have to fill those hours each day with something productive rather than just going for a smoke. That requires some degree of change in your daily lifestyle. Also, dealing with seasonal and other smoking triggers you may not expect after being quit for a while. I quit in late January and yet in mid April, the first lawn cutting of the year, I got acraving for a smoke because that was my reward for having finished cutting the grass in years past. I found it interesting how some of these trivial things in our life were wired to having a smoke, at least in our brain. It takes time to get through all that but it's certainly doable, especially after the early quit withdrawal is pretty much over.

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!

Welcome aboard @FinalAttempt. We’re glad you are here! I lost several quits, myself, before things finally clicked - thanks in large measure to the good souls and quitting wisdom on this forum. You, too, can be free. It’s your birthright. No more being controlled by a chemical that has hijacked your reward centers. No more regret after a moment of madness leads to a relapse. No more emptying your pockets for other people’s profits. No more ransoming your health. And face it - withdrawal sux. So why go thru it ever again? Just nope! When things get tough, come here and read, ask for help, play games, etc. You can do this!!

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