Leaderboard

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

NOPE - Not One Puff Ever

NOPE!

NOPE

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

NOPE!!

NOPE!

NOPE

NOPE!

Yesterday, I celebrated 10 years since I quit smoking. Except celebrated is a bit of an exaggeration on what I actually did. I remembered the anniversary at around 7pm, promptly texted my eldest son to say “hey it's been 10 years” - he congratulated me - and logged onto Quit Train to log my 10 years on a little section in my profile. I’ve done that almost every year (usually a couple of days late and my 6th year anniversary I totally missed and didn't realise until the following year) since quitting for reasons I struggle to articulate other than it feels important to do so. Anyway, that was the extent of my ‘celebration’, other than the thought of “what shall I have/get as my reward?” And that started a little trip down memory lane. Sort of … This wasn’t my first quit attempt by any stretch of the imagination. I struggled for a few years, cold turkey or with aids, always finding a reason to abandon the ‘attempt’. Eventually a mix of hypnotherapy and Champix did the trick. I had planned to quit on the 20th but on the morning of the 18th I had run out and made the decision to not buy any more, bringing forward my quit day. Still, it wasn’t easy and there were some really hard days. What did I do to get through those hard days? I honestly don’t remember, I don’t have any words of wisdom, but I think I did the 4 second breathing thing through craves, after meals I would have fruit flavoured chewing gum and I found rewards to be really important in those early days, weeks, months. Things I would buy with the money saved. Never anything extravagant and honestly I don't even remember what they were - maybe a chocolate bar or a donut? I think for my 6 month and 1 year anniversary I bought some jewellery. Maybe a ring and a necklace? Ooh maybe perfume! Are you sensing a theme here yet? I also rewarded myself on my 2 year anniversary - I think I bought a kindle or a tablet? I also made the decision that I would next reward myself when I got to 5 years. But when I got there I didn't feel the need for a reward. Smoking was no longer part of who I was that would need rewarding for not partaking. So my almost immediate thought of “what shall I have/get as my reward?” at 10 years made me chuckle. I think I just wanted an excuse to treat myself! The only ‘reward’ I have these days is a square of chocolate after a meal but that’s more a reward for doing the clean up than anything else. Sometimes I’ll have grapes. My point is, ‘smoking’ is just something other people do and has nothing to do with me. I know quitting was hard but I don’t remember it, even the once so important rewards. I barely remember the anniversary. If you are down in the trenches of your quit and holding on for dear life, I salute you and I congratulate you. You will find that one day, almost without realising, you can do everything without needing the crutch of a cigarette. I have lived celebrations, deaths, vacations, going for a walk, writing a letter, drinking a beer, drinking coffee, reading a book, watching a movie, eating a meal, waking up, going to bed, and everything in between, all without smoking and it was absolutely fine. (I actually struggled to come up with this list of what I previously couldn’t do without a smoke because … you guessed it … I don't remember!) I implore you to keep the faith, keep your quit. Because one day, you will not remember this stage of your life that clearly or with the focus it currently has. Congratulations to all, wherever you are in your quit, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, 1 decade … wow, time sure does fly.

When others are stuck at ten, BAT goes to eleven! Congratulations!

NOPE

Nope!

NOPE!

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

NOPE!!

NOPE

NOPE!!

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

nope

NOPE!!

NOPE!

NOPE

NOPE

Gday See this every day johnys got it at the bottom of his post every day in the NOPE pledge If you have just one you will be right back where you started, and where you started was desperately wishing you were where you are right now. - Marvitta How true is this!

NOPE!! NOPE!! NOPE!! Going to my cabin for a few days so triple NOPE!!

NOPE!!

NOPE…

NOPE!

NOPE !!!

NOPE

Nope...

NOPE!!

NOPE

Nope!

@Kdad One thing that I can tell you that will definitely happen the cravings will become less and less the longer you stay quit. It's only been a couple weeks since you quit so the cravings will be strong. Everyone is different, but for me the cravings started to subside a bit after about a month and then got less and less after that. Now, after 19 months of being quit, I can honestly say that I barely get any craving at all. Just please hang in there. Take one day at a time, one hour at a time or even one minute at a time, if you have to. I know you can do this because so many of us have! It's not easy, that's for sure, but it's definitely doable. Do you have any hobbies that you like to do? If so, get involved with that. Anything to keep your mind off of smoking!

It certainly may feel like a battle right now…. I was there 100 times, myself. But the battle itself is an illusion. Because smoking is not our friend… it will not make is less lonely. Smoking is not comforting… it will not make us less anxious, or angry, or bored. Smoking is not even gratifying… it only leads to more cravings. 1 smoke is too many and 1,000 is never enough. Every tug of war requires two opposing forces to make it a battle. The thing with quitting is that you win when you drop your end of the rope. Change the channel, walk away, take smoking off the table. Then the battle fizzles out. As others have said, every time you do this and persevere through a bad moment or day, it makes your quitting muscles stronger. Your quit gets easier. Come on @Kdad… you can make it!

NOPE…

I understand that! It's a good way to put it. In those times, it may help to make a list of all the reasons to quit apart from yourself. Remind yourself of why you quit in the first place, and the good that's come from it. "Count your blessings" is a bit trite, but there's some truth to it. Write it down, if you need to.

In the early days/weeks of our quit it's easy to become weak of mind at times and that's when our addiction takes over. That voice in your head trying to make you believe it would be very easy and really nice to just go buy a pack and light up. Problem is; if you do you're immediately deflated once you've taken those first few puffs, knowing you've just thrown away all you've worked for. Yep! Right back to square one and often, you're reluctant to take that first step again so it's imperative that you hold on to what you have now! Don't buy that pack - don't light one up - don't take that first puff - don't throw away the fledgling quit you've built! You'll be happy & proud you didn't do it.

Gday we can all dream……..

NOPE!

NOPE…

Nope... We are getting another round of lake effect snow. Currently we have 6-8 inches of snow on the ground so far.

NOPE!