Abby

This is a list of reminders that I made for myself during my quit and yes, I still need reminders that will help me stay the path because my quit is forever . I hope that this post may help some of you as well as you begin your journey or if your thoughts about your quit are wavering .

Here we go : My daily reminders .

Do not entertain thoughts that are of "smoking" . Don't romance the cigarette ; it has not been your friend . It is a thief and a robber of life . Stop thinking you are not quitting right or that your quitting wrong or that you can't do this and everyone else can . It is a lie . Erase the "t " from can't and you will find you can find your way through this . Don't compare your quit to others . You are right where you are suppose to be . REMEMBER : You are worth this quit, and you are of value. Whatever this journey brings you is specially made for you , and you will work through what needs to be worked through in your life to be free from this addiction . We all have been overpowered by this addiction and together we support each other and uplift each other. We are taking our power back one day at a time . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a simple poem that I wrote simply entitled “STOP” It was just to help me understand that my thinking and my attitude can drive this quit in the right direction.

S Stop

T Thinking

O One

P Puff

Stop thinking you can't do this,

Or that “all" can quit but you.

Think in terms of achieving

And that you are worth it too.

Stop thinking that you can't do this,

That your weak and you will fail

Think with a brightened spirit ,

Each day you win will tell .

Stop saying that your quit is hard ;

That thinking has you trapped

Think "Yes" Im going to do this

And addiction that is that !

                                            _Sherri L.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Congratulations to all of you today beginning your journey to quit smoking and to all who are continuing this journey . It is my hope that you will stop and think before you smoke, revisit your reasons for wanting to be quit ,and ask for help if you need it . STOP!!!! Take the time to think before reacting by smoking; it may save your quit .

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What reminders do you use to help you keep your quit?

Finding my way around , it may take me a while but I am here .

I will be away for a few days possibly tho as my son is getting married and the pre wedding festivities have started but I will be bk .

???  Do you have to copy the ticker every time you post . It seems I have to keep filling in the info . Sorry I am not up much on technical stuff .

Still figuring out how to give myself a face to the profile :)     

Smoke !  I'd rather nap ( not a puff ) 

I know that :

I could if I wanted to 

But I don't want to

So I won't.

I prefer to pledge NOPE ! 

Having to push the restart button over and over was so exhausting , so discouraging and so defeating . I felt hopeless that "I" may one day be quit. I learned that to keep a quit I had to make a firm committment to MYSELF that I could not continue to do what I had always done. Some craves can be really tough but everyone we get through has less power the next time. I remember how exhausting it was, battling craves and battling my mind, battling craves; battling my mind ; until one day miraculously I totally and completely understood that smoking was not an option anymore ; for ANY REASON ! That mean’t my cigs were NOT on the TABLE , NOT on the CHAIR , NOT ANYWHERE ! They were NOT on the counter , NOT at the store ! Letting go of the romance I was giving to cigarettes brought relief . Only then did I REST in PEACE knowing what my goal WAS and what MY job was : FOCUSING on the journey to SUCCEED . Why be our worst enemy ? Thats what I was : my own worst enemy ! Don’t look at success being distant and far away , look at success as being now : today. One crave beaten is success / one day beaten is success ; its One day at a time--- NO LIE ! Because we have been prey to addiction, it takes some hard work to retrain our thinking to physically and emotionally recover , but hard work does pay off , and we will never have to deal with Day 1 again . I learned after many months quit that what we feed ourselves determines EVERY DECISION we make ; and our decisions will determine the FINAL OUTCOME . We must not let anything --- how we feel---- our circumstances ------ or how hard it is, snatch our quit from under our nose. Be good to yourself — work through every day …there is a big payday coming .Sherri L.

TELLING ALL  . ( caps are emphasis only)

OUT OF SIGHT , OUT OF MIND ? I Hid cigarettes in my coat pocket and convinced myself I didn't know how they got there. That was CRAFTY , SLY , UNDERHANDED , INTENTIONAL and I AM GUILTY . It never did help me quit .

The DELIBERATE ACTION : I Kept lighters ... threw away the smokes, and the ashtrays, but convinced myself that the lighter was still a necessity to have in the home. They arebut my thinking was much different . It was a DELIBERATE course of action should I not be able to handle the stress of quitting : Should I find a butt to smoke ..I had the lighter . That never helped me quit . That was : STINKING THINKING , and caused EMOTIONAL TORTURE having that lighter tempt me over and over . I often searched for butts ewwww gross ! Cigs were always just a thought away. That was not taking my quit seriously ; that was setting myself up for failure .

THE SECRECY APPROACH : I tried being a closet smoker : That was a lot of work ! Showering : perfume : hand cream . Repeat , then repeat again . I thought I could smoke and get away with it hiding my addiction . No one would know and I could still pretend with all those I loved that I was quit, and at the same time I could still support and feed my craves . That was SNEAKY AND kinda frightening and it only brought on MORE frequent CRAVINGS because I kept feeding them . I felt GUILTY , and ASHAMED . The secrecy approach sure didn’t help me quit !

Was SMOKING really making me HAPPY? . Smoking CONTROLLED my LIFE !

BOLDNESS: Oh I have to share this one lol was I bold or what and rather silly now I think about it . I Went to a park took my cigarettes , hidden of course with my lighter , and sat at a picnic bench . ANXIOUSLY I kept a LOOK OUT, AFRAID of BEING SPOTTED while taking A FEW puffs ( UNDERCOVER of a COAT ) . Oh my gosh what if I got caught !!!!! Grown woman caught Smoking !! I could see the headlines ! She LIED . She wasn't quit !! That was: OUT OF CONTROL , DESPERATION and that caused more of the same . ANXIETY , FEAR , SHAME AND EMBARRASSMENT, and OH MY GOSH , I WAS an ADDICT! How could smoking be "THAT GOOD" to cause this much pain ?

SELFISHNESS: I Smoked while babysitting my sons dog. It was nice to have the company while I was out taking him for a walk or sitting on the balcony petting him . : He died of cancer at 6 years old and broke my sons heart . I miss him too . I wish I hadn't smoked . He gave us unconditional love , I gave him second hand smoke .Tears and sorrow are still shed over that . I blew smoke in the faces of all those I loved, FOR AN ADDICTION !!! MY KIDS SHOULD HAVE COME FIRST / MY GRANDKIDS , MY SIBLINGS , and my FRIENDS. My kids PETS SHOULD HAVE COME FIRST , but I chose cigarettes as my friends ,and MY right over everything else. THAT brought me nothing but GRIEF, SORROW , and SHAME , ANGER and GUILT and the most EMOTIONAL PAIN ever . Smoking was not fun . It didn't make me happy . I began to see smoking for what it was , understanding and seeing the truth . I decided to face my denial, get real with my addiction and stop the insanity .

What has cigarettes done for us .The answer is simply nothing good . It is one of the worst forms of torture ever, and it was slowly killing us . The sad part: we willingly made the choice to do it everyday . We are of so much more worth, and value than that . “

THE ENDING : Quitting got easier once I decided to STOP THE INSANITY, and quit playing games with my quit . I was wasting valuable time .

What did I truly want ?

I wanted to quit .

I surrendered .

Cigarettes had that much control in my life , but not anymore .

I took my power back :)

I am glad all of you as well are claiming your power and your freedom from this addiction :) _ Sherri L.

Thanks . I wish you guys all the best . Keep the quit . You are worth it .

I just stopped in hoping maybe I could encourage and support others . Encouragement goes a long way .

I have not forgotten the struggles I had and although I have 5 years quit I still do as I have always done . I take one day at a time .

I don't think of smoking anymore in the sense that I miss it or want even one puff . Smoking took so much away and quitting has given so much more .

Thank You for this post _Sherri

I never had smokers cough much but what I did have  was bronchitis , allergies, constant asthma flare ups, and a cold  . I never had smokers cough LOL oh yes I did . I kept that filed under denial for many years .   

• I never thought the anxious thoughts for a cigarette would pass or that my life would be better without them .

• I never thought I could quit or that I would be happy being quit .
• I never thought those craves in the beginning would have lasted so long , but they did and I lived .
• I never thought being free would be so great , but it is and I want more .
• I never thought a quit smoking website for support could have so much love , and I never thought that total strangers could care so much but they did.
• I never thought that quitting would be easy but looking back it was easier than I thought.
• I never thought I could beat this addiction that held a hold so tight and I never thought quitting could be doable , or that I'd ever see the light .
• I never thought I'd be here today spending time with family, friends and all of you but I'm here because I said " I quit" and then I followed through . _Sherri L.

Not a chance of smoke in the air from my puffing on a death stick . Its a Nope for me .

Ok when I figure out how to do that lol . In the meantime I guess maybe I will be welcome ?  

Its late,  but never too late to say  NAP ( Not a puff ) 

I pledge no smoking for me tonight . 

 I have been quit for a while,  but I am new here to this forum  and I am looking forward to pledging with all of you .