It took me a long time to start doing the daily NOPE pledge: Not One Puff Ever.
When I first quit, I was a basket case. I could barely tie my shoes, let alone come up with a whole new life plan. If I had tried to figure out how to stop smoking “forever” at that point, my brain might have exploded. After 42+ years of smoking, I simply couldn’t conceive of life without cigarettes. Truth be told, I didn't want to. And I was very afraid that I’d fail. (Again.)
To make it over those starting hurdles, I took things one craving at a time – then one hour, and then one day at a time. That incremental approach worked better for me. It kept things simpler, more attainable.
Small steps also disarmed the ambivalence I had about quitting. Part of me still desperately wanted to smoke. If I had waited to quit until I was 100% certain, I would have put off quitting indefinitely. I needed a way to quit anyhow, despite those mixed feelings. No puffing TODAY was that ticket for me. NOPT aint poetic, but it worked. SNOTT (Smoking’s Not on the Table) was helpful, too.
My early quitting journey was much more gritty than pretty. There were dark times. Cravings definitely sucked. But they didn’t kill me. Every small victory mattered - minutes, then hours and days that I didn’t smoke. They built my quitting skills. And they helped me find my determination, too. Each moment without smoking was hard-won and precious, something I’d earned that I didn’t want to throw away. I began guarding them. I started to feel just a wee bit fierce. And the days started adding up sooner than I thought they would...
It turned out that there was light waiting for me on the other side of withdrawal, light that I couldn’t see before. My addiction to nicotine had spun a story that I was a lost cause, that quitting was impossible for me, that only misery lay ahead if I quit. But that was an illusion, a withdrawal temper tantrum. By taking things one hour and one day at a time, evidence pointing to a different reality began to stack up. Quitting IS possible. Freedom CAN happen. I am gradually coming to believe in a forever quit for myself.
These days, the daily NOPE pledge helps me stay committed and accountable. And vigilant. Sometimes I still have a strong longing to smoke. NOPE reminds me not to fall down the “I could have just one cigarette” sinkhole. Because I am an addict, one smoke inevitably leads to more. NOPE keeps me off that merry go round of misery.
I’m so grateful to everyone here who does the NOPE pledge. It’s great reinforcement for the importance of actively tending my quit – like watering a garden. It’s a tiny celebration that helps me avoid complacency. And it’s positive reinforcement, reminding me that there are lots of other people walking this path, finding their own ways to freedom.
If you’re lurking on the platform of the Quit Train station, unsure about hopping on board, give quitting a try. It’s possible. If NOPE feels beyond reach for any reason, toss in a NOPT or a SNOTT, instead. Whatever works for you. Amazing things can happen one day at a time.
