HimalayanClimber

Base Camp: My Quit Date Is Set Namaste again, friends. Before climbers go up a mountain, they stop at base camp. They rest, check their gear, and get ready for the climb. This week, I am at my base camp. My quit date is set which is Sunday, 8 November 2026. I did not expect so many kind words after my first post. Thank you to everyone who welcomed me here. Some of you have been free for years, and you still came back to help a stranger from Kathmandu. That means more to me than I can say. A word I am leaving behind In my first post, I used the word “slip.” A member here, free for a long time, told me he dislikes that word, and he explained why. A slip sounds small, like losing your footing for a second. But one cigarette is not small. It brings nicotine back into the brain and wakes the addiction up again. On a mountain, one wrong step near the edge is not a slip. It is a fall, and you may end up back at the bottom. I know this is true, because it has happened to me. Every “just one” became the next one. So I am changing my rule. From my quit date: not one puff. Another member shared something I want to keep with me. She said she now focuses less on her reasons and more on how good she feels when she is free. When I stopped before, even for a short time, I could breathe more easily. I had more energy. Food tasted better. I will look for these small views along the path and write them down here. Checking my gear Here is what I am packing for the climb: All cigarettes and lighters will be gone before Sunday. My tea time will change, because for me, tea and smoking always went together. When a craving comes, I will drink water, take a short walk, and wait. Cravings feel like a storm, but they pass in a few minutes. I will come here on the hard days, read your stories, and write the truth. One step at a time I am a little nervous, and I will be honest about that. But I am not climbing alone this time. We don’t have to win forever. We only have to win today.

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and kind words! You make a very good point about the word “slip.” It makes it sound small, but even one puff can wake the addiction up again. I’ll remember that: not one puff. I’m glad to be here, and I look forward to learning from you and everyone else.

Thanks so much! We’ve all told ourselves those excuses at some point. What matters is that you saw through them. 3 years and 5 months without a cigarette is amazing. Your journey is real proof that quitting is possible, and it gives hope to people who are just starting. Wishing you many more smoke-free years!

G’day! Good on you for putting those big boy pants on. “It worked for me right up to the time when it stopped working” is the most honest line I’ve read in a long time. I’ve told myself I can quit any time so often that I almost believed it. The hard part, like you said, is quitting while knowing there’s no going back. That’s a scary thought for me, but your post makes it feel possible.Thanks for sharing this, mate. It means a lot.

MY PERSONAL EXCUSES I can quit any time I want. I’ll quit tomorrow. Just one won’t hurt. Smoking helps me handle stress. I’ll quit when life calms down. I only smoke a few a day, so it doesn’t matter. I need one with my tea or after meals. It helps me focus at work. My grandfather smoked all his life and lived to 90. Something else will kill me anyway. If I quit, I will gain weight. All my friends smoke, so I would feel left out. I’ve smoked too long, so the damage is already done. I’ve tried before and failed, so I can’t do it. I enjoy it, and life is too short. I’ll quit on Monday. I’ll quit after this pack. I paid for it, and I can’t waste money. I’m not buying any. I’m only smoking other people’s cigarettes, so it doesn’t count. Today was a bad day, so I deserve one. Today was a great day, so I deserve one. It’s cold outside, and this keeps me warm. I only smoke when I drink. It’s a special occasion. I’ll quit in the new year. Which excuse fooled you the most?

Thank you for sharing this. The part about whispering that promise to your dad really stayed with me, and I’m so sorry you lost him that way. I also saw myself in your story. “I’ll quit when...” is a sentence I know very well, and I have also quit and then gone back, so I understand how heavy that feels. What hit me most was how you said it always started with just one puff, and how tomorrow is a carrot we never reach. After all those years, you still picked up that dusty book and tried one more time, and now you can say “I am free.” That gives me real hope. I’m going to come back and read this again on my hard days. Thank you, and congratulations on your freedom.

Namaste, and welcome aboard. I’m Bijay, from Kathmandu, Nepal, a city that looks toward the Himalayas. Nobody climbs a mountain in one giant jump. You climb it one step at a time, and some days you slip and have to find your footing again. I have come to believe that quitting smoking works the same way. I have tried to quit before, and I have started again. This time, I’m writing it all down. This blog is my honest record of that climb. Here you will find the hard days and the good days, the cravings that felt impossible and then passed, the excuses my mind invents, and the small wins nobody else sees. When I slip, I will tell the truth about it. When I win, I will celebrate it, even if the win is just one more evening without a cigarette. I’m not an expert or a doctor, and I don’t have all the answers. I’m simply a person who is tired of being controlled by a cigarette and has decided to fight for his freedom, one day at a time. If you are on your first day, read on, because you are not alone. If you have just slipped, read on, because your journey isn’t over. And if you have been free for years, please stay and share your wisdom, because your story may be the reason someone else keeps going today. We don’t have to win forever. We only have to win today. Then tomorrow, we do it again.

NOPE🤝

On the fifth day of my journey to break free from smoking, I stumbled, and a quiet sadness lingers in my heart. Yet, I hold my head high, for these five days mark my longest triumph in a year—a small but radiant victory. With unwavering resolve, I vow to rise again, stronger and more determined, ready to weave a new chapter in my story of freedom.

NOPE💪

NOPE🙋‍♂️

Still going strong...cravings are attacking me from all sides but they wont win, not anymore💪..Thanks...

I've been smoking for the past 17 years, and I've watched my life spiral downhill because of it—health issues piling up, relationships straining, and opportunities slipping away. In 2024, I finally committed to quitting, drawing on every bit of willpower I had; my personal best streak lasted 57 days, during which I relied on nicotine gum for the first seven to ease the cravings. Today marks my second day in this new attempt, and while the urge is strong, I'm determined to push through and rebuild what I've lost, one smoke-free day at a time.