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Hi, After 40 years of slavery to this addiction it's time. Time for me, and time to move on. I can still taste the last one, and I'm already afraid. I don't want to extend the struggle with a replacement, I just want to be free of this. I have big plans and it just doesn't fit into those plans anymore. Hope that makes sense.

I love not having that black cloud of doom ,just looming above my head ,all day every day...you know the one ... I'm about to have something bad ,happen to me anytime soon... My luck will run out ...I've left it too late.. Rubbish !!!!....I felt the beniefts almost immediately..that cloud melted away .!!!! It's never too late ... What's yours ????

Hi my name is Mike. I am a former quit smoking forum member(miamimike) and I have 28 months smoke free. I have been feeling anxious lately and this has given me cravings. I wanted to renew my quit and commitment since I treasure my quit! I have reaped so many health benefits from not smoking I love being an ex-smoker. I’m also here to support the newbies!

Time to do...nothing sometimes Not thinking about how I am going to get in my next cig Learning and seeing truths I was "unaware" My daughter ... she is so patient and supportive. She makes me smile and laugh at myself. Being free from having to have one, being free from nicotine commands, feeling very good about saying nope My body and mind recovering Being on this journey to find myself again

I love many things! That I’m not the odd one out going for a smoke. That I don’t schedule activities to guarantee cigarette breaks. That I can breathe. That I can use my wonderful perfumes. That I don’t get irritated because I want to smoke and can’t, and now I can enjoy time with friends and family. That I DID quit and it gave me a huge confidence boost, and a feeling that I can achieve anything. Everyday i discover new reasons why is it good not to smoke!

Not having to time and coordinate my whole day around where and when I can smoke.

No Man's Land stretches before me like the African savannah. In the distance I see the shimmer of heat in the air signalling the watering hole, the oasis of life, and green, and safety - Freedom and my final destination. I can just catch glimpses of it through the heat haze, a sparkle of sun on cerulean blue, a myriad greens that are thick and lush, tips of the shade trees, flashes of orange, of purples and reds dot the green with little white stars bursting forth here and there. It’s distant but it’s there and coming closer with each step. Sometimes, at night, when the winds just right and all is quite if I breath deep enough I can catch a whiff of the Promised Land and freedom. It’s ever so faint, but it’s there, the jasmine, the sandalwood, the musk of the shade tree forest floor. It’s so fresh, so clean and then the wind shifts and its gone. That's my future, the cool crisp water, the green, the colour, the flowers, will there be lilies in the water or lotus flowers, maybe both. Will there be smooth pebbles on the bottom to while my days away skimming across the surface of the lake?? Maybe, maybe, maybe ... But that's the future, I'm not there yet, I'm in the Savannah. I am in No Man’s Land. The Savannah that stretches forever, I've been here for a while, feels like forever, I am impatient to move forward there is not too much to battle here it’s just so blah. Don't get me wrong, it’s not a bad place being on the Savanah, with its grasses and spattering of watering holes, little ones like puddle. The wildlife is interesting. Let’s face it, it is so much better than what came before. Argh the dessert, the desolate and dangerous desert… where the thirst and the hunger plagued our every step, constantly, day in day out. The demon b1tch and her grating, nasal voice sat at our backs, dogging our steps with her caterwauling cries, with her temptations and promises and lies. Oh the lies. The burn and the stench of her fetid breath etched into our mind forever. And her minions of deceit, sent to tempt and urge us to ruination. To give up our journey… yes I think I do prefer the Savannah. You can still see the desert if you look backwards, it’s still close and littered with the corpses of each demon that was sent, and their rotting carcases being picked over by the scavengers. Our strength, their failure and demise… I can still see the last big temptation and trigger right just this side of the boarder, Dawn Service and 2 steps ahead ANZAC Day, the hyenas took their fill when we slayed those beasts and now I can see the vultures picking over the bones of their existence, never again will they be a trigger, they have been vanquished. But that’s done, we are through the desert and now again it’s time to move forward, the journey on the Savanah is long, but not endless. The beasts are minor in comparison to the before. But the danger is perhaps greater. Lulled into a sense of safety with the diminished frequency and intensity of the demons and beasts sent to trial us I fear we will be negligent in preparing our defences. I fear we will be complacent and leave openings and gaps in the barriers. No longer does The Warrior march the perimeters of our mind ready for battle ever alert, she is letting the battles of others again take her attention. Not so vigilant to our safety on our journey. This concerns me.. the laissez-faire approach our little group has adopted… the c0cky feeling of already achieving our goal… but we have not crossed the Savannah yet… we haven’t passed the last lion, or cheetah or hyena. We are not home free. There are trials to come and the watering hole oasis is still so far away. We need to get off our laurels and keep working at it.. its not over, regardless of how much I choose to sing, or crow, or brag. It’s time to keep moving. Come on people, on your feet we need to make tracks. As I look around at our little travelling group I see Little clinging to Mum’s leg, always slightly confused as everything seems new, and exciting, and fun but it’s also scary. Little likes to hide and pretend the bad things aren’t there if we left this to her we’d be curled in a ball in a dark cave somewhere. Sure life would be easier on this journey without her, but she is so funny and silly and kinda cute in that precocious 3 year old way. And then there’s the Kid, she’s the driving force always forward, no regrets, live every minute 100%, I’d say 90% of the trouble we find ourselves in is because of her, she has no fear, everything’s an adventure or a challenge and she knows we aren’t but acts as if we are invisible… she is impulsive and fearless and reckless, she’s the one to push us ever forward but she’s also the one most likely to fvck this up with her dares to the others to test our progress. She needs free reign to push us forward but she needs to be controlled and for God’s sake keep her away from the sugar, her, Dare and Addi… they are a bloody nightmare on the sugar and caffeine. We need to cut Addi loose in my opinion but the Kid says no, there are NO REGRETS… so we are stuck with the crazy b1tch, the dead weight of stupidity that she is. Mum’s my favourite, she is rational and calm, she sorts the messes out and tidies them up, she cares about all of them, hell she cares about everyone she wants to put band aid on the knees of every wound on earth and kiss em all to make them better… maybe she’s not my favourite. De is kept under lock and key because she has a tendency to drag us all down and along with the Kid she is the most likely to make us give up the journey, to lay down and die and let the demon dogging our travels win… she pisses me off most, but she needs to be freed, briefly, every now and then to let out the tears because otherwise the dam might break. Then we have the Princess, who’s pretty quiet and way girly but when she rares her head it’s all about her, just don’t tell her cos the tantrums would put Verruca to shame. Mems, who is our record keep her, she is the volt of knowledge that is everything and anything and then there is Reg, the spokesperson of our little group, she is a bit of everything and probably the most sane, which is a scary thought cos Regular Jo aint that sane. We round of our troup with the Warrior, fearless to the point of stupidity, stubborn, loyal and insanely protective she will take on anyone or anything to protect all she considers her own, and even those that she doesn’t if they are weak or being wronged or outnumbered. It would be nice occasionally if she though before opening her big fat mouth or went wading into a battle with fists flying.. but she is a necessity. She got us here through the dark days, she’s been doing it for decades. And then there’s me, I’m The Narrator, the voice of reason in the craziness, the internal monologue, I tell it as it is… or as I think it should be… and give a running commentary of everything. Warrior and I don’t really get along, especially when I use the Megabeast’s voice, thinks I’m half our problem… but I digress… it’s time to haul arse out of this Savannah cos I’ve had enough. (OK so I’ve been thinking on the whole no man’s land phenomenon for a week or so and had this whole post planned about my biggest issue being I feel like I have lost my quit identity… I feel bad claiming to be a newbie because I am so past that but I can’t claim to be an old farte either… so I just feel like I lack an identity, a label if you must.. and I like labels, makes everything neat and tidy but only if they are alphabetically arranged and facing the same way… anywho, I sat down to write it and the above came out instead.)

NOPE!

NOPE!!!!

#NOPE

Love being able to be with family and friends without getting antsy about going for a smoke, then resenting their presence or mine and then feeling like a complete arse for those thoughts. Love being able to say "no thanks" or "sorry, I don't smoke". Love being able to give someone the biggest of hugs without worrying that they are hating the smoky smell. Love the extra cash.

NOPE not today I'm too busy dressing as a bunny today in work cos it's fun time Friday and I want to look like a right numpty.. oh and the most important thing we raising money to train guide dogs for the blind..? So who wants a hug..????

This morning I feel a bit flat mentally. And thinking it may be because I am not getting dopamine because nicotine still has the receptors hijacked, but no nicotine. Bye bye nicotine. and this - quiiting cold turkey - isn't nearly as bad as I feared. So many lies i lived and believed.

NOPE...

As many above, I love the freedom. It's Freedom I love. For someone, for whom Freedom is so important, I can no longer imagine why I would have ever subjected myself to the bondage of addiction.

Nope

^^^ Friday hugs yeah Smoking Nope!

NOPE

G'day it's NOPE from me C

Good morning to all my fellow NOPErs from a cold, wet Melbourne. Today is a super important day... today is International Nurses Day! Sharing the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth (my first ever hero who wasn't a stick) International Nurses Day is when we recognise and thank nurses for the amazing and wonderful work they do. Doctors might treat but nurses care and cure. Often under apreciated and abused nurses, chick or blokes, are the heart and soul of any health system and so today we achnowledge our wonderful caring nurses with a big thank you. To all our nurses in here .... we love ya work. and now..... its time to do the pledge because will I smoke? There will only ever be one answer to that: NOPE!!! Topic of the day: Your heroes.

I agree with all of the above. But what I love the most is the look my grandchildren give me now and how they have responded to my quitting -- hard to put in words but it is there.

Thank you? That's why I'm here. Am probably going to need a little help through this.

Welcome Kbc and congratulations on taking back your life! I too was a long time smoker, 35 years, and decided one day that that was it. It wasn't always easy but thanks to forums like this it is doable. Stick close, reach out when you are thinking you may cave to a crave and we will be there to help you through.

Really nice writing, Jo. Really nice. Thanks for taking the thought and time. I know the shiny new wears off and the smoke free life doesn't appear quite so fantastically beautiful. I missed the adrenaline winding down in nowhereland. It was more of a challenge to feel motivated...that's just chemistry. In reality, our smoke free Present remains fantastically beautiful (sense of accomplishment, true rewards, freedom, healing) but, should never be comfortable enough to be lulled into the veneer of complacency. Our beautiful smoke free life is plenty edgy and requires fight/flee response in a heartbeat. We are always a puff away from the enslavement. This danger is forever and if we don't keep our wits about us or we start lying to ourselves again....well....you know. Am I an established quitter resting on laurels ? NOPE. Never in a million years. I will name you, "Our Beautiful Jo, A Nicotine Free Hero", one to be exalted.

I Our minds are a very strange thing. I have a good life. At work, I have always been recognized and appreciated for my intelligence, courage to try new things and honesty. Yet here I was facing this quit: Afraid, Didn't Think I was strong enough to overcome a crave,Thought it would be so much worse than it was. When saz kept writing that I was stronger than a crave and could do it ct, at first I thought she surely didn't Know me..lol. I saw myself as weak and afraid. Once the lies were confronted it was nothing...lol. This time I wanted to quit ... For me. I was sick of smoking and bored with smoking. I was so ready to atop. But yes, once we commit, we just do it. And I am really enjoying the process of quitting and what we go through.

NOPE!!

Will I smoked today ???.....let's see !!!....NOPE !!!!

Nope

So the excitement of your quit is not as strong as it was...no man's land..... It's a point where some folks find themselves...not a newbie... Not a oldie....so where I am ???? Let me tell you ..who you are...you are a amazing non smoker.... You are a person every smoker would love to be... Don't over think....every morning..yipeeee I'm free... No man's land will pass by in no time at all... Keep marchin.... We are a army...keep in step....carry that flag high... I never experienced no man's land..there was no point ...my feet were too important ... Take it day by day.....its a new day...( night ) for you... Stand tall Jo.... Xx

Jus make up ya own label jo. Im half a farte ? if its any consolation i no longer feel in no mans land so maybe just a wee bit more time youll be out of it.

NOPE - I do not smoke anymore.

Nope here too!

NOPE - smoking sucks! Happy Friday, everybody!

NOPE!

G'day NOPE for me C

NOPE!!!!

NOPE!

Wow thank you all for the encouraging words! Love the NOPE idea. Will be digging around am sure. This isn't my first time at this rodeo, but I have a good strong NOPE, and a few other choice words for the "Insidious voice" , or whatever y'all call it. Deep breath Firm NOPE

Everything. Every single thing. Not one aspect of my life has diminished by my refusal to smoke. Quitting has proved so beneficial I won't even attempt a comprehensive list of improvements in my life. Quitting gave me nothing, but promised to take everything. That is the epitome of a raw deal.

Good morning my fellow people of the NOPE. Hope this POETS day (Piss Off Early, Tomorrows Saturday) finds everyone, happy, well and strong. Down in the way south land of Aus it is National WOW Day, a day where we are supposed to wear orange to show our respect and appreciation of the SES (State Emergency Services). There are the chicks and blokes who are out in storms patching up ya roofs and the like and they are volunteers, they give up their time to sandbag, and clean up, and repair for us for nothing other than the want to give back... and they all wear bright orange overalls... so to our SES peeps and their equivalents around the world... THANKS! Now lets get this thing happening and start the last day of the worth week in the best way possible... all together now (in the key of C)... NOPE ... not one puff ever Topic of the Day: Disaster & Survival Movies.

Hello Kbc and welcome, you are making a fantastic decision and one you will not regret.. and you'll find plenty of support here with lots of really lovely friendly people. So jump in and make yourself at home..?

Here is something wonderful that happened to me a little bit earlier. I had been pondering how long before I experienced dopamine without having nicotine being the conniving theivi g chemical drug. From what I read, it will be 3 to 6 weeks. I took the day off of work again, to take care of me (feels good to do that) And I went swimming. I reached a new milestone and while I knew it was an accomplishment, I didn't get the dopamine attagirl. Which is ok for now, because they will come back. As I was floating/meditating in the water, I remembered a time when I was a child that I had reached a swimming milestone and how happy I was at achieving it. I could see myself jumping up and down with joy...It was a major and well deserved dopamine rush...a natural one. And while the dopamine was not generated in my mind today, I was able to remember and share the reward and joy with my younger self - who knew real and free dopamine rewards and feelings, which did not keep you in chains to receive.

Good morning. I pledge NOPE today.

NOPE! SNOT

nope

Here's my 420

Good morning? nope? have a great weekend?

NOPE

TGIF and #NOPE