Genecanuck

How Do You Hold on When the Going Gets Tough?, Quitnet Re-Post, October 28, 2004 From BaldGuy66 on 10/28/2004 1:17:30 PM Posted by BaldGuy66 on 3/16/2004 That InnerJunkie™ tries to wear us down. It doesn`t last forever, but sometimes you need to concentrate that strength that you`ve already shown, and boil it down, put it to work at one instant in time, the instant when you just can`t take anymore: and don`t give up. Imagine time as a conveyor belt, a long conveyor belt that stretches to infinity in two directions. You`re standing alongside it, and every few minutes, a cigarette goes by on the belt. You always have the option of reaching for one, when it goes by. You can only reach so far in either direction. There will only be one cigarette in reach at any given moment. Its pull is most powerful when it is right there beside you. THAT is the moment that you need the most strength -- just for that moment, when it would be so easy. Then it`s going off into the distance, and it`ll be a little while before the next one comes along. Then you choose again. Each time you choose rightly, you get a little bit stronger. It gets a little bit easier to choose rightly the next time. After a while, you`ve gotten so good at this, you don`t even have to fight anymore, for the most part. You just watch it go by. You know it`s there. But you know you have the strength to leave it there on the conveyor belt. Sometimes, once in a while, you might have to call on your friends to stand on the other side of the conveyor belt and remind you why you don`t want to take that cigarette off and smoke it. And that`s okay. We`re allowed to ask for help. Eventually, you won`t even notice the darn thing. You`ll trip over it once in a while, or you`ll see someone else walking (or running) up to take a cig off the belt, but you`ll know you don`t have to, and you don`t want to have to keep going back, watching the clock, making sure you`re ready for that next fix to come down the line. Anyway, that`s how you get through. Making the right choice at the exact moment you need most to make it. And I`ve rambled. I knew there was one in there somewhere. *** BG 435 days, 1 minute and 59 seconds smoke free. 5220 cigarettes not smoked. $1,670.40 and 1 month, 9 days, 21 hours of my life saved. My quit date: 8/20/2003 1:15:00 PM

Congrats @Hope2Nope.... your awesome 8 year quit is inspiring for all of us newbies. I am grateful that you are sticking around to offer others supprt.

Thanks @QuittingGirl... I have just had so many failed quits that I know I can't take things for granted.

Stompin' Tom Connors Sudbury Saturday Night

Not one puff or nicotine patch ever!

The Half-Percent Club, Quitnet Re-post, May 22, 2004 This is a good read. I'm sure that it is as true today as it was back in 2004 that a very small percentage of smokers actually join the elite quitting club and keep their quits. Are you going be part of the half percent club? Keep our quit. Gene Repost - the half-percent club (my doctoral ramble) From melder7777 on 5/22/2004 8:49:23 AM every so often I renew my membership in this club feel free to join (the dues are outlined below) maureen chosing life for 649 days! (and regretting not a one) From kevindontsmoke on 11/19/2002 11:50:48 AM according to statistics published in June of 2002 by the American lung association (see "TRENDS IN TOBACCO USE" at http://www.lungusa.org/data/): * over 46,500,000 (that's 46 and a half million) Americans smoke. of those, 70% (or 32,550,000) say they want to quit. of those, 34% (or 11,067,000) attempt to quit each year. of those, 2.5% (or 276,675) succeed. that's about one-half of one percent of the total number of american smokers. the half-percent club. * (since i don't have similar statistics for any other country, i'm going to assume that the percentages are about the same everywhere; people are people, wherever they live, and nicotine is nicotine, no matter who's addicted to it...) -------- now, some people might look at those numbers and get discouraged. they might think, "only a half of a percent make it? what chance do i have of succeeding with odds like that?" - what they don't realize is that statistics say *nothing* about individuals. and every member of this exclusive club is an individual. and every individual has the power of choice. -------- the half-percent club has no officers; no president, no secretary, no treasurer. it has no meetings; it has no meeting hall. it doesn't march in parades, organize food, clothing or fund drives, hold garage sales, or have bingo on wednesdays. but it does have dues, and if you want to be a member, you have to pay your dues. it doesn't matter who you know, doesn't matter what you know, doesn't matter if you're from the right family, doesn't matter if you went to the right school, doesn't matter if you're from the right side of the tracks, doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman, doesn't matter what color your skin is, doesn't matter what religion you follow (or even if you follow any at all), doesn't matter what your politics are. all that matters is that you pay your dues. because the half-percent club isn't like other clubs: nobody nominates you for membership; you nominate yourself. nobody votes on whether you can become a member; your vote is the only one that counts. you elect yourself. by paying your dues. you pay your dues by waking up every morning, looking your addiction in the eye, and choosing not to feed it today. you pay your dues by going to bed every night patting yourself on the back for having stuck by that choice today. you pay your dues by choosing not to feed your addiction whenever you're hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. you pay your dues by choosing not to feed your addiction whenever you feel sorry for yourself. you pay your dues by choosing not to feed your addiction whenever you're under pressure. you pay your dues by choosing not to feed your addiction whenever you get a crave. you pay your dues by choosing not to feed your addiction. no matter what. you pay your dues by choosing life. because as long as you choose life, you're a card-carrying, paid-in-full member. and as long as you keep choosing life, nobody can vote you out. in fact, once you've paid your dues, the only way to lose your membership is to take it away from yourself. by choosing to feed your addiction. by choosing death. -------- this morning, for the 366th morning in a row, i woke up, looked my addiction in the eye, and chose not to feed it today. this morning, for the 366th morning in a row, i wrote in my quit journal: "I am a nicotine addict. I cannot afford to feed that addiction. Not even one time. - so - Today, I choose LIFE! Today, I choose HEALTH! Today, I choose STRENGTH! Today, I choose SELF-CONTROL! Today, I choose FREEDOM! Today, I choose NOT to SMOKE!" thomas jefferson said, "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance"; writing these affirmations in my quit journal every morning is one way that i practice eternal vigilance against my mortal enemy. it reminds me, every day, that i'm an addict, and that my only power over that addiction is my repeated choice not to feed it. i know, from previous experience, that it only takes one feeding to bring that addiction back in full force, and this reminds me, every morning, that i can't afford to give it that one feeding. so far, this has helped keep me free for a full year; i'd strongly suggest that you find a way to practice eternal vigilance that works for you. today starts my second year of freedom from smoking; my second year of membership in the half-percent club. i invite you to join me. by choosing life. today, and every day. kevin - grateful to be in my second year of freedom!!!

Hi @DenaliBlues ... i love this.... reframing smoking craving as memories or nostalgia. Many thanks.

Thank you @Doreensfree,... so sorry to hear that your hubby did not make it... but happy that you made a life saving choice... hugs... everytime I hear my hubby cough at night, I think about how smoking is killing him.

Thank you @jillar

Fish

Rapper's Delight (Long Version) Sugarhill Gang

Not one puff or nicotine patch ever!

Aardwolf

Hold on for a second. Quitnet Repost, February 11, 2004. From Peter_is_in on 2/11/2004 8:37:50 PM . . . just hold on to your quit for one more second, then one more minute, and then one more hour . . . . Can you make it one more hour? . . . just another hour to be smoke free? If you're having problems keeping your quit or struggling with it, then maybe just take it one hour at a time. And even one minute at a time. There are some who make the battle to quit way too large in their mind. They look at others who are quit for a long time and can't imagine getting that far themselves. The problem with making the picture of quitting too big is that it becomes overwhelming for some. Quitting is about not having a smoke now and not having one when you get the next craving. Take it one step at a time and before you know it you will be making huge leaps. The thoughts of how long you are quit should only be reserved for retrospect and not for planning ahead. It is great to say that you have been quit for one week, one month, one year. But when you start your quit, to say you have quit for one hour, one day . . . are victories to cherish in themselves. So be glad in what you have accomplished. After all, one less smoke, is a celebration by itself. So, one more hour . . . okay? Peter www.listrite.com/Breakaway D81

Good morning. Yesterday, I had a very stressful day at work. I felt lots of pressure. I worked through it and when I got home last night, and settled in to watch tv with parter. And at some point, he went out to smoke on our deck. And then that stinking thinking thought emerged... I could have just one. Or how come he gets to smoke and I can't smoke? Wow. A lot of stinking thinking. Why was I feeling like I was missing anything? Why was I romancing that smoke in the moment? I challenged it in the moment and told myself that smoking was off the table. But... I still have recovery work to do if I think in any instance that smoking has anything to do with relaxing, or dealing with stress or causing any pleasure, satisfaction, fun or relaxation. I simply DO NOT GIVE MY FUTURE SELF ANY PERMISSION to smoke or use the patch to deal with any of life's normal trials or tribulations. Thans for listening. Keep your quit. Gene

Wild Thing: Tone-Lōc - Topic

Hello again @Breath-of-Power .. here is another perspective on Indiginous peoples relationship with tobacco and how misusing tobacco causes addiction... and the pathway to re-establish a healthy relationship with tobacco. Just some food for thought: https://tobaccowise.cancercareontario.ca/en/first-nations#:~:text=The person who wishes to,use in the wrong manner. And here is a quote form the this Indigenous Tobacco Program that describes their approach to help people deal with the negative impacts of commercial tobacco. Note the use of the word "Commercial Tobacco" ..... "Our work focuses on respectfully informing First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous communities and individuals about the negative health impacts of commercial tobacco. We use positive approaches to addressing post-colonial tobacco use and work with communities to help raise awareness of the risks of commercial tobacco and the dangers of the tobacco industries’ targeted marketing campaigns, particularly to youth".

Hello @Breath-of-Power.... I hope you are doing ok and finding a way to keep yourself motivated to keep your quit. One thought I had when I read some of your posts was that you were struggling. Struggling with the rational side of your brain that still wanted to keep your quit. But I also saw you start to give yourself permission to smoke again before you actually started smoking. I know that internal argument because I have been there. That is when a relapse really begins. When you start to dismiss other rational arguments that you are no different than any other person who has managed to quit. That somehow, it is harder for you than all other smokers or quitters. That somehow, the natural laws of addiction and the quitting process do not apply to you. That your pain and suffering is different than all other smokers and quitters. But I also saw you stick with the Quittrain and keep the conversation going with people who were trying to support you. In my mind, that is evidence that your desire to stop smoking again was stronger than your irrational brain that was trying to give you permission to smoke. Please take a step back @Breath-of-Power.... and examine your reasons for wanting to stop smoking in the first place. That is where you will get your mojo back to jump right back on the Quittrain and get your quit back on track.

Not one puff or nicotine patch ever!!

C+C Music Factory Gonna Make You Sweat 1990

@Doreensfree... how did I miss this thread? Congrats to a wonderful lady. I really appreciate all that you do here to support others.

Not one puff or nicotine patch ever

Welcome back @NoMore2024 ..... I have been exactly where you are right now. I was also a serial quitter and serial nicotine patch user. I also remember long quits where I almost forgot about smoking and BANG.... I allowed myself to succumb to smoking triggers. Which was really a sign that I was not paying attention to all those reasons I was using in the first place.... when I was hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Or even when I was having fun and thought that smoking would enhance pleasure. That feeling that something is missing. Now I know that one too. That could be you experiencing nicotine leaving your system and your body trying to find a new equilibrium without nicotine. Or its the mistaken thinking that any life experience needs to have nicotine involved to make you feel ok. In either case, that is a MISTAKE. Non-Smokers and people who do not vape or use nicotine do not need nicotine to make anything in life better. If you allow that feeling just to be, over time, those neuropathways in your brain will re-wire. @NoMore2024. Let’s both make this our forever quits. You've got this

Not one puff or nicotine patch ever!