Genecanuck

The Eagles: Peaceful Easy Feeling https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=n-0lRkuNyj0

Smoking is a symptom. Quitnet Repost, March 18, 2007) Dan1 was a mentor for me on quitnet. He posted this note on quitnet on March 18, 2007. I really believe that smoking is not the ultimate problem. The problem is all the false beliefs that we give to cigarettes. As Dan1 says, they are all "myths and lies, every last one". Keep the quit. Smoking is a symptom. Author, Dan1. Really, smoking is not the problem here - addiction is. At this point, smoking is only a symptom of that problem. Sure, it will aggravate and delay detoxification, but that’s a small matter in the grand scheme of addiction. The problem - the core of addiction - is holding to a set of beliefs that makes smoking seem an enjoyable, reasonable, even necessary thing to do. Myths and lies, every last one. Smoking again only indicates that we still hold some of those false beliefs. Give it no more meaning or power than that.

Not One Puff Ever! Ottawa, Canada - October 11, 2021: Rideau River and Mooney's Bay Beach in autumn.. I live 5 minutes from this beach (Courtesy of Shutterstock)

Hello gang, I join the pledge to commit to being here for the long haul and paying it forward.

Its cloudy and overcast in Ottawa today.

Heart: Stairway to Heaven at the Kennedy Centre.... is a really moving and powerful performance. Led Zeppelin were in the audiance and were just blown away as they watched this performance by Heart. https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=2cZ_EFAmj08

Congratulations ( originally posted on quitnet, date and author unknown) Good morning, Time to celebrate our quits, no matter where you are in your process. Not one puff ever! Gene Congratulations WHO'S BETTER THAN YOU TODAY? You've made it! A whole 2 months (OR add the number of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or years) without a cigarette! In that time, you've successfully navigated the physical chaos of withdrawal, the emotional highs and lows of early quit, and the pitfalls of relapse! WHO'S BETTER THAN YOU TODAY? Countless times you've refused the offered cigs. More times than that you've craved nicotine, but opted for health, instead. You've endured teasing, lack of support, and feeling uncomfortable and out of place among smokers. You may have had issues with weight, anger, tension or sadness, but still you stayed SMOKE-FREE! WHO'S BETTER THAN YOU TODAY? You're adjusting to a whole new lifestyle. You're already thinking different thoughts. You've changed habits and routines. You've made new friends and, perhaps, let go of some old ones. You're starting to realize the benefits of living a SMOKE-FREE life. More and more, you see yourself as a non-smoker. We hope you're as proud of you as we are. WHO'S BETTER THAN YOU TODAY? And while you've been doing all this for yourself, you've been helping everyone here at the Q: your membership in our community, whether active or passive, has demonstrated an ongoing support of the efforts of all of us. We hope you stay with us as you continue your SMOKE-FREE journey to a fuller, richer, healthier life.

@bakon ... may have forgotton us but his legacy post lives on! This window licker is feeling grateful today... waking up feeling good about feeling clean fresh air move through my nose, throat and lungs I have stuffed up sinuses but I know I'd feel 100% worse if I was hacking due to having tar in my lungs.

Not One Puff Ever! View of Canada Parliament building in Ottawa during tulip festival (Courtesy of iStock Getty Images)

@bakon Awesome quit.

@QuittingGirl @jillar @Doreensfree

Good morning, Last night I came home from work, and I felt tired. And partner was rested and relaxed because it was his day off work. We were talking and I eyeballed his pack of cigarettes on the table. My stinking thinking flashed in my head. A momentary flash that said I wish I could have a cigarette with him. WHY? Because in that moment, I was tired, and I momentarily forgot that the belief that smoking could make me feel better was a MISTAKE. I know that thought only lasts about three to five minutes and it will go away. In fact, I confronted that stinking thinking in the moment and told my partner that this was the lie I was telling myself. He was supportive and told me that my addiction must be different than others who had quit smoking. Somehow cigarette addition had a tighter hold on me than others and this is why I was struggling. This advice coming from someone who is still in the throws of stinking addicted thinking. I realized that he was just projecting. This was his belief. The truth is that nicotine addiction grabs everyone in the same way. It causes our brain to misfire when we are feeling hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. If I bought into his belief, I know I would say I might as well give in. If you can't beat them, join them, right? WRONG stinking thinking. The way to recover from this addiction is not to smoke. Keep the quit.

My Ex-Boyfriend: Sucked in again. Quitnet Repost, March 16, 2006 Good morning, This made me laugh but it has deadly truth. Smoking always causes us to return to that stinking thinking that having a cigarette can enhance pleasure, relieve stress or help you relax. Keep the quit. Gene My Ex-Boyfriend: Sucked in again From beaglelvr on 3/16/2006 9:42:25 AM My sister sent this to me for inspiration.. It made me laugh and an earlier post reminded me of this.. This is a great way to think about it.. Also, for you men out there, we can call your "ex" Phyllis... Pretend that Cigarettes are an ex-boyfriend... let's call him, Phillip Morris. Now, at one time you though Phil was great. he was there through thick in thin. He was the love of your life.... but then... you find out Phil had a secret plot to kill you - that's right murder you!! And he became very abusive to you -- making your teeth yellow, giving you wrinkles, making you smell... He was putting poison in your body and killing you slowly and why? because he wants to take your money! But damnit -- Phil is so good looking and he makes all those promises... so you kept taking him back in the past, convinced that he's changed, that you've changed and you can control Phil. NOPE and N.O.P.E. Phil has not changed!!! Phil is the same bastard -- he wants you back, he wants to humiliate you, make you ugly, rob you blind and kill you. Phil will never change. Do not be a battered woman!! Tell Phil that you are better than that -- that you don't need him no matter how hard he tries -- he can not take you back - YOU won't take him back... you choose another guy called... (um? Mr. Health?) -- we'll work on that one... anyway... And now it's time to sing "I will Survive" from Gloria Gaynor or maybe a little, "Set Me Free Why don't ya babe". Get over the hurdle and tell Phil to take a hike. You can do it.

Village People - YMCA OFFICIAL Music Video 1978

Not One Puff Ever! Courtesy of Ottawa Tourism.ca

This is profound for me. In the past, I know I believed that if I had just one, I could always quit again. Yes, I became an expert quitter. But I never found true freedom. The true freedom that can be gained when you start to challenge stinking thinking. That stinking thinking that causes you to believe that smoking can offer relief from stress or enhance moments of pleasure. The real path to freedom is never taking one puff ever. Many thanks for posting this again @jillar

Not at all. Quitnet Repost, July 20, 2007 Good morning. This quitnet gem reminds me that the real challenge and opportunity can be found in replacing stinking thinking. I'ts not even a war on smoking. It is really about understanding that smoking never had anything to do with helping to feel better, find pleasure or eliminate stress. Keep the quit. Gene Just because you've... ... Been addicted to nicotine for years, that does not mean you will always want to smoke. From gummer on 7/20/2006 9:46:17 AM Not at all. In fact, it is precisely BECAUSE I was addicted to smoking that I will never smoke again. And not because I can't, but because I don't want to. Once I got rid of those fanciful thoughts about smoking... that I loved it, that it helped me do this and that, that it made things more enjoyable... and replaced those beliefs with the reality that all it ever gave me was addiction... then my outlook changed. From then on I'd look at smoking and SEE what it would really give me if I lit up. And I wanted no part of it. That's when the struggle ended. When I discovered that I no longer wanted to smoke, no matter what. Even a craving would no longer tempt me to smoke. So as you negotiate the early cravings and withdrawals, try to remember that just because you feel this way now, it does not mean you will always want to smoke. Things will change the longer you stay smoke-free. Your views will shift as you move away from the addiction. Try to strip away any positives you still see in smoking, because once you do and you are satisfied there are none, the war will be won. Gummer

Walk on the Wild Side: Lou Reed https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=oG6fayQBm9w&si=Hr5PrE-OY7Mu79G_

Good morning everyone, Many thanks to everyone for your support. Yes, one month is an important milestone. But I know that I still have a lot of relapse prevention work to do to reinforce the gains that I have made and to slidify this quit to ensure that this is the real deal. I have been here before too many times. Here is one of my favourite quitnet relapse prevention posts. I re-read it again today to remind myself that when a quit is lost, it always starts with stinking thinking in the head. Not one puff ever! REPOST: 10 Steps to Starting Again From Pic on 12/22/1997 11:58:35 PM 10 Steps to Starting Again 1. "Try" to quit (try, as opposed to "do") 2. Idealize what life will be like without smoking 3. Associate your daily problems and disappointments with the fact that you’re not smoking. 4. Begin to buy into the idea that you’re more miserable now than before you quit 5. Start responding to your problems with, "If this keeps up, I’m going to smoke" then add "anyhow" then add "so why suffer anymore?" (Alternate 3-5: 3. Associate your success with the idea that you’ve licked the nicotine habit. 4. Begin to buy into the idea that you could smoke without getting hooked again 5. Follow-up this idea with, "I haven’t smoked in ___ days/weeks/months/years" then add "I haven’t had any cravings" then add "I could have just one" ) 6. Buy, borrow or steal a cigarette. 7. Find a quiet, secluded place where you can be alone with the substance to which you have attributed all power and promise for fulfillment of your needs. 8. Feel yourself calming down even before you light up, which is actually the beast ceasing to scratch at your insides as you prepared to feed the addiction. 9. Light-up and suck in all the poison you can get in that first drag, while beginning the battle against being disappointed in yourself, noticing that this fight is not half as ferocious as it was to get the nicotine. 10. Within a few hits, feel dizzy, cough a little, smell the stink, and realize you’re not going to stop smoking that cigarette, you’ll keep smoking despite the bad feelings, and wish you hadn’t given in. I hope this scenario scares you as much as it scares me. In writing it, I drew from my personal experience and noticed some things that might be helpful in the future: A RELAPSE STARTS IN MY HEAD Steps 1-5 all have to do with how I think. IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO FULLY RELAPSE without doing some or all of 1-5. A CIGARETTE IS NOT THE ANSWER AND THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ONE.

Not One Puff Ever! Good morning. This is a picture taken in Ottawa Ontario in September 2017 (courtesy of suchadonatello, reddit) which overlooks the Ottawa River and Parliament Hill. This is how the fall can look like in Ottawa. I live about fifteen minutes from where this picture is taken and I am hoping for some splashes of fall colours again this year.

Welcome @DebbieS .... can't add anything to the wisdom of everyone who posted here. Sounds like you have a solid plan. Stick close to us and come here often for support.

Celebration: Kool & The Gang Who is celbrating their smoke free life today? https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=TBS6gAtj8gE

Congratulations. Quitnet Repost, January 15, 2006 Remember to stop and celebrate your quits and support others here along the way. Keep the Quit. Gene Congratulations WHO'S BETTER THAN YOU TODAY? You've made it! A whole 2 months (or the number of hours, days in your quit) without a cigarette! In that time, you've successfully navigated the physical chaos of withdrawal, the emotional highs and lows of early quit, and the pitfalls of relapse! WHO'S BETTER THAN YOU TODAY? Countless times you've refused the offered cigs. More times than that you've craved nicotine, but opted for health, instead. You've endured teasing, lack of support, and feeling uncomfortable and out of place among smokers. You may have had issues with weight, anger, tension or sadness, but still you stayed SMOKE-FREE! WHO'S BETTER THAN YOU TODAY? You're adjusting to a whole new lifestyle. You're already thinking different thoughts. You've changed habits and routines. You've made new friends and, perhaps, let go of some old ones. You're starting to realize the benefits of living a SMOKE-FREE life. More and more, you see yourself as a non-smoker. We hope you're as proud of you as we are. WHO'S BETTER THAN YOU TODAY? And while you've been doing all this for yourself, you've been helping everyone here at the Q: your membership in our community, whether active or passive, has demonstrated an ongoing support of the efforts of all of us. We hope you stay with us as you continue your SMOKE-FREE journey to a fuller, richer, healthier life.

Not One Puff Ever! This picture was taken on a vacation to Cuba at the Blau Varadero resort in 2016. The picture was taken off our balcony.

@I can do it ... all of this is excellent advice from people who have been there. But I know you've have also had smoke free days. Day 3 is no different than previous days when you have been smoke free. Just take smoking off the table and say to yourself, I am not smoking this hour, this morning, this afternoon, just for today. And really remember how you felt the last time you had a nasty cigarette on day 3.... "But this time I noticed that the first few cigarettes tasted awful. Really awful. I will remember that, when day 3 rolls around this time! This is your rational brain recognizing that cigarettes actually taste aweful and make your body feel sick. Challenge any stinking thinking you have in the moment and just take smoking off the table.... in just this moment, in five minutes, this hour, this morning, just for today. I did this during the past month and guess what? My rational brain started kicking in and my quit got easier. You've got this @I can do it Good for you for having the wisdom to keep your quit and come here for support. And please let us know how you are doing on the Not One Puff daily pledge page: https://www.quittrain.com/forum/4-the-daily-nope-pledge/ We are all in this together my friend.