sgt.barney

You needn't listen to the poppycock about "tak[ing] the Nope pledge". It is unnecessary. Sarge has never pledged, here nor The Other Place ... Neither in The Pledge Post, nor any other A "pledge" is bullsh|t. Hundreds here. Thousands elsewhere. Millions everywhere, each and every year participate in some sort of pledge or promise... And yet they still smoke. A pledge is neither necessary, nor sufficient ... and for most it is a lie. The only thing that matters is to ACTUALLY PRACTICE Nope. Practicing Nope is both necessary, and sufficient. ALL successful quitters live the Nope. Anyone can write/say some words and pledge the Nope. Successful Quitters live the Nope. EZPZ

Ain't nuthin' stoppin' ya. EZPZ

Vaping is dumbassery. EZPZ

Absolutely nothing. There is an end, folks, it does go away. EZPZ

Thousand of dollars a year on smokes ... and yet there is no extra money by quitting. It's all spent on travel to the world's premier climbing locations ... and climbing gear. A much healthier hobby. Suprisingly: considerably safer, too. EZPZ

Stop deciding to try. Instead, decide to quit. It makes ALL the difference. EZPZ

Hmmmmm ... EZPZ

The Sarge says again, with emphasis: It's not at all a problem if you don't want it to be. You have a choice here. EZPZ

Mrs. Sarge smoked for close to 3 years after The Sarge quit. (She's been quit 4 years now) At all times there were packs of smokes laying around, ashtrays all over the house, cartons in the cabinet/pantry ... How do you deal with it? You don't. There is nothing to "deal with". You are quit and your spouse is not. No. Big. Deal. You just carry on with your plan. It was never a problem for The Sarges. It won't be a problem for you if you don't want it to be. If you are hedging for excuses, this it the perfect excuse. Don't. Do. That. It's not at all a problem if you don't want it to be. EZPZ

The First Step is to quit lying. Nothing but 100%, brutal, in-your-face honesty can support a successful quit. Anything less is guaranteed failure. Guaranteed. Failure. Case In Point: (1) It was NOT "suddenly" ... at least no more "sudden" than any other cigarette you've ever smoked in your life. (2) There was FULL, conscious and willing "realiz[ation]" on your part of what you were doing. Before. During. After. (3) Your husband shares ZERO contributory blame. None. Diddley-Squat-F*ck-All. The Second Step is to internalize this: No one can help you but you. It is 100% your doing (and un-doing, as the case may be. ) We can't do it for you. No one can. We can't even help you - for you will do what you're gonna do regardless of any so-called "help" you get here (or anywhere else). *** These two steps are ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED ... or you will fail yet again. The Sarge suggests you start there, with those two highlighted points up there. EZPZ

Nobody can help you but you. When you want to quit, you will quit. When you don't want to quit, you will continue to fart around. Only you can choose one way or the other. Don't look to us. We can't do it for you. ezpz

O rly? ezpz

The slightest hint of Dishonesty and The Sarge automatically assigns them a big fat "NO GO" at this station. Move along, you're wasting everyone's time. Seeing who's obviously gonna fail is not too difficult. Seeing who will make it is not quite as easy. There's a whole lot of middle ground where "maybe they'll make it ... maybe they wont" ... and The Sarge confesses: some of you have surprised him. On both sides of that grey zone. EZPZ

Peas taste waaaay better. Beans are waaaaaay easier in The Gardens. EveryDamnedThing is a TradeOff. What are your priorities? EZPZ

To be fair - The Sarge only gets up here 3 or 4 times a year. He is no longer a "regular", but sporadic here-and-there as (limited)time allows. EZPZ

You are not so much "overwhelmed" as "looking for excuses". Stop that. Stop it now. Recognize it for what it is and do not find the excuse. EZPZ

> I'm concerned that I didn't get to properly have my last cig. >One can argue whether a proper goodbye is really needed but my bigger concern is this lack of goodbye maybe what makes me relapse. There is no "last" - only "the next". A continuous, never-ending chain of The Next. You know this. You experienced damned near 2 continuous decades of The Next. One after another. Hour after hour. Day after day ... Even when you have the so-called "last" you will still have the same concerns about The Next ... and the next ... and the next. It is the fundamental nature of addiction. The thing that keeps folks coming back for more. The driver of relapses. You have had your "last". All you need do now is NEVER, under any circumstances, have The Next. Do this, and you are Quit Forever. EZPZ 

Something is most definitely "off". Namely: you quit smoking. EZPZ

Don't include all of us in your "we". The Sarge will NEVER relapse. Those who relapse, do so for one and only one reason : they smoked tobacco. EZPZ

"Ready" is a limitless, neverending excuse. Quit now. EZPZ

They were all easy. You just don't know it yet. EZPZ

Early payout on that Life Insurance Policy? EZPZ

No. You don't ... and No. You aren't. EZPZ

As Sarge approaches his 7th year he wishes to reiterate: It's only quitting, folks. It ain't the end of the world. It ain't even the end of your life. It's only the end of your smoking. Hardly an inconvenience and totes worth it. EZPZ