2020 Quit Smoking Resolution Tips

[Sazerac]

Happy, Healthy New Year MMXX wishes.

 

With a spanking new decade before us,

I hope more people will decide they have had enough of Nicotine addiction and choose Freedom.

I also hope that all quitters will build on their resolve to live nicotine free.

 

If you are contemplating a quit, the resources below, the informative threads on the site

and the gracious support from the QTrain community can help you build a forever quit.

 

 

I'd like to start out with the short film of Nuggets, a profound and poignant film about addiction.

 

and follow with our friend, Joel Spitzer's, 

 

Can You Spare An Hour And A Half To Help Save Your Life

 

Joel's Daily Quitting Lesson Guide

 

A few QTrain threads;

 

10 Ways To Effectively Use This Forum

 

How Nicotine Works

 

and tips and tricks that got us through the first days

 

First Week, Nicotine Free

 

 

Happy New Year MMXX, QTrain !

Toast and Drink Deep from The Bottomless Cup of NOPE (Not One Puff Ever)

S

 

 

 

[Sazerac]

QTrain,

Y'all have any tips for 2020 Quitters ?

[forestgreen]

(1). Never give up....(2.)  You can do it..... (3). Believe in Yourself....... (4)  Continue along with maintenance - Not One Puff Ever.

[jillar]

Stay close to your support board (us) and take the one year Pledge

[BAT]

Perusing the Non-Smoking Pet threads always helped. It doesn't take a lot to distract me ... Oh look a bunny!!  

[abbynormal]

Be prepared to do the work. And educate yourself about nicotine addiction so you will know what to expect when you put that last cigarette out.

 

When I quit on Jan 1 2019, I was told by many of my friends that I would be better off to pick another date. Lots of people quit on New Year's Day, they told me, but they go back to smoking when they realize how hard quitting can be. My case was different, though. I wasn't new to quitting. I had quit before, for long periods of time. I knew exactly what to expect. And I was prepared.

 

I wasn't picking New Year's Day as some kind of last-minute New Year's resolution. I was picking that day because I decided that I wanted 2018 to be the last year I ever smoked! I wanted to start the new year fresh and smoke free.

 

Has it been an easy ride? At times, yes. At other times, not at all. The first two weeks take a lot out of you. I was prepared for that. I gave myself plenty of time to rest. I asked my friends and family to be extra patient with me while my moods were all over the place. I had lots of Twizzlers on hand to chew on when the cravings struck. I had my tool kit ready to go.

 

But the biggest thing I did to prepare was to tell myself that smoking would no longer be an option for me. I decided to get off the serial quitting cycle for good. I took smoking off the table and told myself I would do whatever I had to do not to smoke.

Because, you see, quitting is very easy in one major respect: The only thing you really have to do to quit smoking is to not smoke. Don't light up. Don't take that first puff. 

 

That's it. That's the secret to quitting. Just don't smoke.

 

And here I am, almost a year later, still smoke free! I'm so glad I didn't listen to my friends who told me not to quit on New Year's Day. I'm so glad I declared that 2019 would be a smoke free year for me. I have never regretted that decision. Not once.

 

I would love to support any quitters who have decided to make 2020 a smoke free year. I am here! I'll be a shoulder to cry on. A listening ear to vent to. Whatever you need. I'll be here!

[Sunshine59]

Why isn't anyone talking about the diseases this smoking will cause ?

 

This is a big reason i quit

 

 

[johnny5]

I smoked for 20 years and made multiple attempts to quit during those last few years.  What finally worked for me was finding a support site like this one, reading up and educating myself on nicotine addiction, and reaching out for help when I was struggling.

 

I would also suggest finding Allen Carr's book "The Easy Way To Quit Smoking."  There are online versions and paperback versions of this book available.  People have mixed reactions to this book but go into it with an open mind.  His book didn't necessarily make quitting easy for me but it did make me realize that smoking did nothing positive for me.  Everything smoking did was negative.

 

The turning point for me was realizing that I wasn't missing out on anything positive by quitting smoking.  There is nothing positive about smoking.  It is all negative.  Whatever struggles you may have early on are definitely worth it as life without cigarettes is awesome.  It may take you a while to realize that but once you do, quitting becomes a lot easier.

 

Just focus on the positive benefits of quitting instead of focusing on the early negatives.  Smoking sucks and life as a non-smoker is so much better.

Edited December 29, 2019 by johnny5

[MLMR]

14 hours ago, abbynormal said:

Be prepared to do the work.

 

Totally agree with this!

 

And: give yourself time to go through all stages. Have self compassion and patience, reward yourself for every important milestone, even when it seems childish.

 

Celebrate each moment of pride, of fresh breath, each and every moment that you experience how you do well for yourself. I exploited these moments like crazy and it made me much stronger. 

 

Dont lose connection with why you want to quit in the first place.

 

Make endless lists, make quitting your absolute priority no 1 and then grow tired of your effort  (for me, that was a huge part of being able to release myself from everything that kept me clinging to junkie thinking).  

 

You will also be able to quit

 

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by MLMR

[despair not]

Ive found that not smoking helps you quit.

[mightyboosh]

21 hours ago, Sunshine59 said:

This is a big reason i quit

 

 

Same here - peripheral vascular disease that affected my right leg. For any lurkers reading this thread, it is getting better week by week since I quit.

[Rick92]

1) Learn the actual stats behind smoking related illnesses and what actually happens to you... this was a huge eye opener for me. Illnesses were way worse than what I initially thought and the road to recovery was a lot longer than I thought. 

2) Join a quitters community like this one...  I can't really articulate it but something about quitting with the support of other quitters makes a huge difference. 

[Sazerac]

Here is another thread of resources.

 

New Years Resolutions To Quit Smoking ?

[Mona]

In mid December, I set a deadline of end-of-year for myself.  I quit on Christmas Eve and was doing pretty good for four days.  Then junky me said you can smoke for a few more days.  So then I quit on December 30.  Ended up having a day from hell which began with a flat tire where the air completely came out in under 1 minute.  I was stuck on a busy road for 1 1/2 hours until roadside assistance arrived.  Very scary...  Roadside assistance put air in my donut and swapped it out with the unfixable tire.  The day continued to go downhill.  I just couldn't quit on such a negative day so that's how I ended up quitting on New Year's Eve, a much better day thank goodness.  I am not treating my quit as a New Years resolution because I rarely keep my resolutions.  For me, it's a line in the sand.  I originally quit smoking in 2016 and then relapsed in 2018 with over 2 years quit.  My only smoke-free calendar year was 2017.  I decided that 2020 would be my second smoke free year.

[QueenB]

Not lighting another cigarette is a major factor (lol).  Educating yourself, not giving in to the craves. 

 

Staying close to the forum!!!  What ever is comfortable for you to do at that moment in time, not to

 

take another puff  DO IT!!!!!!!

[QueenB]

As you move forward in this beautiful quit, it becomes easier, and easier to fight off those craves.

 

Then one day you will look back and see just how far you have come from day one!!!!!

 

 

[Sazerac]

Here is

I'll Quit When...

[Sazerac]

OK.

So,  you had the best of intentions to quit smoking

but, you haven't.

You failed.

You continue to give your power away to your addiction.

 

I can imagine you feel disappointed in yourself,  to say the least.

Maybe, you are saying, 'screw it, I don't care', 'it's too hard' or 'I can't'.

All of these are self-fulfilling prophesies...the voice of the addict.  This isn't who you really are.  You weren't born an addict.  You choose addiction. 

 

 

Maybe, you made it a few days, maybe not even that.

Maybe, you joined here and posted a little before you returned to nicotine addiction.

You may feel embarrassed.

You needn't.  We all understand the gravity of addiction and how self-defeating it can make you feel.

 

Please, give yourself a chance again.  It is a new day.

Commit to yourself.  Stop the self-destruction.

You can quit.  We quit and none of us are superior human beings.

 

Examine yourself and your reasons for continuing to poison yourself.

Then, learn all you can about your nicotine addiction, even if you think you already know enough. You never know enough.

 

Read carefully back through this whole thread and click on the links, listen to what successful quitters are saying.

 

Start with one hour, one day at a time and stand by your commitment to NOPE (Not One Puff Ever).

 

Build yourself a sturdy and successful Quit for you and your loved ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jillar]

I knew I needed to quit and was building myself up to being ready to so about a month before I quit I stopped smoking in the areas I usually smoked. That way when I did quit I no longer associated those areas with smoking.