Most significant strategy or rationale

[Christian99]

I hope this isn't too tired or uninteresting a question, but I was wondering if people wanted to identify and explain the most significant aspect of their quit, either in terms of process (the "how") or the rationale (the "why") of their quit.  Or anything else, for that matter.  

 

For me, it was exercise and nutrition.  More specifically, when (and actually a little bit before) I quit, I made some pretty substantial changes to my diet and and to my daily exercise--I began to eat very "clean" (not eating out and preparing healthy low-fat meals at home, for instance), and I started daily workouts at a gym.  One of the reasons I did this was because I recognized that my personality tends toward the extreme(s), and instead of ignoring that (or chastising myself for this predilection), I hoped that I could leverage it to achieve this particular goal.  And I did get pretty focused on (and even obsessed with) healthy food and lots of exercise.  It certainly could be argued (and I suspect that my spouse WOULD argue!) that I went a little overboard with the health and fitness project; however, I was doing so with a fair amount of self-awareness that this was an approach that just might work for me, given my personality traits. 

 

I'm not at all suggesting that eating grilled chicken and broccoli for a couple of months straight is the "right" way to quit:  indeed, I'd say that the "Ben and Jerry's" approach is just as--if not more!--legitimate than my more abstemious approach.  But if there's a broader lesson in/from my experiences, perhaps it is to try to craft an approach that allows you to benefit from and exploit the things that make you tick. 

 

What helped you, and/or what was your overwhelming, overarching rationale? 

 

Cheers, friends--

 

Christian99

21+ Years Quit   

[Reciprocity]

Not sure I really had any strategy or rational for quitting. Perhaps my rational was suddenly realizing that I was doing great damage to myself & had been for decades so it was now or never to make a change.

 

That realization happened one morning as I stood in a cold damp parking lot loading groceries into my car and reaching for a cig. Lighting up I coughed  and coughed, as I had been doing all month due to having had yet another episode of bronchitis. I suppose it was an epiphany of sorts. I just suddenly knew I HAD to quit!

 

Had my last smoke next morning at 8:00 AM then went about distracting myself and keeping as busy as possible though that first day (a Sunday) Took the next two days off work and just sheltered in place like a hermit. Somehow made it through those days that seemed like one giant urge to smoke. Went to work in a haze of brain fog the next day and somehow made it through. 

 

The experience had become so horrible and so overwhelming to me that it became a challenge. Who would win the war of wills? Me or my addiction to nicotine? The longer things went on the more determined I became to win this war no matter how long it took. Before I know it, although at the time it seemed like a very long time, I knew I had the upper hand and those urges became less frequent, less intense and less bothersome.

 

Now today, I rarely think of smoking and when I do, it's not fondly at all! I pity people I see still smoking or vaping and I regret not having made the decision to quit earlier in life. Nothing I can do to change that now but I'm absolutely sure I will never smoke again!!

[Doreensfree]

I had a choice ..carry on smoking or risk amputation of both feet ..

The blood was not circulating the way it should ..my ankles were covered in black bruises.

I smoked my last cigerette with tears flowing...

It worked i still have my two feet .

Ive never felt better and would never smoke again 

My hubby was already dying of emphysema..

Yes smoking did a good number on us two..

My quit method was ...Fear 

Never regret quitting newbies x

 

 

 

 

[Gus]

My rationale for quitting was that I became tired. So very tired. Tired of stinking, tired of throwing money away, tired of practicing self segregation, tired of not living my best life. 
I smoked the last cigarette I had with tears running down my face. I had to make a big deal out of it. I had to make it memorable. I knew that I was fixing to do battle with a monster and it would try to destroy me. It very nearly did break my mind. 
Two or three days in and I knew that I could never go through quitting again. If I ever started back smoking I would die as a smoker.

My method was to just keep fighting. Keep my head down and keep swinging. Because I had a choice too. Die free or in chains. 

[DenaliBlues]

I love what everyone has said here! Such important stories to share.

 

I, too, quit because I was tired. Tired of the cognitive dissonance of loving/hating smoking... tired of being controlled... tired of the sickly yellow spots on my fingers... tired of stinking... tired of self loathing... tired of fearing that every little wheeze was the beginning of the end... and tired of arguments about how I was putting an active, all-consuming addiction into our home and placing my love of nicotine above my love for my partner. All of these feelings were so wretched. Especially because they were 100% preventable. 

 

For me, quitting was about jettisoning all of this rubbish from my life. It was about truly "showing up" for myself and my partner. I came to understand that I was not fully present in my relationships because I was always planning for how I could step away to get my next fix. I always had one foot outside. So much precious time wasted. That's not the kind of person I want to be with/for my loved ones.

 

I didn't quit with any conviction that life would be happy and beautiful as a nonsmoker. I smoked my first cigarette when I was just 8, so smoking was deeply embedded in my identity and my daily rhythms. It wasn't something I "did" it was "who I was." I truly thought I would be miserable forever without my smokes. 

 

Turns out I was all wrong about that last part! The "you'll never be happy again" or "smoking is the only true joy you have in life" is not a factual narrative. It is how the addiction warped my mind and demoralized me to control me, tried to convince me that quitting was impossible. All stinkin thinkin. Good riddance. I smoked my last smoke at midnight before some dental surgery and never turned back. 

 

My quit has certainly not been a glide toward grace... it has been a rugged, bloody-knuckled, awkwardly lurching fight to stay quit. What kept/keeps me on track is a refusal to be controlled again - a refusal to let the addiction win again. I get to be the author of my own life, and I will not surrender that to the tobacco companies any more. I can't change the past, but I can do what's in my power for the future. NOPE!!