Austinlegro

[nsd_user663_3554]

Congrats austin on your 1 year and many more to come.....

[nsd_user663_3633]

Congrats Austin.

An inspirational quitter, one of those instrumental in making me understand why I smoked and getting my head right for making my quit as easy as possible.

Thank you, and congratulations.

[NicFirth 10 Years Smoke Free]

Well done Austin,

Stuart has basically said it all.

Keep dishing out the great advice!

All the best

NIc

[nsd_user663_3675]

Congratulations on reaching your 1 year anniversary, here's to many more!

[nsd_user663_3356]

Well Done Austin

A Year is an absolutely FANTASTIC achievement.

:D:D:D

[austinlegro 11 Years Smoke Free]

oooooo.. my own thread..

Thank you, you're all so kind.

When i stopped 12 months ago I sort of knew on the very day that this wasn't going to be a couple of days or weeks off the fags and that my attitude was really set for a massive if not permanent quit.

I can't believe how fast a year has gone and how easy the quit has been.

I'm not sure I ever had a "crave" and I certainly didn't get to the crawling the walls stage. Many, many times things felt "odd" until I realised that the odd feeling was the fact that I was doing something that normally needed a fag break. The early months are jammed full of triggers and each one needs to be deliberately ignored.

The speed at which I realized that being a non-smoker was so much better than a smoker was alarming. The cessation of popping out during band-practice, commercial breaks, cinemas, restaurants, pubs, gigs, parties, meals, work, etc was very rewarding. You very quickly notice that the majority of people don’t smoke and this pathetic little “time out” we did a couple of times an hour looks so funny from a non-smoker’s point of view.

The horrible thing about the whole process is that the easiest ride is achieved with the most determined mind. Stopping smoking, if you don’t really want to, is going to be a painfully drawn out process with no guarantee of success. Hiding ash-trays, burning fags, avoiding smokers, avoiding forums and “not thinking about fags” is no guarantee of success.

If you want to stop, you’ll stop. Even if you work in a cigarette factory and get company fags.

If you don’t want to stop, don’t bother trying because you will fail and you’ll hate every day until you do.

The trick is wanting to stop. Not just saying that you want to stop, not just telling your partner or GP or kids that you want to stop, that is not enough.

On Friday I went out and spent my entire year’s savings on a new amplifier. I bought summat I could never afford because all of a sudden I could. Weirdly I look far cooler stood in front of it than I ever did holding a fag, it even smells nicer.

Now I’m just hoping for someone to ask me (and I so hope it’s a smoker) how I can afford one of Petaluma’s finest and I can tell them it’s simply because I don’t smoke….

[NicFirth 10 Years Smoke Free]

As usual a great post Austin.

Glad you have been able to afford the amp of your dreams (does it go to 11?) you deserve it.

All the best,

Nic

[Tomatpots 10 Years Smoke Free]

Well done Austin

Is it really twelve months since you read "101 ways to blow dry your hair like a proffessional";)

Roll on two years

[nsd_user663_3614]

Well done on a year of your quit !!

Tracey x

[nsd_user663_3282]

Congrats Austin.

I take it the only way you'll be smoking is via the new amp :D

[nsd_user663_2743]

congratulations Austin

and to many more smoke free years ahead