On a nice sunny Thursday, much like today I popped out for my lunchtime smoke before my colleague went for her lunch at 1:30 PM.
The plan had been to quit at the weekend, I think, but as I reached the end of the pack I thought, I don’t want to buy any more so I decided to start my next attempt to quit there and then.
I went to the chemist and bought NRT lozenges, then I revived my old membership to this place, dating back to 2006 when I had signed up on one of my many, many failed attempts. I was a serial quitter, I would do a week or a month or 3 then reward myself for being so good by having a smoke.
It wasn’t until I met all the great people here that the penny dropped and I understood that quitting wasn’t a sacrifice, it wasn’t a situation of depriving myself of some great pleasure, it was a case that I was doing something positive. I was taking back control, recovering health and stopping sending money up in smoke.
I am quite glad that when I quit E-cigs weren’t commonplace, I think if they had been I could have easily become a vaper. In that way I would still have been nicotine dependent and not had the benefits of getting that drug out of my system.
Was it easy? Well no but it wasn’t as hard as it had been when I regarded it as making a sacrifice, which is why the right mental attitude i.e. trading mindsets is so useful.
Was it quick? Not really but then I had been a smoker for most of my adult life so smoking was the norm and learning how to live life without the crutch of a fag takes some time.
Was it worth it? Oh yes. I am no longer ruled by nicotine, I am a less stressed person, I am healthier, I am no longer burning my money and I don’t miss smoking.
When I started doing martial arts the senior examiner said to us on our first grading: - A black belt is only a white belt that never gave up. The same is true in quitting when you have a goal in sight the only way to achieve it is to never give up.
It is now six years since my last cigarette and not a puff has passed my lips since, hopefully I’ll manage a little celebratory ride on the new bike and a pint of beer this evening.