My grandfather is awesome in that way. He decided one day to stop smoking. He didn’t quit, he would always say “I can have a cigarette any time I want to, I just don’t want to.”
Because he didn’t quit, he wasn’t “denying himself,” and has been able to not smoke for decades.
No Brat. It wasn’t too dissimilar when I quit smoking either.
Lots of people had asked me to quit smoking, but I enjoyed it, and never wanted to, at least until the sad day I found myself so broke I was rolling up pennies to take to a gas station in a big plastic bag, just for a $6 pack of 20. I could have, and really should have, spent that very last of my money on food. I felt like a pathetic junkie, and was disgusted with myself. That was the bottom I needed to hit.
I made that my last pack, stretched it out for a week (when previously that would have been a day’s worth of smokes) and then quit cold turkey. Every time the craving hit, I would stop myself saying, “No, I decided to quit.” Those are POWERFUL, decisive words. Not “Mom wishes I would quit” or “my doctor recommends I quit”. I put my own ego on the line.
“I. Decided. To quit.”
…And what followed was naturally about 4-6 weeks of feeling constantly nervous and anxious without a particular reason (well… obviously the reason was the withdrawal. I just mean I wasn’t feeling anxious about global warming, just all the symptoms of extreme anxiety without a focus). Lesser, more ignorable restlessness after that.
I don’t tell this story as a flex about “my own mighty willpower”, but because quitting smoking is genuinely, really hard, and this story might help someone else who is struggling with it. You will not quit until YOU genuinely want to quit, and not all the terrible tasting gum, timed beepers, patches or expensive multi-step plans will do it for you. I think they’d all have been an enormous waste of money, even if I’d been able to afford them at the time (family would have bought them for me, happily, if I’d asked).
You will quit, when YOU DECIDED to quit.
Hinoron, congratulations! My dad used to only smoke at work; he quit the day he opened a new pack when he arrived, and by mid-morning there were three cigs left–so he gave them away to a fellow smoker, said to him, “If I ask for one, don’t give it to me,” and quit. In later years, he’d have one, maybe every year or two, in a social setting, but never really smoked again.
He also didn’t drink coffee much except socially – and about once a year there too. Until he discovered espresso. But that’s another story.
I couldn’t walk away either… until I became lactose intolerant. After six months to a year of colon attacks every freakin’ week, it suddenly becomes very easy to walk away from ice cream…
…of course, now that I’ve found soy and rice ice cream, I’m back in business. 😉
Kevin may not be a doctor, and the general understanding of the dangers of fat may have advanced a lot since 2005, but really anyone should be able to figure out if your lower arms are wider than your waist an ice cream cone is not going to cause you problems.
I’m not an addict. I can walk away anytime I want.
Only thing is, I never seem to want to…
My grandfather is awesome in that way. He decided one day to stop smoking. He didn’t quit, he would always say “I can have a cigarette any time I want to, I just don’t want to.”
Because he didn’t quit, he wasn’t “denying himself,” and has been able to not smoke for decades.
`Sounds like one of those rare people who are actually IMMUNE to nicotine addiction.
No Brat. It wasn’t too dissimilar when I quit smoking either.
Lots of people had asked me to quit smoking, but I enjoyed it, and never wanted to, at least until the sad day I found myself so broke I was rolling up pennies to take to a gas station in a big plastic bag, just for a $6 pack of 20. I could have, and really should have, spent that very last of my money on food. I felt like a pathetic junkie, and was disgusted with myself. That was the bottom I needed to hit.
I made that my last pack, stretched it out for a week (when previously that would have been a day’s worth of smokes) and then quit cold turkey. Every time the craving hit, I would stop myself saying, “No, I decided to quit.” Those are POWERFUL, decisive words. Not “Mom wishes I would quit” or “my doctor recommends I quit”. I put my own ego on the line.
“I. Decided. To quit.”
…And what followed was naturally about 4-6 weeks of feeling constantly nervous and anxious without a particular reason (well… obviously the reason was the withdrawal. I just mean I wasn’t feeling anxious about global warming, just all the symptoms of extreme anxiety without a focus). Lesser, more ignorable restlessness after that.
I don’t tell this story as a flex about “my own mighty willpower”, but because quitting smoking is genuinely, really hard, and this story might help someone else who is struggling with it. You will not quit until YOU genuinely want to quit, and not all the terrible tasting gum, timed beepers, patches or expensive multi-step plans will do it for you. I think they’d all have been an enormous waste of money, even if I’d been able to afford them at the time (family would have bought them for me, happily, if I’d asked).
You will quit, when YOU DECIDED to quit.
Hinoron, congratulations! My dad used to only smoke at work; he quit the day he opened a new pack when he arrived, and by mid-morning there were three cigs left–so he gave them away to a fellow smoker, said to him, “If I ask for one, don’t give it to me,” and quit. In later years, he’d have one, maybe every year or two, in a social setting, but never really smoked again.
He also didn’t drink coffee much except socially – and about once a year there too. Until he discovered espresso. But that’s another story.
I couldn’t walk away either… until I became lactose intolerant. After six months to a year of colon attacks every freakin’ week, it suddenly becomes very easy to walk away from ice cream…
…of course, now that I’ve found soy and rice ice cream, I’m back in business. 😉
It’s like how I’ve said NO to alcohol so many times over the years… the only problem is, the alcohol didn’t listen.
Kevin may not be a doctor, and the general understanding of the dangers of fat may have advanced a lot since 2005, but really anyone should be able to figure out if your lower arms are wider than your waist an ice cream cone is not going to cause you problems.