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1. lolasoul

   

   1 posts
   Registered:
   20 Jul 2018
   20 Jul 2018

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   I have been off and on this smokewagon more times than I dare to count.  There have been previous quits where I have quite convinced myself that I've cracked the quit code only to fail yet again. There have been quits that have been day to day torture and some a summer breeze.  This has been going on for 30 years.  When younger I feared becoming some trailer-park dwelling, bingo loving, whiskey voiced 50-something one day.  Well...I might not live in a trailer park nor ever took to bingo and I don't (think) I speak like Selma from the Simpsons but I have indeed hit the 50-something mark.51 to be exact.  Today I realized that there are things I erroneously believed cigarettes "do" for me..yet they are in fact some cozy companion in procrastination. Cigarettes dull the edges and without them my mind starts asking questions from rarely looked at corners of my life. Without the cigarettes all those "someday's" become of matter of how and when?  It's easy to sit, smoke in hand, and think about plans and aspirations yet doing absolutely nothing to move towards those goals.  Without cigarettes - there is more time and space in my head and life to realize, you better start right this second. Nothing comes from thinking about it...it takes ...doing. Achieving anything takes action when you don't want to...don't feel like it and don't want to be uncomfortable.  Quitting smoking takes effort and persistence....like every other unrealized aspiration in my life.  Hell's bells.
2. brieffree

   

   1478 posts
   Registered:
   28 Nov 2017
   20 Jul 2018 in reply to lolasoul

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   Hi lolasoul
   
   Congrats in 11 smoke free day's!
   
   You are kicking buts! Congrats again!
   
3. susanm

   

   71 posts
   Registered:
   16 Jul 2018
   20 Jul 2018 in reply to lolasoul

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   Congratulations lolasoul!!! I just started for the umpteenth time. Keep it up! You got this!!!
4. aurora

   

   94 posts
   Registered:
   08 Mar 2018
   22 Jul 2018

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   Hello lolasoul,
   Congrats on 11 days.  When I come to this site, I realize how many people share the same experiences as me.  I too have quit many times.  I too have been complacent when I quit and thought "I can just have one puff" or "I will quit again tomorrow"
   I have quit for 4 and a half months now and I am taking it one day at a time, and have the firm intention on never again.  there is nothing worth going back to.
   
   I'm in my 50th year, and it may  have taken me awhile to kick this for good, but better late than never.  I still plan to do a lot of living, and this is but only one step in that grand plan. 
   
   Keep it up lolasoul.  Never give up and keep it up!
   
5. treepeo

   

   832 posts
   Registered:
   29 Nov 2017
   25 Jul 2018

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   Hi lolasoul,
   
   I hear what you are saying, and it's so true.  Quitting does take effort and persistence.  I'm in my 50s too, and realized that I had to stop "pretending" to try and do it for real.  It was so easy to say, "It's too hard, it hurts too much."  Yes, it did hurt.  It hurt a lot, and I thought I might lose my mind.  But persistence paid off, as it so often does.  In the scheme of things, it's a really good tradeoff.  A finite bit of pain (in my case, a month or so) for a lifetime of gain.
   
   We all have unrealized aspirations in our lives, lolasoul, so don't beat yourself up.  Just make quitting smoking your #1 priority, and you will do it.  Take it one step at a time.  You will love being a non-smoker.  It will change your life for the better, it really will.  It is truly worth the effort.