Every day you can see members reaching new quit milestones on the Freedom Train. Reaching those quit milestones probably hadn't been tangible or imaginable to the member at the time they started their quit journey. The reactions by celebrants are exciting and the support from the community is amazing. Looking at the Freedom Train celebrations it would be easy to see milestones as just numbers but when I look at it next to a health benefits graphic the meaning profoundly changes.
For example, look at the following graphic from SecondsCount.org. Translate some of the Freedom Train milestones to the milestones on this chart and it powerfully underscores the benefits to quitting in a highly visual way. There are blog posts from long-time smokers sprinkled all around the site who were discouraged by the thought of being able to quit after so long. It’s obvious that hope isn’t lost if the willingness is there so that life and health can improve. Celebrate the short term benefits now and strive to benefit from the long-term improvements to your health. Giulia’s 10 year Quit blog came to mind when I read the last two lines of the chart. Her post is a testament to the fact that you can quit for good and see the benefits in 10+ years.
What motivated you to reach a health benefit milestone? When you reached that milestone what were you thinking? What health benefits from the chart, if any, were apparent to you at that time?
