I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday, but don't worry that doesn't mean I failed. Still going strong and successful after day #18 of my quit. Today seemed like a pretty easy day in terms of cravings - I think Mondays & Tuesdays tend be my easiest days of the week because my wife works from home on those days with me. She does a great job of helping keep me distracted and keeping nicotine off my mind. It was also helpful that today work was extremely busy, another good thing to help me keep my mind busy. Overall, very happy with how day #18 went.
Focusing on strengthening my relationship with my wife during my quit, lets talk about commitment, intamicy and passion
- Commitment - What did I do today to show my wife that I am committed to quitting
- First and foremost, I made it through another day. No better feeling than that! Also, I did not fall off the train in terms of blogging - yes I did take a day off but we are back at it. I dont believe my wife every thought that I would still be journaling 18 days into my quit. Additionally, I have been very open about what I have been feeling and experiencing through this entire quit. When I shared with her how easy my day was, she was very proud and happy for me. That feeling is waaay better than the feeling of hitting a vape
- Intamicy - having positive conversation around the concept of nicotene
- This is another easy box check, especially on a good day with little to no cravings. This has not always been easy for us, especially because my addiction to nicotine has lead to many arguments in the past. On top of that, I always avoided the subject because I was afraid of how she would react, that she would be disappointed in me or the arguments that the topic of conversation would lead to. But every day I have been striving to have an open and honest conversation with my wife about the struggles and successes of my quit. This has been one of the biggest benefits to helping me be as successful as I have been up to this point. No longer does the topic of nicotine seem scary to talk about with my wife. Instead I find comfort in being able to talk with her about the subject & having the ability to talk about it openly has allowed her to support me through my quit.
- Passion - What can I do every day to help put a smile on my wife's face / evoke emotions out of her that she enjoys
- I had lots of opportunities today to make my wife smile and to evoke good emotions from her; trust me when I say I took full advantage of every opportunity. I made sure to take regular breaks from work today just to go up to her office and give her a kiss / hug or even just to have a fun conversation about whatever came up. One thing my wife really enjoys is decorating our "newish" house that we bought back in June. On the calendar today, I suggested that we go out to a home furniture décor to pick up that rug that she has been wanting to buy. Of course we bought the rug, brought it home and ended up hating it. We will have to return it, but we still had a great time getting out of the house and spending time together. Lastly, we cooked one of our favorite meals together for dinner! I know she loves it (and I do to) when we cook dinner together; we get to conversate, split the cooking duties and even sneak in a couple of dances to our favorite tunes while dinner cooks in the oven.
Last thing to talk about today - what made me sad and what made me happy?
- What made me sad today
- More kind of bad news surrounding my dad's recent cancer diagnosis. Doctor said it was looking to be stage 4 kidney cancer, which is worse than we were expecting. Definitely news that would make anyone sad. But it is all about staying positive and feeling all the feelings, not covering them up with bad coping mechanisms
- What made me happy today - lots to talk about here
- A great morning workout! I am definitely a meathead in the gym, so today after spending a long time recovering from a shoulder injury I am getting back to my normal self in terms of being able to bench press. Happy to report I was able to make it up to 265lbs on the bench press, not 100% yet but loving the progress
- Getting to take my lunch break with my wife. Usually I do this alone, since she only works from home Mondays/Tuesdays. So I really enjoy this time when I get it.
- A busy workday - most people might complain about this. But it made me happy because it was a good distraction from thinking about my dad, thinking about nicotine and helped the work day go by fast
- Beautiful sunny weather!
- Going shopping at the home décor store
- Cooking one of my favorite meals with my wife
- Snuggling up on the couch after dinner to watch some great TV (finally part 2 of You is out on Netflix!)
- My dog Sweetie - literally makes me happy and smile every. single. day
- A great and not bad for you desert before bed - sugar free jello. PS grape is the best flavor
