I am in my 159th day, and I am feeling really good. That being said, however, I have a big obstacle to overcome. In a few days, I am headed for Hilton Head SC for some significant "rest and recuperation."
I'm sort of in no man's land in my quit. The excitement that comes in the early part of the quit, is now dissipated. One of the reasons is the distance I have come, but there is another more pervasive thought I am having. Smoking is a bad habit, but it is still a habit. The habit and ritual of smoking is, for me, much stronger than the nicotine addiction. I had certain triggers to smoke--not Nic fits, just places where an automatic response was to light one up ie, after golf, the back deck, coming downstairs for morning coffee, home from grocery shopping, and a million other beckoning thoughts to light up. In short, the habit outweighs the addiction as the problem.
When I get to South Carolina, there will be "old" triggers to overcome. I used to ride my bike around town, stop and buy a pack of cigarettes, and smoke a few. After golf, and sometimes while I was playing, I smoked. Taking the garbage to the dumpster was still another temptation to smoke. The habit is the overriding "addiction." and not the nicotine. Inside my home, or inside the place I am renting was not a problem, because I was a closet smoker--I hid my smoking for everyone, including my sister who is with me in SC. --but you can't stay inside forever. So I've come to the conclusion that it's the habit, more than the nicotine that remains. Wish me luck.
