One day at a time

10 18 189

In a few hours it will be a decade since I took the very first step of my quit--had the last smoke in the evening, checked my plan, thought about my decision to quit and gave it a final go ahead. I went to bed knowing that I'd start the next day doing what I had not done in a long, long time.

At least for me, I have had to confirm on countless days that I could only handle quitting one day at a time. My decision to quit was heart felt and I sincerely intended to stick with it, but I had a load of doubts to start with, and I wondered if I was losing my mind--a not so small detail in quitting!!!

Long story short, I won!!! And many of us know exactly what that means--yet it's just one day at a time, just for today. By not smoking, my tortured beginning turned into pure gold...something that many Exers here will confirm. It just gets better and better.

I came to Ex almost three years into my quit. I'm proud to be a part of this strong community that shows up every day to offer comfort to those just beginning. To those who have come after me, smobered up and stayed around to give back, thank you so much.

Growing stronger while struggling has been a powerful experience--and it all began by daring to defy addiction.

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About the Author

Quitter Version 9.25 Years smober as of January 9, 2023. Age 64. Yeah! Well I made it through some pretty tough quit-smoking tangles, and now am happily smoke free. But the start of my cigarette quit was not glorious. It could have been with some other version of me (maybe my younger self--20 something) taking the journey. But, I had to quit with the version that was available back in 2013. I could not wait until I was entirely sure that I would quit, or until I was entirely happy about quitting. I had to grab the willingness that came out of the blue one day in September of that year and run with it. And so I did. Nicotine addiction is a puzzling addiction. I've heard many say that they just can't stop (some of these folks have serious heart or lung trouble). It isn't the kind of addiction that leaves you plastered as with alcohol or other drugs--so that once you sober up, you realize how overtaken you were by the stuff. Nicotine works different than that. It co-opts your person, while at the same time allowing you to stay conscious and even alert. It's kinda like those science fiction tales in which an alien attaches itself to the spine of an individual...and she has no idea of the danger lurking within. You really discover how you've been preyed upon once you try to quit. Then the evil nature of the alien comes to the forefront making quitting seem like a horror rather than a rescue from horror. Some may argue that the smoker understands the danger. I argue the opposite; most smokers begin smoking by the age of 18, and have hardly had enough life experience to understand what addiction really means, and so they are overtaken by a force far greater than they can understand. By the time the smoker really wants to quit, the addiction has blossomed and grown in a most grotesque way. No one deserves this addiction. Maybe, someday society will finally do the right thing and ban the sale of tobacco, leaving it up to the individual alone to grow, dry and smoke the stuff herself, though never allowed to sell it. I made it--as of today--but how I wish all smokers would find their way to quitting. https://quittinthesmokes.blogspot.com/

EX Community

One day at a time

Tough Job this One day at a TIME

One day, one step, at a time

One precious day, hour, minute or even second at a time works!