I recently came across a quit notebook that I was keeping in September of 2013 (kinda made me chuckle and wince to remember) when I was preparing to REALLY quit.
I'm sharing it as it was written back then (warts and all). Below is page one-- and a batch of others will be posted in the next few weeks--they track my brief evolution from a smoker to a prepared-as-I'm-going-to-be TO A soon-to-be-quitter--full of hope and fear.
I had no idea if I'd last a day, but I prepared as though I would. Preparation helped me adjust to the idea that I was going to be doing a lot of things differently--although I was a wreck, the preparation was later to give me leverage when I was feeling awful. To those wanting to quit, please give serious thought as to how you will handle everyone of your weak points. By planning you get to practice some kind of coping--even a little bit of preparation can help you redirect your thoughts when you get into a tight spot.
My plan was a contract I wrote for myself--wrote it with as much honesty and purpose as I could manage at the time. It was enough. It's always enough, because we get smober one day at a time. I wasn't finished then and I'm not now 9.25 years later.
