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There will always be the Choice


17 years ago 0 86 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi Lady, Thanks for that post... I was about to post and saw yours and read it. Now I don't have to post. lol Am I making sense. If not lets say it's the oxygen freaking out in my brain, I am worried about tomorrow. Seeing my blood family and we just don't get along. Lots of disfunctional families out there so I don't feel funny writting about it. My godson/nephew is having a surprise party for his wedding. I really didn't want to go. I listen to rude remarks by family members and they just tear me up inside. Now, Lady, this is where your post came in. No matter what happens, I choose not to smoke. No matter what they say, what they do, what remarks or downputs I will not smoke. I will no longer be a slave to nicotine. This fight is one of the hardest fights of my life. So far so good not having a cig in my life is so good!! I think now I can get some sleep and get ready for tomorrow and do whatever it takes to have a nice time. To overlook the negative and stay with the positive. I am sure they will smoke but I will not. Like you say lady and if I may borrow your wise words, "N.O.P.E.!! I do have a small part inside that is afraid and I will come to this site before someone picks me up tomorrow to do some reading and get some positive and good feelings from the people here! Thanks again Lady, junkie thoughts were sneaking in and now they are gone. I really appreciated your post! babs [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/26/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 25 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 751 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $131.25 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 9 [B]Seconds:[/B] 20
17 years ago 0 1070 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Great post Lady! It makes us early quitters nervous to see the oldies smoking but It also makes us realize that this is a life long choice. Our addictions will be with us forever. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/15/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 6 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 130 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $27 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 6 [B]Seconds:[/B] 36
17 years ago 0 2614 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Thanks Lady To smoke or not to make the choice to be free from nicotine, smoking or not. I know that I make these choices many times a day. I have in the past "tried" to quit and I have failed because as you say I quit quitting. There have been times where I would be quit and allow myself three puffs off of each of 10 cigarettes a day, I was not quit I was still smoking. I could go into all kinds of different scenarios of how I "tried" to quit and it just was not happening. I still wanted to smoke. I still wanted to be fed by the nicotine, my drug of choice for some 36 years. Today I make a different choice. I step onto a different path, I go down a different road. I choose to live healthy, I choose to be physically fit, I choose to heal my lungs (think pink). There are a hundred, thousand choices I make each day and they are about what I will do, what I am creating, what I am doing in a proactive way. I get to choose how and what I will choose. I hope, think and direct my thoughts to go to making this different and new choice each day and I hope beyond any power there is that I will not get to tomorrow, 365 days, 450 days any time in the future and want to change my choice. Because even though this choice to not smoke and carry through and deliver that particular choice is a road less travelled I truely believe with my mind, heart and soul that not smoking is the best thing I can do for myself. The embodyment of not smoking is to live and live healthy. I hope and wish and gladly come to this site because there are others on this road with me. I can get guidance, say what is going on or not, I can see inspiration, modelling and mentoring and I can truly map my course through the imagery and words that other here post. AND yes there is always choice. Thanks Peace Phillip [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 93 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,868 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $697.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 15 [B]Hrs:[/B] 5 [B]Mins:[/B] 12 [B]Seconds:[/B] 20
17 years ago 0 415 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Great Post Lady! Joe, I love everything you always say!!! I am almost 100 days quit and I am still making lifestyle changes here and there to adjust to my not smoking. It may not bother me daily or even weekly, but there are still those times when I know I have to do something different! I don't post near as much as I used to or need to but I have been through some great issues, some I shared, some I didnt, throughout my quit journey, and I still found myself saying "You dont smoke!" over and over again to get out of rough situations! I chose not to smoke. I may not verbally say so every morning like I did at first but when a situation arises, I still know where I stand! I have some crazy confidence in myself, and I would be devestated to fail at this! I feel like this is some secret society of smart people who wish to actually stop killing thereselves! If only more people were educated..... The Chicken [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/12/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 98 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 987 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $367.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 24
17 years ago 0 2364 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Awesome Post Lady Cuddles It's better to be a non-smoker with an occasional desire for a cig than a smoker with a constant desire to quit...... [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/22/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 29 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 583 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $104.4 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 59 [B]Seconds:[/B] 31
17 years ago 0 5195 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Recently, we have had a couple of long time quitters come on the site and talk about giving in to the addiction again. Because of these situations I write the following. I know that N.O.P.E. (not one puff ever) is the only way I can stay quit. If I ever take just one puff, be it today or a year from now or five years from now, I will smoke for the rest of my life. I can not go through that first 60 days of quit again. Once was enough. Not smoking is a choice. Each day when I wake up, I choose not to smoke. Each crave that comes my way, I choose not to smoke. With each stressful situation, each disappointment of life, each let down, each celebration, each whatever, I choose not to smoke. People that smoke after being quit for a long time really worry me. So now what happens after someone has that first cigarette? Do you continue to smoke? Do you go a few days and then try to have just one again? What road do you travel? Are you still on the quit road or have you crossed back over to being a smoker? I'm sure that first cigarette is disgusting and after smoking it the addict thinks �I won�t do that again�. The first few cigarettes we had when we began smoking were disgusting too, Remember? If you are quit, I sincerely hope you continue to make the choice to remain smoke free. This is a horrible addiction and I know you don't want to lose the freedom you have fought so hard for. Those of you early in your quits, the choice is made every single day of your quit. For me, time has made this choice easier to make. There are bad days and there are some really bad moments that I come across but I still make the choice not to smoke. I refuse to allow this horrible, manipulating addiction to take my freedom from me. I also constantly remind myself that I am an addict. I must always be on guard of junkie thinking and anytime it seems to be getting to me, the first thing I need to do is come here and talk to you guys first. Life is full of challenges and life is full of choices. I choose life not death. Smoking kills. Period. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 7/1/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 324 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,480 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1134 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 28 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Min
17 years ago 0 2830 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Great post Lady! It's nice to come back from being away this weekend to a wonderful post like this! I agree that as long as we are still breathing, we either choose to smoke or we choose to not smoke. It's as simple as that! Thanks for the insight! Crave the Quit! Pam [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/28/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 205 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 5,142 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $846.65 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 14 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 15 [B]Seconds:[/B] 1
17 years ago 0 563 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Lady, First off.. great post! Secondly... I haven't been on the site as much as I used to and I'm not familar with the posts from the long time quitters that you reference. But that won't stop me from tossing in my 2 cents.. :p Quitting is a commitment you make to yourself. As many have said here it's a choice. Everyone who quits recognizes the many benefits from being quit. For a few there are also some downsides, mainly in their mental and emotional approach to life. They still see themselves as missing something. If you have smoked for any length of time you have found that smoking takes on a life of its own and becomes a part of you that has to be fed constantly, with cigarettes, or it tends to make your life miserable. That is, until you recognize the demon within those cigarettes and quit. Ok, so you quit. Now what? I'll tell you what. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee and change your life, that's what's what! If you don't make some changes or you resist changes that you make, you are going to forever miss smoking. You will long for those great memories of having that "great" smoke. Sure, you won't remember the coughing, the junk coming up from your lungs, that out of breath condition when climbing a few stairs, ect. That will all be forgotten because you still romanticize smoking. What can you do to avoid that trap? Change. Change your methods for doing things. Change the places you visit, the establishments you hang out at. Change your friends at least to the degree that you now have non smokers in your inner circle. Make your home off limits to smokers. Be commited to your quit. Be commited to a new way of life. Accept that you will never go there again. Acknowledge that when you started smoking it was the worst possible decision you ever made in your entire life. Feel ripped off by the tobacco companies. Feel ripped off by the marketing of cigarettes. Know that you have done the right thing in quitting. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Grow up. I could go on, but you get the picture. ;p If you've been quit for a year or more and want to start smoking again, give me a shout.. I'd love to talk to you. [b][color=Purple]Be Strong. Be Smart. Be Quit[/color] [color=black]Joe[/color] [size=3]
  • Quit Meter

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    Days: 9770 Hours: 14

    Minutes: 0 Seconds: 21

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17 years ago 0 763 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
As you say....quitting is a choice....it's also wanting to stop MORE than you want to smoke.....and that want, leads you to make the choice. I had to make the choice all day, every day in the beginning.....then it just appeared less and less......and at this point, I rarely 'choose'.....my life has finally become what I "chose" (past tense) LOL I feel free of this horrid monster. Oh I know he is still there....lurking, but these days he more "wishes" to catch me that "waits" ..... it just continues to get better and better and easier and easier. My quit is my one in a life time prize....I clutch it tightly....NO one is gonna take it from me. Katy Kickin' ASH for Four years, four months, two weeks, three days, 1 hour, 47 minutes and 3 seconds. 31961 cigarettes not smoked, saving $4,554.39. Life saved: 15 weeks, 5 days, 23 hours, 25 minutes.
  • Quit Meter

    $158,994.50

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    Days: 5344 Hours: 9

    Minutes: 35 Seconds: 38

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    908,540

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17 years ago 0 12049 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Lady, Thank you for the insightful and inspirational thread. Quitting is the best choice and the healthy choice :) Don't go through the first days again, keep yourself healthy and free from the addiction. Keep Strong, Josie _____________________ The SSC Support Team.

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