My Milestone
On February 20, 2010, I realized that two and half years had passed since I quit smoking. For someone who smoked two and a half packs a day for 26 years; well, that's a feat that I am quite proud of.
Believe it or not, I forgot my milestone until I had some technical difficulties and peered at my desktop and saw my quit meter, which has tracked every second since I quit smoking.
Wow! What a surprise it was to see the amount of smoke-free time I'd accrued!
How I've Gotten This Far
I've gotten this far by true grit. When I quit smoking, it was a quit that my husband and I were going to do together beginning on August 6th, 2007. On day three, two things occurred. I forgot to wear my nicotine patch to work, and my husband started smoking again. Crushed but deciding to go "Cold Turkey", I looked all over the About.com Smoking Cessation forum for support, and I found it everywhere!
My advice is to educate yourself, keep occupied and pat yourself on the back minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, milestone-by-milestone. YOU are worth this struggle and never forget the H, E, double toothpicks of the first weeks. If I can do it, anyone can!
Lessons Learned
- Stay occupied
- Say NOPE
- Post, post, post
- Post some more
- Visit the milestones for encouragement
- Explore the Quit Smoking Library intensely
- Join a buddy group here in either the month that you quit, or some kind of common interest (Cold Turkey, Chantix, Fitness)
- Did I say post?
- Find a quit buddy... mine I found a year into my quit.
