2 Months Ago: A Personal Achievement
Tonight I am celebrating a huge achievement. After almost 40 years of smoking between 15-25 cigarettes a day, 2 months ago today I quit cold turkey. After trying to quit 3 or 4 times before, I’ve done it this time. If anyone had seen me during the first couple of weeks of quitting, they would have thought I was a crazy person because I was actually talking to myself out loud, telling myself positive affirmations like this:
- I am a non-smoker now
- I am alright, I deserve everything good.
- I breathe better at night now.
- My clothes smell cleaner now.
- I am relaxed and calm.
- I feel happier.
- I am successful!
Now, after only 2 months, I no longer need to talk aloud to myself. Oh, I get the odd craving and then I just think of the positives such as my vocal ability has improved. I’m hitting high notes again when I sing. I no longer keep myself awake with the wheeze I had. The wheeze was gone after week 1! Unlike other smokers who quit, I have not gained any weight but that doesn’t mean I won’t try to lose some weight anyway. I could stand to lose some. Let’s face it, I sit on my butt most of the day in front of this computer. But that’s another challenge for another time.
Quitting smoking was personal for me. No one influenced my decision. Not the new draconian non-smoking laws, not family who have, out of love, wanted me to quit – it was all me. I was ready. I was committed. I AM committed. And my commitment is why I have succeeded.
The interesting thing about conquering this addiction is that my confidence has improved 100% and so success is spreading to other areas of my life. I’m so grateful that I have been given the strength I didn’t think I had.
What small or large successes do you celebrate? If you don’t celebrate them, you should. 
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October 29th, 2007 at 1:23 am
Congrats Karen! That’s major. We’re all stronger than we think.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Congrats Karen.
I’ve never been a smoker but I’ve had various family members who smoked at one time but have since quit.
Keep up the good work and keep thinking positive.
October 29th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Thanks Clara and Sean for your encouraging words
October 29th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
That is wonderful Karen! I used to smoke years ago and know it isn’t easy to quit.
Positive affirmations are so powerful.
Congratulations!
Joanne
October 29th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Congrats. It is quite a commitment to quit like that. Many people cannot find the strength to quit with the help of patches or gum, let alone just stopping outright. I see you have some new templates coming out now, which is always a good thing.
October 29th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Stress is my trigger, I haven’t successfully quit yet for more then a few weeks. Keep up the good work.
October 30th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Joanne, I love affirmations as you know. They are so powerful and have worked wonders for me.
Jason, everyone has their own way of doing things, personal choices. That makes this world so interesting, don’t you agree?
Yes, more new templates and themes are in the works.
Shaun, stress can be deadly. I know. But when you are ready you will do what you need to do to succeed. I wish you all the best.
Thanks,everyone. Your support is really appreciated.
November 1st, 2007 at 2:55 am
Congrats Karen!
And be careful! When I stopped smoking years ago I felt so confident that I could easily smoke one just to prove that I had really stopped. DON’T do this too. It hooked me again.
November 1st, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Congrats! I have been through this, too, and I know what it means! Affirmations are a great tool. Another thing that helped me a lot was that as soon as I thought of smoking again I remembered the feeling of frustration when I broke my resolution in earlier non-smoking attempts. Then I said to myself: now you have succeeded for such and such weeks and you won’t give it up for a five minutes cigarettes … just remember how bad you will feel afterwards and for what? And guess what it didn’t last too long and I didn’t think of cigarettes any more. I have smoked for 20 years and now I cannot imagine being a smoker again.
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Thank you, Frits and Esther, for stopping in. Frits, I won’t be tempted! I really appreciate all the support.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:46 am
WOW! Good for you, I haven’t been able to shake the habit yet!
November 21st, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Hi Cao,
when you are ready to make changes in your life, you will. Thanks for stopping by