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Kybo
kybo:
DAY 2228
I lost another childhood friend last week to a massive heart attack. He wasn't a tobacco user and overall he lived a pretty healthy lifestyle. It appears he was just an unlucky victim of genetics. One can only wonder how young he might have gone if he had been a heavy tobacco user.
Did you know that 3-6 years after quitting tobacco use your risk of coronary heart disease drops by roughly 50%? After 15 years of being quit your risk of coronary heart disease is close to that of someone who never used tobacco. I'm beyond that 6 year mark and I definitely feel healthier now than I did 10 years ago. Making the decision to quit was difficult, but it was definitely the right decision. I only wish I had done it sooner.
If you are here thinking about quitting, I highly recommend you give quitting a try. What do you really have to lose if you quit? You say you enjoy it? You say it makes you feel good? The addict in me used to make me use those same excuses. But here I am 2228 days later and I can honestly admit to myself and everyone else that it wasn't really me spewing all those excuses. It was the addict in me that was doing everything it could to keep me feeding the addiction that had taken on a life of it's own. I realize that now.
Oh sure, that first week of trying to quit sucked big time. Headaches, insomnia, rapid heart beat, etc. It took about 30 days before I actually started to think I had it beat. After about 4 months I was sure I had made the right decision. And now here I am over 6 years later with absolutely zero regrets about quitting. The cravings have been completely gone for years. The only battle I have left is to remind myself daily that I am an addict and I cannot give in to complacency. I know I am incapable of having just one dip.
By my calculations I have saved over $10,000 just from not buying tobacco over the last six years. God only knows how much money I have saved from reduced health care expenses over that time frame or how many years I have added to my life. The benefits are too great to calculate.
I feel good and I am starting to think that I might actually live to see retirement. My wife and I bought 40 secluded acres of rolling hills and woods a couple weeks ago. When I took her out to see the property for the first time before we bought it we walked up over a ridge and she saw a flock of about 50 turkeys running on the ridge across the valley from where we were standing. I could tell just looking at her face in that precise moment that I wasn't going to have give her a sales pitch to convince her we should buy the property. It was a done deal as soon as she walked over that ridge. I couldn't have paid those turkeys to put on a better show for my bride. It was meant to be. And I know exactly where I am going to build the house.
I have lost a few friends over the last handful of years. I have another friend that was lucky to survive a series of strokes in his forties, but he is now in his early fifties and resides in an assisted living facility. My only sibling died at the ripe old age of 51. The older you get the more you look around and realize that you don't get to live forever. That roller coaster we call life is going to come to a stop one day. It stops for everybody eventually. So, make the most of it. Raise your hands in the sky and scream with joy as loud as you can every chance you get. Take the time to look around and enjoy the view when you get to the top of those hills. And give a hand up to the other riders whenever you can.
Kybo
Athan:
--- Quote from: kybo on March 29, 2023, 10:42:56 AM ---DAY 1908
1908 seems like such a huge number. But, when I think about it in terms of how long I have actually been quit, it really doesn't feel like it has been that long.
778 days is the number of days I have left before I could retire from my day job with my full pension. That seems like a huge and daunting number until I compare it to the 1908 days I have been quit. I don't plan on retiring in 778 days, but it sure will feel good to know that I will have that option in a little more than 2 years.
--- End quote ---
I'm hoping the acreage won't seem a chore once I'm retired and the time is mine. We'll see. Better figure something out as I can't see myself in a condo.
Stranger999:
--- Quote from: kybo on March 29, 2023, 10:42:56 AM ---DAY 1908
1908 seems like such a huge number. But, when I think about it in terms of how long I have actually been quit, it really doesn't feel like it has been that long.
778 days is the number of days I have left before I could retire from my day job with my full pension. That seems like a huge and daunting number until I compare it to the 1908 days I have been quit. I don't plan on retiring in 778 days, but it sure will feel good to know that I will have that option in a little more than 2 years.
--- End quote ---
Just don't retire from quitting. :)
As we stack up the days, nicotine gets further and further back in the rear-view mirror. But keep your guard up because you never know when a craving will come.
kybo:
DAY 1908
1908 seems like such a huge number. But, when I think about it in terms of how long I have actually been quit, it really doesn't feel like it has been that long.
778 days is the number of days I have left before I could retire from my day job with my full pension. That seems like a huge and daunting number until I compare it to the 1908 days I have been quit. I don't plan on retiring in 778 days, but it sure will feel good to know that I will have that option in a little more than 2 years.
kybo:
DAY 1865
Life is Good.
Embrace it.
Seize the day.
Wake up tomorrow and do it again.
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