Zooted, Welcome to November. I have been calling us the "SkyDivers" because I really like the analogy. The first step is a big one but that's where the real fun starts. As others have mentioned, your quit starts when you decide to not use any form of nicotine. That's when the fun begins. This will be as easy or as hard as your attitude allows it to be. Think of your craving as a little nic monster living inside you. You created him when you had your very first exposure to nicotine and have been feeding him ever since. When you have a crave, it really helps to envision that little monster inside you pouting and kicking and screaming as he throws a tantrum for nicotine. It is not you that wants it, it's the little monster that you are starving. Thinking of it as a separate entity helped me laugh and smile when I had a crave. I actually got to the point where I enjoyed the crave because it was like a "death rattle" of the vile little demon. It is important to realize that I know I am an addict.
"Hello, My name is DaBean22 and I am an addict"
"Hello DaBean22"
That little demon will never completely die in me. I will starve him into near extinction but he won't actually die. From time to time, he will pull his head up from the dark place he hides and whisper softly "just one won't hurt you" or "you won't get addicted this time". It is for that reason that I stay diligent. I first thought that I would only post here for the first 100 days. Now, I don't have any intention to ever stop. I quit every day, one day at a time but I tell you what, when I hit day 7,300 I'll make sure to throw a party for everyone to come to and I hate throwing parties. I say this to make sure you realize that you, like all addicts, will never ever be able to have nicotine without waking up the monster fully. There is a great freedom in that. In past attempts, what I was really doing was to see if I could stop for long enough for the cravings to go away. This was a complete failure on my part because I was essentially waiting for me to grow out of being an addict. I could never succeed that way. Now, I realize that I am done. completely. permanently. Now I can start living my life one day at a time. I couldn't live my life ODAAT before because I was waiting for me to change. Don't wait for the change..... Just put on the November parachute and jump. We've got your back every day. Don't look back. The plane is going to crash anyway. Welcome to November. Let's enjoy the ride together.
