I'm Back. I'm Dumb.

[Colonel_No_Cope]

A new quitter approached a vet and said, “I want to quit and one day be at your level.”  The vet said, “if you want to be at the same level I am, meet me at the beach tomorrow at 4:00am.” 

“The beach?  I want to quit, I don’t want to swim.”

The vet said, “if you want to quit, I’ll meet you at the beach.  4:00am.”

So the rookie got to the beach at 4:00am, ready to quit, wearing his suit.  The vet grabbed his hand, looked him in the eye, and asked, “how bad do you want to quit?”
 
“Really bad.”

“So walk out into the water.”

The rookie walks out into the cold ocean until he’s waist deep thinking, “This dude’s crazy.  I want to quit, and he has me swimming.  I don’t want to get in shape or be a lifeguard, I want to quit.”  The vet follows the rookie into the water, and as he catches up to the rookie, he tells him to go out further.

Now neck deep, the rookie turns and asks the vet what to do next.  “How bad do you want to quit?”

“I already told you, really fucking bad.”

“So go out a little further.”

As the water rises up over the rookies chin, and as the rookie is again questioning the sanity of the vet, the vet pounces, holding the rookies head under water.  The rookie doesn’t stay under easily, and fighting for his life, punches, kicks, and bites the vet; the vet stays in place and continues holds the rookie under despite the assault.

Just as the rookie was beginning to weaken and lose consciousness, the vet pulls him back up out of the water and into the sweet morning air.  “What the fuck was that?  I ask for help quitting, and THIS is what I get?  Fuck you and your quit.”

The vet, having been through this many times before, said, “I have a question for you:  when you were under water what did you want to do?”

“Breathe.”

“Until you want to quit as badly as you wanted to breathe, you’ll never be successful.  It has to be the single most important thing in your life to the exclusion of all other distractions.  When you can achieve that, you will not only be quit, you will remain quit.”

I am on both sides of this fight today.

On one hand, I will always feel insecure about my quit. My strength and resolve to quit are strong, but sometimes I need to remember how damn badly I needed to want this initially. I forget this, and I forget how damn scary quitting can be sometimes.

We rage. We cry. We fight. We claw. We become stones.

But still we quit.

This drug that we chose to use ravages our body for the first few days, and fucks with our minds for God-knows how long after that. In previous stoppages, we used the pettiest arguments to go back to using just to feel "normal" again. Our friends and family see us and just want the normalcy back and for us to stop hurting. We can become isolated very easily in those first few days, and quitting can be the loneliest of endeavours.

But still we quit.

And life gets better.

We begin living our lives. We now have new "habits" that are not based on our usage but on what we want to do. Quitting does not get easier. We get stronger, and we use our strength to try other tasks we have wanted to do but were afraid to fail. We learn that life is not taken as a whole, but it's a day by day miracle. Learn from your past. Fuck tomorrow. Live for today. We begin enjoying each day again, and we want to see others make the same progress. We begin teaching because it makes us feel good about what we did by freeing another slave.

There are bumps, and there are bruises. Quitting is not easiest tasks sometimes, and it will beat you to your knees some days. It will leave you curled up in the fetal position on occasion. It will make you cry.

But it's not about how hard you fight back; it's whether you can keep moving forward.

For those of you quit, keep moving forward. I never fucking want to catch a vet, and I never want a newbie to catch me. Keep up the fight, and fuck tomorrow. Today is your day. Go out and get it.

For those of you not quit, this is not easy. This is hard, and you have to want it more than you want anything else in your life. You have to be willing to put in the work now to get stronger. You can do this, and we'll have your back whether you want us to or not. You promise today. You keep your word today. Your quit will take care of itself.

Fucking A...

And twice on Sunday.

[wastepanel]

A new quitter approached a vet and said, “I want to quit and one day be at your level.”  The vet said, “if you want to be at the same level I am, meet me at the beach tomorrow at 4:00am.” 

“The beach?  I want to quit, I don’t want to swim.”

The vet said, “if you want to quit, I’ll meet you at the beach.  4:00am.”

So the rookie got to the beach at 4:00am, ready to quit, wearing his suit.  The vet grabbed his hand, looked him in the eye, and asked, “how bad do you want to quit?”
 
“Really bad.”

“So walk out into the water.”

The rookie walks out into the cold ocean until he’s waist deep thinking, “This dude’s crazy.  I want to quit, and he has me swimming.  I don’t want to get in shape or be a lifeguard, I want to quit.”  The vet follows the rookie into the water, and as he catches up to the rookie, he tells him to go out further.

Now neck deep, the rookie turns and asks the vet what to do next.  “How bad do you want to quit?”

“I already told you, really fucking bad.”

“So go out a little further.”

As the water rises up over the rookies chin, and as the rookie is again questioning the sanity of the vet, the vet pounces, holding the rookies head under water.  The rookie doesn’t stay under easily, and fighting for his life, punches, kicks, and bites the vet; the vet stays in place and continues holds the rookie under despite the assault.

Just as the rookie was beginning to weaken and lose consciousness, the vet pulls him back up out of the water and into the sweet morning air.  “What the fuck was that?  I ask for help quitting, and THIS is what I get?  Fuck you and your quit.”

The vet, having been through this many times before, said, “I have a question for you:  when you were under water what did you want to do?”

“Breathe.”

“Until you want to quit as badly as you wanted to breathe, you’ll never be successful.  It has to be the single most important thing in your life to the exclusion of all other distractions.  When you can achieve that, you will not only be quit, you will remain quit.”

I am on both sides of this fight today.

On one hand, I will always feel insecure about my quit. My strength and resolve to quit are strong, but sometimes I need to remember how damn badly I needed to want this initially. I forget this, and I forget how damn scary quitting can be sometimes.

We rage. We cry. We fight. We claw. We become stones.

But still we quit.

This drug that we chose to use ravages our body for the first few days, and fucks with our minds for God-knows how long after that. In previous stoppages, we used the pettiest arguments to go back to using just to feel "normal" again. Our friends and family see us and just want the normalcy back and for us to stop hurting. We can become isolated very easily in those first few days, and quitting can be the loneliest of endeavours.

But still we quit.

And life gets better.

We begin living our lives. We now have new "habits" that are not based on our usage but on what we want to do. Quitting does not get easier. We get stronger, and we use our strength to try other tasks we have wanted to do but were afraid to fail. We learn that life is not taken as a whole, but it's a day by day miracle. Learn from your past. Fuck tomorrow. Live for today. We begin enjoying each day again, and we want to see others make the same progress. We begin teaching because it makes us feel good about what we did by freeing another slave.

There are bumps, and there are bruises. Quitting is not easiest tasks sometimes, and it will beat you to your knees some days. It will leave you curled up in the fetal position on occasion. It will make you cry.

But it's not about how hard you fight back; it's whether you can keep moving forward.

For those of you quit, keep moving forward. I never fucking want to catch a vet, and I never want a newbie to catch me. Keep up the fight, and fuck tomorrow. Today is your day. Go out and get it.

For those of you not quit, this is not easy. This is hard, and you have to want it more than you want anything else in your life. You have to be willing to put in the work now to get stronger. You can do this, and we'll have your back whether you want us to or not. You promise today. You keep your word today. Your quit will take care of itself.

[ntartick]

I fucking hate you guys sometimes.

Last night, I had this dream where I was in line at an outdoor grocery store. It was crowded, and this beautiful woman kept bumping into me over and over. I finally let her go in front of me in the line because my foot hurt. I immediately began staring at her.

She took a couple steps back to unload her cart, and again, bumped into me. She held there, turned her head provocatively, and began whispering to me and pressing against me.

I was ready to leave my cart, this line, and this store and go whereever she wanted to finish this when the cashier asked me how many days I was married. I looked up stunned, and he was glaring back at me. I said I wasn't sure, and that it was 10 years this past February. He looked at me annoyed and told me that I'm not really "married". I'm just not fucking anybody else. He said that he wasn't going to let me ruin my stoppage with this whore.

I sent her on her way, and woke up pissed.

Even my wet dreams are fucking quit related in some way. Thanks fuckers.

Dude, sounds like you need to drink more or less depending on the situation. Either that or you need to get laid. Freud would have a field day with this dream.

'crackup' 'crackup' 'crackup' 'crackup' 'crackup' 'crackup'

[wastepanel]

I fucking hate you guys sometimes.

Last night, I had this dream where I was in line at an outdoor grocery store. It was crowded, and this beautiful woman kept bumping into me over and over. I finally let her go in front of me in the line because my foot hurt. I immediately began staring at her.

She took a couple steps back to unload her cart, and again, bumped into me. She held there, turned her head provocatively, and began whispering to me and pressing against me.

I was ready to leave my cart, this line, and this store and go whereever she wanted to finish this when the cashier asked me how many days I was married. I looked up stunned, and he was glaring back at me. I said I wasn't sure, and that it was 10 years this past February. He looked at me annoyed and told me that I'm not really "married". I'm just not fucking anybody else. He said that he wasn't going to let me ruin my stoppage with this whore.

I sent her on her way, and woke up pissed.

Even my wet dreams are fucking quit related in some way. Thanks fuckers.

[Wt57]

Quitting is a scary, scary decision to make.

In order to quit, you have to be prepared to give up your former life as a user.  You are no longer defined by your brand.  You are simply quit.  The chains that have shackled you in the dungeon are thrown aside and the sunlight of freedom burns your eyes initially.  Your skin and bones ache, but you are free.

It is your responsibility to stay free.

When you are a prisoner, you are given all of your meals to you.  Now, you must feed yourself.  When you are a prisoner, you can feel protected from the world because you are not actually living life.  Life hurts sometimes, and the hurting makes you stronger.  You cannot grow without breaking down some barriers.  When you are a prisoner, there is no adjustments.  You know your life.  It does not change.  When you are free, life is about change.  It is about hope.  It is about adventure.

It is so easy to want to take the easy routes in life; to accept the shelter, food, and contentment that prison life can give us.

But it feels fucking awesome to earn those things yourself.

All you have to do is want it.

Very well put yet again!

'clap' 'clap' 'clap'

I am in, how to put it? Awe

'worship'
That post gets my praise. Great insight.

It is "fucking awesome to earn those things yourself"
What a wonderful perspective of our quit.

[Mthomas3824]

Quitting is a scary, scary decision to make.

In order to quit, you have to be prepared to give up your former life as a user.  You are no longer defined by your brand.  You are simply quit.  The chains that have shackled you in the dungeon are thrown aside and the sunlight of freedom burns your eyes initially.  Your skin and bones ache, but you are free.

It is your responsibility to stay free.

When you are a prisoner, you are given all of your meals to you.  Now, you must feed yourself.  When you are a prisoner, you can feel protected from the world because you are not actually living life.  Life hurts sometimes, and the hurting makes you stronger.  You cannot grow without breaking down some barriers.  When you are a prisoner, there is no adjustments.  You know your life.  It does not change.  When you are free, life is about change.  It is about hope.  It is about adventure.

It is so easy to want to take the easy routes in life; to accept the shelter, food, and contentment that prison life can give us.

But it feels fucking awesome to earn those things yourself.

All you have to do is want it.

Very well put yet again!

'clap' 'clap' 'clap'

I am in, how to put it? Awe

'worship'
That post gets my praise. Great insight.

[dukedog]

Quitting is a scary, scary decision to make.

In order to quit, you have to be prepared to give up your former life as a user.  You are no longer defined by your brand.  You are simply quit.  The chains that have shackled you in the dungeon are thrown aside and the sunlight of freedom burns your eyes initially.  Your skin and bones ache, but you are free.

It is your responsibility to stay free.

When you are a prisoner, you are given all of your meals to you.  Now, you must feed yourself.  When you are a prisoner, you can feel protected from the world because you are not actually living life.  Life hurts sometimes, and the hurting makes you stronger.  You cannot grow without breaking down some barriers.  When you are a prisoner, there is no adjustments.  You know your life.  It does not change.  When you are free, life is about change.  It is about hope.  It is about adventure.

It is so easy to want to take the easy routes in life; to accept the shelter, food, and contentment that prison life can give us.

But it feels fucking awesome to earn those things yourself.

All you have to do is want it.

Very well put yet again!

'clap' 'clap' 'clap'

I am in, how to put it? Awe

[wastepanel]

Tony Stark: Uh-huh. Or you'll be suiting up like the rest of us.
Bruce Banner: Ah, see. I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed, like a nerve. It's a nightmare.
Tony Stark: You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart.
[pointing to the energy in his chest plate]
Tony Stark: This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a terrible privilege.
Bruce Banner: But you can control it.
Tony Stark: Because I learned how.
Bruce Banner: It's different.

It's never different. Fear makes you feel different, but we are the same.

You can carry this burden of being an addict and let it weigh you down, or you can fucking be Iron Man. Your choice.

[Grizzly25]

Quitting is a scary, scary decision to make.

In order to quit, you have to be prepared to give up your former life as a user. You are no longer defined by your brand. You are simply quit. The chains that have shackled you in the dungeon are thrown aside and the sunlight of freedom burns your eyes initially. Your skin and bones ache, but you are free.

It is your responsibility to stay free.

When you are a prisoner, you are given all of your meals to you. Now, you must feed yourself. When you are a prisoner, you can feel protected from the world because you are not actually living life. Life hurts sometimes, and the hurting makes you stronger. You cannot grow without breaking down some barriers. When you are a prisoner, there is no adjustments. You know your life. It does not change. When you are free, life is about change. It is about hope. It is about adventure.

It is so easy to want to take the easy routes in life; to accept the shelter, food, and contentment that prison life can give us.

But it feels fucking awesome to earn those things yourself.

All you have to do is want it.

Very well put yet again!

'clap' 'clap' 'clap'

[wastepanel]

Quitting is a scary, scary decision to make.

In order to quit, you have to be prepared to give up your former life as a user. You are no longer defined by your brand. You are simply quit. The chains that have shackled you in the dungeon are thrown aside and the sunlight of freedom burns your eyes initially. Your skin and bones ache, but you are free.

It is your responsibility to stay free.

When you are a prisoner, you are given all of your meals to you. Now, you must feed yourself. When you are a prisoner, you can feel protected from the world because you are not actually living life. Life hurts sometimes, and the hurting makes you stronger. You cannot grow without breaking down some barriers. When you are a prisoner, there is no adjustments. You know your life. It does not change. When you are free, life is about change. It is about hope. It is about adventure.

It is so easy to want to take the easy routes in life; to accept the shelter, food, and contentment that prison life can give us.

But it feels fucking awesome to earn those things yourself.

All you have to do is want it.

[Grizzly25]

Take what you need.

Leave the rest.

If you give 100% in your quit, I'll help you protect it.  If you give any less, good luck.

We are brothers, and we need to stand beside each other.  Push hard, but don't push too hard.  Show some damn feelings.  It ain't going to hurt ya.

WP, you have boiled it down and have the concentrated extract of quit!!

Well said Wastepanel!

'clap' 'clap' 'clap'

[T-Cell]

Take what you need.

Leave the rest.

If you give 100% in your quit, I'll help you protect it.  If you give any less, good luck.

We are brothers, and we need to stand beside each other.  Push hard, but don't push too hard.  Show some damn feelings.  It ain't going to hurt ya.

WP, you have boiled it down and have the concentrated extract of quit!!

Well said Wastepanel!

[cbird65]

Take what you need.

Leave the rest.

If you give 100% in your quit, I'll help you protect it. If you give any less, good luck.

We are brothers, and we need to stand beside each other. Push hard, but don't push too hard. Show some damn feelings. It ain't going to hurt ya.

WP, you have boiled it down and have the concentrated extract of quit!!

[Greg5280]

Day 300

The power of this site is held in its brotherhood.  Like many fraternal organizations before it, the KTC has secrets that are revealed only with understanding.  The words that once were empty to us (and still empty to others) now have meaning.  They have memories.

When we first quit, we take because we need it.  We devour the information contained on the site.  This site becomes our first and our last line of defense.  We are fed these words, and at first with unbelieving eyes, complete our days.  As we get further into our quits, our blind faith becomes a stark reality.  We know that this process works.

When we are vets, we spread this reality to the wide eyed and scared freshly quit.  We want them to see, but we can't make them.  They will have to see it for themselves.  We build quitters up with our experiences, and help them through theirs.  We see the wide eyed and scared quitters become more confident in their quits, and we are filled with pride. 

This pride swells when I see those I helped help others.  I see that they "get it" and share the same hatred as I do for the nicotine whore.  I know that even though I have not specifically reached out to a quitter, somebody I have worked with has.  I have thousands of texts to quitters in my 300 days here, and I know that indirectly, I am responsible for hundreds more.

I could have sat back, posted roll, and walked away everyday for the last 300.  But I wouldn't have good friends like Eaf, Moe, CNC, Luby, and the other Basterds from my group.  Losing brothers wouldn't effect me.  I wouldn't have reached out or spent the time with some great badass groups that followed me.  I wouldn't be part of the brotherhood.  I would not have given it my all.  I would not have protected my quit.

I'd like to thank every vet, mod, and admin on this site.  When I came here 300 days ago, you beat me to a pulp.  I was pathetic.  I needed it.  I thought I knew about quitting, and I was wrong.  I didn't think you knew anything about long term quitting.  I figured out later there was no long term quitting.  There's only today.  Keep posting.  I don't want to catch up to you.

I quit with you today Sir.

Congrats on the 300.

'clap' 'clap' 'clap'

Congrats on 300!!!!

Once again great words that many need to read!!

Waste, you're a cool-ass mofo. Thanks for all of the help and encouragement, you've really changed some lives, man. Keep it rolling and stay strong. I quit with you today.

x2

Well Done WP!!!

Waste, your avatar still scares the living shit out of me. However, in my short time here, I know under that avatar, with the no-nonsense straight talk you offer, is a man who cares about others. If we are on the same side, I don't tremble but have more confidence that we will win this.

Congrats on milestone 300. That is pretty bad-ass. Your reputation to me is that of a bad-ass so I wouldn't expect anything less.

I am conflicted, I wish I never would have touched the stuff but in my healing, I never would have been able to battle with you guys. So I am no longer sad that I am an addict. I am grateful to go to battle every day with the likes of you on this site.

Happy 300. Never let me pass you.

So goddamn proud to be a basterd with you waste. I love KTC for moments like this, and for about a million other reasons. But this is damn special for me, I've made a friend for life and I am proud to quit every day with my friend "waste"

Nicely done!

Good stuff right there bud...

wiser words have not been said.....
we all help each other...
TCOPE

'clap'

Very well said !! Proud to be quit with you

Greg

[TCOPE]

Day 300

The power of this site is held in its brotherhood.  Like many fraternal organizations before it, the KTC has secrets that are revealed only with understanding.  The words that once were empty to us (and still empty to others) now have meaning.  They have memories.

When we first quit, we take because we need it.  We devour the information contained on the site.  This site becomes our first and our last line of defense.  We are fed these words, and at first with unbelieving eyes, complete our days.  As we get further into our quits, our blind faith becomes a stark reality.  We know that this process works.

When we are vets, we spread this reality to the wide eyed and scared freshly quit.  We want them to see, but we can't make them.  They will have to see it for themselves.  We build quitters up with our experiences, and help them through theirs.  We see the wide eyed and scared quitters become more confident in their quits, and we are filled with pride. 

This pride swells when I see those I helped help others.  I see that they "get it" and share the same hatred as I do for the nicotine whore.  I know that even though I have not specifically reached out to a quitter, somebody I have worked with has.  I have thousands of texts to quitters in my 300 days here, and I know that indirectly, I am responsible for hundreds more.

I could have sat back, posted roll, and walked away everyday for the last 300.  But I wouldn't have good friends like Eaf, Moe, CNC, Luby, and the other Basterds from my group.  Losing brothers wouldn't effect me.  I wouldn't have reached out or spent the time with some great badass groups that followed me.  I wouldn't be part of the brotherhood.  I would not have given it my all.  I would not have protected my quit.

I'd like to thank every vet, mod, and admin on this site.  When I came here 300 days ago, you beat me to a pulp.  I was pathetic.  I needed it.  I thought I knew about quitting, and I was wrong.  I didn't think you knew anything about long term quitting.  I figured out later there was no long term quitting.  There's only today.  Keep posting.  I don't want to catch up to you.

I quit with you today Sir.

Congrats on the 300.

'clap' 'clap' 'clap'

Congrats on 300!!!!

Once again great words that many need to read!!

Waste, you're a cool-ass mofo. Thanks for all of the help and encouragement, you've really changed some lives, man. Keep it rolling and stay strong. I quit with you today.

x2

Well Done WP!!!

Waste, your avatar still scares the living shit out of me. However, in my short time here, I know under that avatar, with the no-nonsense straight talk you offer, is a man who cares about others. If we are on the same side, I don't tremble but have more confidence that we will win this.

Congrats on milestone 300. That is pretty bad-ass. Your reputation to me is that of a bad-ass so I wouldn't expect anything less.

I am conflicted, I wish I never would have touched the stuff but in my healing, I never would have been able to battle with you guys. So I am no longer sad that I am an addict. I am grateful to go to battle every day with the likes of you on this site.

Happy 300. Never let me pass you.

So goddamn proud to be a basterd with you waste. I love KTC for moments like this, and for about a million other reasons. But this is damn special for me, I've made a friend for life and I am proud to quit every day with my friend "waste"

Nicely done!

Good stuff right there bud...

wiser words have not been said.....
we all help each other...
TCOPE