Well, I'm sitting in Vegas this week and quitting away. Its been 234 days since I first started this journey and the last time I was here I was about 50 something days into my quit. I remember all the angst I had and all the preparation I had made to be "safe" during my Vegas trip. I even remember taking a $35 cab ride over to walmart here and buying a bunch of smokey mountain because I was jonesing so bad. BigBrotherJack met me here and was the first quitter I ever met in person. There's been quite a few ebbs and flows throughout the time since then. I'm sitting here, hadn't even really thought about dip, haven't had fake dip in 70 days and overall, pretty much over most of the funks. I thought this seems to be a good point to reflect so I thought I'd just jot down some of my observations and hopefully it can be of some use to you at some point.
1.) Apprentice electricians don't get electrocuted. Most new quitters are vigilant, even fearful. Each day, weekend, vacation has to be planned so that you stay safe. As time goes by, and we get those "firsts" out of the way, a confidence is built. We don't stress the weekend, or the long roadtrip. We generally just don't stress about quitting too much. As such, as time goes by, I see a lot of quitters continuing to get a little or a lot lax in their quit. I was even completely shocked to hear one of the guys in my quit group try to say he was cured. I couldn't believe that after all this time and all the posts of the cavers etc that someone after 200 days could post such an idiotic thing. I've thought about it a lot and I think it comes down to the difference between confidence and arrogance. I don't need to go into detail the difference between the two, but I can say this, my confidence is squarely on the fact that I know without this place, I'd eventually throw one in my lip. Nothing in my history has shown me I wouldn't, so I'm confidently saying that my 28 year record of being a dipper/caver is enough evidence to show me what it is I need to do to stay quit, and that is to stay connected here.
2.) Post roll every damn day - I kept track of the spreadsheet a lot. It's an interesting thing because it really makes you pay attention to who's posting, when they are posting and what they are posting. It makes a difference. People that say it doesn't are not paying attention to the facts and statistics. You can argue with me with anecdotal evidence and I will present you with the facts that the people that post and stay involved are not the ones that cave.
3.) Help others - Whether you are on day 1 or day 1000, it is of great importance to help other quitters. You have what it takes to do that. You can help someone else simply by listening to them, posting a note on their page, sending them a pm, text whatever. Help others. You cannot talk about quit and think about dip simultaneously. Look at Mayhem (May 2014). Those idiots run their mouth constantly throughout the day with both super valid and super stupid posts. It doesn't matter the what, it matters that they do it and are involved. They keep talking and their gonna keep quitting. I don't have to worry about those foreskins and their conspiracy theories because they are rock solid quitters. I worry about the people we never hear from. Help people. Nothing makes your quit stronger than helping someone else quit. It's like the steroids for quit muscles.
4.) Brotherhood + Accountability = Success. Arrogance + Ignorance = Failure/cave. If you aren't tied in with at least one group of people that you are in daily contact with, you aren't quitting right. Brotherhood is an active deal. You have to be a friend to get a friend. Some might say I have enough friends. Well, now you need more. These friends are going to help you stay alive so you can still be friends with the friends you already have. Don't be the post and runner asshole. It is the most selfish thing you can do. It means you've taken everything you need from this site and not bothered to give anything back at all. That's about one of the most awful things I see here with some. The excuses of language and porn and bullying and all that stuff are exactly that, excuses. Everyone of us can still reach out to someone and offer them support or be an ear.
5.) Whatever you do, don't half ass it. That's just a general rule in life. If you're going to be a pussy, don't even bother. There's a difference between those that take it seriously and kick ass and those that are just kinda going through the motions "hoping" they'll be successful. If you are hoping, you aint quitting. Quitting is a lot more of a sure thing than hoping and trying.
6.) Have a grateful spirit. There are a lot of people on here who've sacrificed a lot to keep this place going. Each time someone posts whether it's bullshit or not, is a gift. Don't take it for granted. Some of these dudes have been around here a long ass time and that is a commitment. Some are new and giving it all they have. I appreciate it all. You should too. You wouldn't be quit without everyone so don't for an instant think you can. It will be the end of your quit.
Quit on quitters. Viva las quittas.
