How I did it: Haphazardly. In retrospect I would plan more. The primary key is, you have to WANTit. More than anything else. If you don't want to quit smoking (you think it's too hard, you'll do it tomorrow, it's not as bad as all that, I won;t get cancer/emphasema, etc.) it won;t matter what your plans or intentions are. And you have to do it for yourself. Be selfish, Yes, if you have aa family or friends to care for, then keep them in mind, but no one is going to do this for you (and I apologize if I sound like everyone else, but hey, I DID this and it's true).

My long-winded story: First off, I smoked for 9 years, from the time I was 17 till I was 26. I hid it from my mother (or so I thought), and always felt self-conscious about it. I grew up very introverted, and in high school this was something that brought me closer to my friends (utterly idiotic logic, I know, but made perfect sense then).
WHen I moved out of my mother's place, I came to realize just how much I smoked when I didn't have to hide it from anyone. I also discovered how much I truly hated it. I know, many people don't mind smoking, even enjoy it. ...Or so they tell me.

The defining moment was when my boss at the time proclaimed he was going to quit. He has a wife and two kids and he simply couldn;t afford the luxury. He struck me as exactly the sort of person who wouldn't quit no matter what. Based on our schecdules I wouldn;t see him for three days. I knew that it takes as much time for nicotine to leave your system. I was determined to prove to myself and to him that this could be done. Needless to say, those three days were excrutiating.

I smoked my last cigarette before going to sleep and said to myself, "If I need a cigarette that bad, I'll have to buy a pack." I then forced myself to stay indoors for the entire day. I all but chewed my tongue off from frustration. The next day it rained, but I felt like a walk. I passed a local church which had a sign out front. I forget the exact phrase now but it was something like, "How you face temptation will demonstrate how strong you are." I took it as a person dare: I would not, under any circumstances, cave into my need for a cigarette.

Several days later, I awoke at 5 a.m. with the unquenchable desire to go jogging. I didn;t have the proper shoes or outfit, and I heard my mother's advice to get myself prepared and think this through before I did it. But hesitation was what held me back all the time - I usually second guess myself and if I run it by someone else, they say "wellll, uhhhmm, I sup-pose, but...." No, I was going to do this thing, regardless of the consequences.
20 minutes later, I staggered back to my apartment, sweaty, exhausted, and completely exhilirated. I had found a way to funnell my recent anxiety and mania into something that just might pay off.

30 days later, I was jogging 45 minutes a day, I had tons of energy and Ifelt great about my life. To make matters better, I didn't even want to smoke. Shortly thereafeter, I made plans to return to school (interestingly enough, the year I started smoking was the year Idropped out of high school). I did end up going back to school and two years later I graduated with honors! Yay!

Lessons & tips:

In essence, I set a goal: I will not so much as light a cigarette for 30 days (under the discipline that if you do something for three weeks it will become a habit).

I quite litterally stumbled upon jogging as a may to funnell my anxiety and frustration; it gave me something to focus on daily. It also increased my energy, stamina and mood. No, I did not become some health-crazed whacko.

Later, I found various websites that made me utterly glad I quit: http://whyquit.com/

http://whyquit.com/whyquit/BryanLeeCurtis.html

http://www.dontsmoke.com/horror_stories.htm

http://www.way2quit.com/

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Sep 19, 2008, 11:55AM PDT | 0 comments | 2 cheers