I started smoking back when I was 16, shortly after I discovered the pub. A cigarette goes SO well with beer, and being full of good intentions I decided that I would just remain a social smoker and nothing more. Of course, once the night is over, there's still half a pack left, and seeing as it's already open you soon end up having "just the one", telling yourself it won't be a regular thing. Before you know it you're no longer smoking just the one evening each week, but every single day.
Eventually I crept up to a pack a day, sometimes more, while dealing with a stressful job that came with a boss I disliked intensely. Smoke breaks were the perfect opportunity to get out of her face for five minutes, while also allowing myself to calm down and clear my head. It was only once I reached this stage that I realised how expensive it was getting, and how much I was starting to depend on those smoke breaks.
Fast forward a couple of years and I've cut down considerably, rationing myself to four smokes a day. Once they're gone, that's it. I never smoke at home, and avoid pubs because drinking increases the temptation to smoke like you wouldn't believe. All this makes quitting completely seem like just the next step, and a natural continuation rather than some big, impossible hurdle to overcome in the distance. I'm confident that I'll be able to do it. And the amount of cash saved already just by cutting right back is unreal.
It does help to set yourself targets. What works for me is rewarding progress with things I otherwise couldn't afford. For ages I wanted a Kirby and a brand new iMac, so with the money saved on smokes that's what I treated myself to. My next aim is to save up for an airline ticket to visit my brother in Australia. It's a very powerful bargaining tool to use on onself, and really brings home how sending cash up in smoke ultimately deprives you of other things.
My final quit date is rather unspecific, it's "whichever date I emigrate". Normally that would be considered a bad time to quit, with all the stress and hassle involved. Possibly true, but I prefer to look at it in a positive way; the whole thing will be a break from my old life and my old routines, and the beginning of a completely fresh start, so in that respect there's no better time to quit for good.
Anyway - enough of my rambling. I do wish all those who are currently attempting to give up the very best of luck, and for those who have already managed to quit, well done and long may it continue!
Cheers,
Kirk
