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Maybe stop keeping occupied?!


14 years ago 0 955 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
catioroc,
 
Thank you for posting and raising a number of important questions.
 
Although some members find it helpful to replace smoking with other activities and to distract themselves, other quitters may not find these techniques as useful. As PB mentioned, what is important in your quit is that you do what works for you. Sometimes it is finding a new habit or changing your routine, other times it is simply enjoying the fresh air and the benefits of being a non-smoker.
 
Whichever strategies you have been using must be working, look at you with 51 days!
 
 
 
Sarah, Health Educator
  • Quit Meter

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    Days: 0 Hours: 0

    Minutes: 0 Seconds: 0

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14 years ago 0 3875 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hey Cat! Nice to see you are doing it Congrats on the 51 days.  I don't think the keeping occupied is wrong per say, as the quit is a different experience for each of us, and it is such a mental battle at times that keeping busy saves alot of quits. But I do think that yes, you can do nothing but enjoy the moment, if you so choose, and if the junkie creeps into your thoughts, do the deep breathing exercise. What better place to do just that than in a rose garden! Imagine what a wonderful smell that would be!
My Milage:

My Quit Date: 3/5/2007
Smoke-Free Days: 822
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 20,550
Amount Saved: $8,672.10
Life Gained:
Days: 108 Hrs: 20 Mins: 21 Seconds: 56

14 years ago 0 363 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Awesome insight cat, you've come a long way, 51 days is huge. And your thinking about the whys and the hows, I think thats half the battle, figuring ourselves out and what works for us each individually.
My Milage:

My Quit Date: 4/2/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 63
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 2,520
Amount Saved: $756.00
Life Gained:
Days: 9 Hrs: 9 Mins: 51 Seconds: 2

  • Quit Meter

    $37,612.58

    Amount Saved

  • Quit Meter

    Days: 989 Hours: 6

    Minutes: 7 Seconds: 14

    Life Gained

  • Quit Meter

    5511

    Smoke Free Days

  • Quit Meter

    165,330

    Cigarettes Not Smoked

14 years ago 0 115 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hello everybody,
 
today was beautiful weather here and I was lucky enough to spend a half an hour between meetings sitting in a sweet smelling rose garden. 
And in spite of the beauty of it all, I felt the crave to smoke (trigger: break). So I did as I have trained myself these last 50 days: I got out my water, started chewing a stick of gum and got out my book and started reading.
 
And then it hit me: we are trying to replace smoking; We are substituting it. We are being coached to do so. We are keeping ourselves occupied (maybe this is some sort of ingrained learning mechanism: doing nothing, being idle is "bad"- and isn't smoking a wonderful way of not being "idle":-)). We are cleaning, running, eating, burning incense, drinking ice water or doing ANYTHING to fill the gap left by the cigarettes.
 
But what if this is wrong in a way? What if what we have to learn is to LET GO? To not do anything? To enjoy the moment of calm? To relax into the present moment and savour it?
 
Now, I'm not trying to be a guru here... I just want to say that I spat out my gum this afternoon, put away the book and the water bottle and all the other space and time filling substitutes- and just concentrated on the NOW, on the smell of the flowers and the sun on my face.
 
 
Maybe that's a way for me.
 
 
Cat
 



My Milage:

My Quit Date: 4/14/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 51
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 1,020
Amount Saved: �234.60
Life Gained:
Days: 4 Hrs: 2 Mins: 46 Seconds: 33


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