After more than two decades of harmonious relationship and at times declaring "till death do us part", I decided "it's enough" to sever the ties. No regrets, it is more of elation, rather, to declare it to the world around me. And it happened on the first day of the new year.
No more stinking breath...malodorous fingers and an embarassed feeling when required to approach or speak to non-smokers especially ladies, my wife included. Certain physical activities like climbing stairs will not leave me breathless. A great sense of relief after 26 years of addiction. Kicked the butt for good.
It is 12 hours past the dawn of 2012, and the craving started for that ever reassuring (albeit with a false sense) puff of smoke from the Cigatette. A quit smoking adviser said "Chew on a straw, chew a piece of gum, suck on a mint. Keep your mind as occupied as you can.... Do a word search or a crossword puzzle. Whatever works for you but do your best to avoid idle time of the mind. Remember that the average craving lasts less than 2 minutes so the sooner your mind is on something else, the faster it will subside!". Being at home helped. I simply dozed off to kill that first, the most vital one at that, urge. The next morning onwards, I did not need any diversions to suppress the urge to smoke. Resolution or not, I thought I'll quit and that was final.
A Doctor says "The start of a fresh New Year is a great time for smokers to implement their plan to quit smoking and reap the health and financial benefits of a smoke-free lifestyle."
As I write this post, it is the fourth day of smoke-free life, let me see if I can reap health.
No more stinking breath...malodorous fingers and an embarassed feeling when required to approach or speak to non-smokers especially ladies, my wife included. Certain physical activities like climbing stairs will not leave me breathless. A great sense of relief after 26 years of addiction. Kicked the butt for good.
It is 12 hours past the dawn of 2012, and the craving started for that ever reassuring (albeit with a false sense) puff of smoke from the Cigatette. A quit smoking adviser said "Chew on a straw, chew a piece of gum, suck on a mint. Keep your mind as occupied as you can.... Do a word search or a crossword puzzle. Whatever works for you but do your best to avoid idle time of the mind. Remember that the average craving lasts less than 2 minutes so the sooner your mind is on something else, the faster it will subside!". Being at home helped. I simply dozed off to kill that first, the most vital one at that, urge. The next morning onwards, I did not need any diversions to suppress the urge to smoke. Resolution or not, I thought I'll quit and that was final.
A Doctor says "The start of a fresh New Year is a great time for smokers to implement their plan to quit smoking and reap the health and financial benefits of a smoke-free lifestyle."
As I write this post, it is the fourth day of smoke-free life, let me see if I can reap health.
Well done!
ReplyDeleteI have gone through it and better off kicking the butt/ certainly more healthier and less stinkier :)
Keep at it and you will have a rewarding experience after that...
Cheers
Srikanth
finally. it is 7 days today. did u smoke during these 7 days?
ReplyDeletemadan
Good! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteMalathi.
yeah, Malati, I'm keepin' it up, and good riddance it was.
DeleteHai Sekhar,
ReplyDeleteI think it is nothig but mind management. To make a line smaller, we draw a bigger line underneath it. Right! To overcome a bad habit, tune-up your mind to another habit (not to be a bad habit) which your mind likes strongly. Anyhow, good going.
with love,
Madhav.
Hello Rajasekhar,
ReplyDeleteThe year 2012 is coming to a close. Hope you have not restarted smoking. If not, keep it up. Otherwise it will start all over again. All the best.
dilip singh