A Post for Us Lurkers

[bushleaguer]

Yes, I am one.....you know, still smoking but have had quitting on your mind for quite a while now. I pop in and gather encouragement from reading all of the success stories...but I still smoke. Nevertheless, it is great to read of so much success....especially since I've gotten to the point that I've equated my quit with - Mission:Impossible. Well, apparently it isn't.

But I lurk and continue to smoke. I have entered my 18th year of smoking, and I refuse to reach a 20th anniversary. Quit dates come and go, as do the excuses for why it wasn't a good time to quit.

I am an addict - a nicotine junkie. I've come to realize this as smoking is a generally irrational act. Yet I persist - no label threatening disease and death has stopped me. My desire to stop - this is what will carry me through.

So to my breatheren - fellow smokers who will occasionally drop into this section and think - "Yes, I should join the bandwagon." - I say this:

Let's all make THIS year the year that we let go of this addiction. New year's resolutions come and go, but they are so trite....who can realistically expect to change their lives over the course of one night and emerge a different person? Doesn't happen, and quitting smoking is not to be taken lightly (continuing isn't, either...but that goes without saying). So let's focus on making this year our year. Whether it be a week or a month or a few months from now, let us not let another year come and go while shackled to a pack of cigarettes.

They say that 95% of smokers are unsuccessful at quitting. That's fine with me - let's seize this year and become one of those 5%. And in doing so, perhaps we can close that gap a bit.

Let's make this year our year.

[CAPTAINZING2000]

Just a thought!!!!



ACCORDING TO THE FARMERS ALMANAC FOR JAN.


January 2006


• Bake 1, 6, 7, 13
• Can Fruits and Vegetables 14, 15, 23, 24
• Dry Fruits and Vegetables 16, 17
• Cut Firewood 1-14, 30, 31
• Cut Hair to Increase Growth 1, 4, 5, 8-10, 13, 31
• Mow to Increase Growth 1-13, 29-31
• Mow to Retard Growth 14-28
• Castrate Farm Animals 1-5, 25-31
• Harvest 22-28
• Prune Trees 23, 24, 27, 28
• Wean 1-5, 25-31
• Hunt 1-5, 29-31
• Fish Mornings: 13, 14, 15 Evenings: 5
• Quit a Habit or Smoking 16-19, 25, 26

[best]

Originally Posted by CAPTAINZING2000

Just a thought!!!!



ACCORDING TO THE FARMERS ALMANAC FOR JAN.


January 2006
• Quit a Habit or Smoking 16-19, 25, 26

hmmm And Monday being a holiday as well.


My wife and son both stopped at the end of Dec.

[historyteach]

I hope you will join us in our quest for good health.
It is difficult to stop smoking; I won't lie. But, it isn't as difficult as we THINK it will be!
Or that we FEAR it will be.
Fear was my biggest problem to overcome in order to quit smoking. I didn't want to fail again; I didn't know how to cope without smoking.
I learned, and I am learning still. I hope to continue learning as I grow in my own recovery from this addiction.

When you decide, (not if, but when), please call the American Cancer Society. They will send workbooks, set up a telephone counselor and even some mechanical aides. I got a gumby like stick, to bend and manipulate. It was really helpful for my hands in the beginning of my quit. Do call. They are quite helpful!

Best and others from Mass and RI, do call 1-800-try to st(op). (you won't dial the last two letters, but the acronym is good to remember.) They are a group made up through the tobacco settlement money. There, you can get set up with free patches, gum, and free group counseling. I found that counseling extreemly helpfull. Lonnie was full of important information in getting me through my quit.

People in the other states should call their state reps and find out what their state is doing wiht the tobacco settlement money. The purpose of that settlement was prevention and cessation. Make them accountable.

Finally, try this web site;
www.trytostop.org
and get the quit meter at www.silkquit.org
Both will guide you on your way and reinforce your healthy decision.

I hope you'll join the ranks of the quitters in '06!

Shalom!