Wowsers AMS, at the rate you're absorbing all this you may just realize a lesson that I thought could only be appreciated by getting deep into this journey itself - that the effort associated with smoking that next pack of cigarettes is harder and more work than not.   It's just moving beyond that psychological break-even hump in this temporary journey of re-adjustment called quitting. 

 

A pack a day smoker not only thinks about smoking at least 20 times a day (at least a few associated with some degree of urge),  they must put their hands on a flame source, locate their pack, find an acceptable location to smoke nicotine, spend a few minutes smoking each, dispose of empties and locate that next pack.  On which day of recovery will the thoughts and challenges be comparable?  

 

Forget about FOREVER, AMS, the biggest psychological quitting bite imaginable and instead adopt an entirely doable victory yardstick that sees the glory in living free through the next few minutes, just one challenge, or an hour at a time.  Whether 5 minutes or 5 hours,  if we both refrain from putting nicotine into these bodies our accomplishment will be identical as will our distance from relapse - just one powerful puff of nicotine.  Although I have not experienced anything you'd consider a crave since Dec. 2001 it likely will happen again some day.

 

If we insist on using FOREVER as our means to measure success then on which day will you get to celebrate, AMS?   What good is a party that you can't attend?  Why not see a skipping just one nicotine feeding as the full and complete victory it reflects.  Baby steps to glory!   

 

It's good that you're focusing on the fears.  A little bit can be healthy in preparing us and keeping us safe, but too much and the extra anxiety we place upon ourselves can make this temporary journey far more challenging than need be, even blinding us to much of the natural beauty and healing that will be unfolding around us.

 

In the end there's just one guiding principle determining the outcome for all ... no nicotine just one hour, challenge and day at a time!   With you in spirit, AMS.

 

Breathe deep, hug hard, live long,

 

John (Gold x6)