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Day 1-3
The worst day for me to restart my journey of quitting smoking was yesterday, January 18, 2023, because I keep coming up with new ideas every day. Because our house burned down on this day last year, we lost all our possessions as well as one of our pets, I came to the conclusion that yesterday was the worst day to begin. My marriage is stronger than ever, and I feel happier than ever—despite the fact that we lost everything. Time passes so rapidly.
As I have always believed, everything that occurs in this world has a purpose. Since everything has a purpose, it is our responsibility to continually find the positive in every circumstance. I only smoked three cigarettes on Monday, and on Tuesday, my spouse and I shared one cigarette. We both smoked one pack of cigarettes yesterday; at least I didn't buy a Newport 100.
Even though I was wearing a nicotine patch, I couldn't truly finish a cigarette because of how anxious I was. Because of that patch, I experienced a headache, nausea, and a bad mood the entire day.
On January 19, 2023, at 8:30 a.m., I just got out of bed to make coffee and smoke two cigarettes. This strategy has the drawback that it requires us to replace the bad habit with a new one in order to begin deceiving and altering our thoughts.
This time, I skipped the patch test. I had an early appointment, so I couldn't start my new routine.
I regularly use affirmations, so I came up with this one this morning. I'll use it at least twice every day.
The affirmation for this week is:
I cherish myself more than I cherish cigarettes. I reject smoking and say "yes" to life.
I value myself higher than I value cigarettes. I say "no" to smoking and "yes" to living.
(For more information on affirmation, see the daily affirmations part of my blog.)
According to what my doctor said to me today, it doesn't matter what meds I take to help me; I just need to make the decision to stop using them immediately and to ask myself these questions at all times:
How much money do I spend each day on cigarettes? - Of course, we already know that we spent a lot of money on cigarettes; just look at the blog post I already made about this.
She then asked me, "If I don't smoke, what else could I be using this money for?" This money will be utilized to finish our tiny house because we are still getting over losing our home.
Finally, she advised me to sit down whenever I felt the want to smoke and to figure out what caused it. I'm now attempting to decide what I can do to quit smoking.
The reason I'm telling you this is because when we drink alcohol, we smoke more, so yes, we DO SMOKE A LOT. On this particular day, we went to our friend's house and stayed with her. During the night, we enjoyed wonderful food and drinks.
January 20, 2023 - Today is day three. Recently, I haven't been well since I have severe allergies. In December, a doctor gave me a prescription for a drug that helps to dry out my nasal passages. The trouble is, even though I know smoking makes it worse, I still do it. Last week, I went to another DR because I could hardly breathe. I have smoked a few of them and have been sleeping all day, but I refuse to do it. It's time for me to quit justifying my every cigarette lift.
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— The Way of the Wise Owl by Dagmarie Daniels