Great Post Thanks. Its amazing how people can make us feel guilty for doing something to better ourselves! Part of this journey is to remember who is important! WE ARE We need to feel good about ourselves and not worry about the others. Thats their problem. Keep up the good work and thanks again for the great post.

First of all I am so happy my 1st two weeks are done, and aside from an argument the other day that brought on a craving, I have not had any serious cravings or thought about smoking for 3-4 days now, although this is still the hardest thing I have ever done. (After all, labour ends after hours, not weeks, months, or years :) ) I can handle an [i]'out-of-nowhere'[/i] craving now and then, I am just glad that's all I'm experiencing right now and will greatly cherish every minute while it lasts. LOL ;) So you know, I am not using any NRT's, not since Day 2, but am here everyday, multiple times, and take full use of all my coping skills and your support. Your posts back to me really help me to get through all the bad moments I have had in the last 2 weeks and what I know may be to come. Now, on to my post.... I feel I need to address this topic so that we can learn how to let our quit go. To stop thinking about it all the time, to stop worring about if we are going to fail, and to go back to living our lives. Because this is a very important step in accomplishing this goal and making it as easy on ourselves as possible. After all, this is hard enough without us making it worse. You may want to read [b]Overreacting? Dramatizing? posted by Jan58[/b] as this is what made me start thinking.Ready now? So here goes...... Why do we have to have an excuse for having a bad day? Everyone is going through something in their life. Weather it's a quit, or a new marriage, a new job, new baby, .... Even day to day things like an argument with a loved one, a problem at work, financial difficulties.... Why do we feel the need to always blame [b]something[/b] on these bad days. So what! We are in a bad mood. Our hubbys have bad days, they yell, bang around the toolshed, or complain about everything. Our kids have bad days, they yell at us, throw tantrums, and break the rules ([i]or maybe their siblings toys[/i] :) ). And we have them, we complain/whine/nag to our loved ones, we cry when we think no one is looking, and we don't get done everything that (we think) needs to be done. But thats ok. Everyone is entilted to this. Everyone is allowed to have a bad day. We have responsibilites we live up to every day. We spend our time working for others every minute just by

I am so glad this post is helping some of you. I really do believe that if we concentrate on the good, positive side of this and everything else in our lives, things will be easier. Remember mind over matter. If we think this is easy, that we are feeling better, and can accomplish our goal, we will be able to. I'm sure we can all think of a moment in our lives that we have proven this to ourselves. And we are again. Every day, every minute, every time we get the itch to light up and don't. Congrats everyone. Your beating this. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/15/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 14 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 368 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $115.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 11 [B]Seconds:[/B] 37

Beautiful post Whynot! Thank You auntdeb :8|: [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 59 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,971 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $280.25 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 8 [B]Hrs:[/B] 4 [B]Mins:[/B] 14 [B]Seconds:[/B] 10

I meant to say as well - if I have 'crabby' day, I like the idea that it just is. Plain and simple. No excuses, no blame. It just is. It feels easier that way, and perhaps...after a while...because there are no excuses or blame, the 'crabbies' will go join old Nick! Plain and simple...the perfect way to live life. Cheers, Jan [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/13/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 47 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,424 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $423 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 3 [B]Seconds:[/B] 11

Whynot, I read from end to end, took it all in, and felt good afterwards. I like the idea of turning a negative to a positive. And just the fact that the days are getting easier is positive. And the fact that I'm a non smoker, taking care of myself, and doing this the way I find easiest is positive. These days the positive is definitely outweighing the negative, and the "crabby" days are becoming fewer and fewer. Nice post, lots of thought there. Cheers, Jan [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/13/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 47 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,424 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $423 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 2 [B]Seconds:[/B] 43

Bang on the Money!! I sense the site shifting to a more happy and positive place to be and that is a very, very good thing!! As Aunt Deb said; Beautiful post Whynot! Thank You Penitent d1017 :)