[quote]
It's really hard to swim and smoke at the same time
[/quote]
LOL! I couldn't agree more! That's one of the reasons I started swimming so much after I quit smoking! For one, I had more breath control and could swim faster and longer, but another was because that's one activity that you can NOT do while smoking! Although I can't tell you how many times I tried! I'd get in the pool with a cigarette, smoke about 2 puffs and then somebody would make a big splash and put my cigarette out. I used to get so mad at them! What nerve! To splash water in a swimming pool! LOL! :p
Carylene,
I think that acknowledging cravings, and accepting them as a natural part of quitting, is an important step to getting over this addiction. When I first quit, everybody said "put smoking out of your mind" and I felt bad and wrong for having smoking thoughts - like I was doing quitting "wrong" or something. But then I realized that accepting cravings really does help me let them go. Even now, if I get a smoking thought, I think "it'd be nice to smoke right now" and then all of a sudden, the thought is gone.
But what you should NOT do is relish the idea. It's OK to have smoking thoughts. But it's NOT OK to romanticize the idea and make smoking this glamorous thing in your mind. My favorite analogy is:
You can't stop a bird from flying overhead and crapping in your hair... but you CAN stop it from building a nest there!
That's how I view smoking thoughts. It's OK to let them come, acknowledge them, and then think about all of the reasons why you quit smoking... but it's NOT OK to obsess over it and keep wishing that you could do it. That's where thinking about smoking gets dangerous. Does that make any sense?
Crave the Quit!
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B]6/17/2005
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 726
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 18,150
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,998.38
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 51 [B]Hrs:[/B] 5 [B]Mins:[/B] 53 [B]Seconds:[/B] 9