Good post BFS! Preparation is key! Even if your courage is a little shaky, practicing your new habit and slowly starting to change your life over to that of non-smokers can help you build the confidence and gain the courage you need to reach that quit date. When you're prepping, start trying out your attack plan for cravings. Ex: A tough one to give up is the first cigarette in the morning. Start off by modifying your morning routine and see how long you can delay the first one even if it's only a few seconds or a minute. Practice your new routine, you'll see the delay will start to get longer as you learn how to control and overcome cravings. Some of our members have also found it helpful to track where when and why they smoke for a day or two. This helps them see where they can start cutting out cigarettes and gives them a better understanding of why they are reaching for that cigarette in the first place. Maybe they're bored? So the next time, they're bored, they reach for a distraction and see if that helps them delay. Hope this helps. I'm off the part III BFS! Keep them coming! Danielle ___________________________ The SSC Support Team

Just hooking all five parts together for future reference! :) Well done Pam! [color=Purple]~lbugg~[/color] [url=http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?Forum=1&Topic=33751]One year ramble - Part 1[/url] [url=http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?Forum=1&Topic=33752]One year ramble Part 2 � Courage[/url][url=http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?Forum=1&Topic=33753]One year ramble Part 3 � Commitment[/url] [url=http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?Forum=1&Topic=33754]One year ramble Part 4 � Strength[/url] [url=http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?Forum=1&Topic=33755]One year ramble Part 5 - Positive Attitude (last one... I promise!)[/url]

Courage Fear of quitting, and lack of courage, are often what keep many people from quitting smoking. They are scared� scared of withdrawals, scared of failure, scared of what other smoking friends might think of them or even just scared of the unknown. Let�s face it � quitting can be very scary! But finding the courage to quit smoking is sometimes the absolute hardest part of the quit. Many people find that after they find the courage to quit, the quit is easier than they thought it would be. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Confucius But watch that first step � it�s a doozy! The first step is often the hardest one. But once you get going, you�ll find that it really didn�t take as much courage as you thought. Eleanor Roosevelt said, �You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face... you must do the thing you think you cannot do.� I love that quote because it�s all about finding the courage within yourself and it�s so right! If you quit smoking, you will discover so much about yourself that you never knew was true! And it will help you in ALL aspects of life � not just in relation to quitting! If you can quit smoking, you will find that you can do pretty much anything you set your mind to � and how awesome is that?!?! If you haven�t quit yet and are trying to find the courage within yourself to give this a try, here are some ways to develop the courage to quit. First, go through the program here. This program will give you a lot of really good ideas to help you get started. While you go through the program, there will be a place to choose a quit date. Pick one that is realistic for you. If you have any events in the near future that you know will be tough to get through, then perhaps waiting a few weeks until after it�s over is a good idea. Notice, I said a few WEEKS. Don�t put the quit off forever. Give yourself enough time to prepare, but not so much time that you can talk yourself out of quitting. Next, figure out what steps you will take to prepare for your quit. Cutting down, NRT, Wellbutrin or Zyban or any other prescriptions are very common methods to quit smoking. Talk to your doctor to find out what method will work best f