"Of the 46 million Americans who smoke -- 26 percent of the adult population -- an estimated 80 percent would like to stop and one-third try each year. Two to three percent of them succeed."
-MSN Health
Does that scare you? According to these stats, about 1 in 30 people who try to quit smoking, achieve anything like long term success.
Actually, it doesn't scare me at all. What it does do is supply me with even more validation for what I already know; ...quitting isn't easy, it requires constant and committed vigilience.
It tells me that I had better not harbour any kind of 'condition' as a prerequisite for long term abstinance. For instance, I had better not expect that I'll be craving-free in a year...because that may not happen. I had better not qualify my quit with the understanding that, "I'll stay quit unless this, that or the other thing happens". I had better be committed to my quit through anything and everything...no matter how long long it takes, no matter what suprises come, no matter how supported or unsupported I feel...no matter what.
And I had better never, ever forget that all of that happens in this moment, because this moment is all I'm ever going to have.
And the wonderful irony is... that as long as our attitude is "no matter what"... all of this becomes easier, not harder. We're no longer fighting with reality, we're accepting it on it's own terms. It's in kicking at the realities of what it takes to quit... that most of our pain comes from. But in accepting what it takes, and committing to that... we find peace and strength.
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/6/2007
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 12
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 314
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $111
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 8 [B]Seconds:[/B] 55