This blog was written in March 2016. Following Image is my progress as of July 15, 2017

cigarettes not smoked: 3414 – 10 (1 day relapse in Miami) = 3404

money saved: $1,877

I had been smoking for about four years now. I used to do about 8 to 10 cigarettes a day. 2 years ago I started feeling I should quit smoking for good. Mainly because I felt it was affecting my productivity. After many unsuccessful attempts I have been able to be smoke free for about two months now. But now I am fairly confident of being smoke free for a longer period of time.

I would like to share my experiences of the journey so far in hope that it will help someone trying to quit smoking too.

Why did I quit?

The main driver for me to quit smoking was the realization, that if I smoke cigarettes I will keep craving them for all my life. But if I quit smoking cigarettes I will still crave them but I will not smoke and harm my health. I guess, its better to crave something and not spoil your health then to crave something + spoil your health. And moreover if I stay smoke free for a longer period of time then slowly I will stop craving cigarettes altogether. Being a smoker reduces my productivity by hampering my health, endurance and concentration. I always try to improve myself professionally as well as personally, and be more productive, being a smoker did not allow me to be the best version of myself. Now I can stay focused on a task for a longer period of time without loosing focus I used to panic if I went out of cigarettes. What started as just a new experience became a need. I realized that I went out of my way to get cigarettes when I was running low on them. I guess this realization was really the spark which fueled the desire to quit smoking.

Knowing why you are trying to quit and agreeing with the reasons that you came up for quitting smoking brings you on a quit smoking path even if you relapse. I completely agree with the reasons I mentioned above which was really helpful in my efforts to quit smoking.

I tried a lot of techniques to help me quit smoking and read followed recommendations of many authors. Following are some of the tricks I found helpful Tricks to help you stay on track of quitting smoking.

When you get a craving, use following techniques:

Hold your breath for as long as you can

Do quick 20 push ups(or any quick physical activity)

Keep eating, EAT A LOT

Drink 2 espresso shots

Take deep and long breaths and enjoy your smoke free lungs

With addition to the above going through the following content will further strengthen your resolve to quit. Well I know that you would feel what is the need to go through such a length? Trust me, the first step to quitting is accepting that you are addicted. And going through all of these excellent resources introduced me to different perspectives on the journey of quitting smoking and I could create my own strategy to quit.

Benefits of quitting,I noticed so far

Improved energy Improved appetite Improved taste buds Meeting and conversing with people at parties without being out of the location for a smoke Lot of money saved

These are all my personal experiences and quit smoking tips which I wanted to share with you. I had my reasons to quit and I am sure you do too. Hope this helps. I look forward to hearing your experiences too.