Gaining Control

I might have mentioned in an earlier post that I quit smoking about a month ago. I must thank Leo Babauta, his blog ZenHabits.net, and his ebook, Zen to Done, for giving me the motivation and confidence to quit.

I have quit in the past. I went almost 4 years between 1998 and 2002, so I know I can do it for good.

While the money I’ve saved on cigarettes I’ve plowed back into nicotine lozenges, it’s amazing how quickly the savings add up:

Time Smoke-Free:31 days, 9 hours, 50 minutes and 37 seconds Cigarettes NOT smoked:628 Lifetime Saved:4 days, 19 hours Money Saved:$124.80

If you smoke and are thinking about quitting, $125 a month in today’s economy might be enough to push you over the top. (If you smoke less than I did, your savings will be less, of course.)

I recommend using Quitnet.com to keep track of your quit.  You can get a daily email with the stats listed above.  Even though I don’t like readin email first thing in the morning, I do open this one as soon as I get to my computer.  I know approximately what it will contain–yesterday’s savings + $3.85, yesterday’s cigarettes not smoked + 20, yesterday’s lifetime saved + a couple of hours.  But its a great affirmation of the control I have gained over myself.  

One of the greatest drags of smoking is the dependency on the tools of the trade:  going out of your way to pick up a pack of smokes so you have some for the morning; checking pockets for a lighter before you leave the house; carefully scanning the environment for No Smoking signs every time you go someplace new. 

Each of those actions demonstrates that something else has control over you.  Quitting smoking frees you from those chains of dependency.  Breaking them adds confidence in countless other areas of life, from finances to career. 

So, thanks, Leo.