Congratulations! You're doing great! Just let things happen naturally. Don't force it. Truthfully, if I tried what you are... a resolution to quit "cold turkey"... I would be setting myself up for utter failure.
Generally, I never told myself I was going to quit as it would make me obsess which is exactly where you might be right now. I just set a few general goals for myself:
1) Delay the first smoke of the day.... vape instead. That created my biggest decrease as I used to start my day with 3 to 5 smokes. That delay progressed from a half hour to 9 hours... naturally... but over time.
2) For the rest of the day, I just made a deal that when I wanted to smoke, I had to vape for x-number of minutes first... helped to stop that habitual smoking.
3) When I did smoke, I had to completely focus on it and put it down when I had enough... not when it was totally burnt. That meant I also had to relight left-overs... yuck.... because as time went on, I really only wanted about a third of a smoke.
I never, ever, beat myself up. I never tried to be like those who had their first vape and never smoked again... way, way, too much pressure and stress for a 59-year-2PAD smoker and, in my view, totally unrealistic. Those are just the ones heard from the most. If I found myself obsessing (big hurdle) I lit up for a few puffs to break the obsession.
Mindset really matters: We all label (ourselves and others) for some reason and our behavior tends to follow the label. After about 18 months, I don't think of myself as a smoker. I'm a vaper. That's what I do the most. If a crisis hits (a huge trigger for me) and I smoke a few (puffs or whole cigs) I still don't identify with smoking. Does the occasional cigar smoker consider themselves a smoker? I don't think so. All I have to do is look around my house. If I wasn't a vaper would I be surrounded by all this vape gear? I'm a vaper who might, due to circumstance, smoke on occasion, not a smoker who vapes on occasion. I keep my health goals in mind and try not to venture into the more political social stigmas and shaming that occur in both the smoke and vape worlds. Health is my incentive, not becoming a member of this or that "class." Mental and emotional health is a precursor to physical health. For the overall health benefits it brings, I try to stay serene.
Wow... after going "advanced" I see how much I've typed. I know it probably doesn't fully address your OP but I'll just leave it as is. It might help someone who comes along.
Generally, I never told myself I was going to quit as it would make me obsess which is exactly where you might be right now. I just set a few general goals for myself:
1) Delay the first smoke of the day.... vape instead. That created my biggest decrease as I used to start my day with 3 to 5 smokes. That delay progressed from a half hour to 9 hours... naturally... but over time.
2) For the rest of the day, I just made a deal that when I wanted to smoke, I had to vape for x-number of minutes first... helped to stop that habitual smoking.
3) When I did smoke, I had to completely focus on it and put it down when I had enough... not when it was totally burnt. That meant I also had to relight left-overs... yuck.... because as time went on, I really only wanted about a third of a smoke.
I never, ever, beat myself up. I never tried to be like those who had their first vape and never smoked again... way, way, too much pressure and stress for a 59-year-2PAD smoker and, in my view, totally unrealistic. Those are just the ones heard from the most. If I found myself obsessing (big hurdle) I lit up for a few puffs to break the obsession.
Mindset really matters: We all label (ourselves and others) for some reason and our behavior tends to follow the label. After about 18 months, I don't think of myself as a smoker. I'm a vaper. That's what I do the most. If a crisis hits (a huge trigger for me) and I smoke a few (puffs or whole cigs) I still don't identify with smoking. Does the occasional cigar smoker consider themselves a smoker? I don't think so. All I have to do is look around my house. If I wasn't a vaper would I be surrounded by all this vape gear? I'm a vaper who might, due to circumstance, smoke on occasion, not a smoker who vapes on occasion. I keep my health goals in mind and try not to venture into the more political social stigmas and shaming that occur in both the smoke and vape worlds. Health is my incentive, not becoming a member of this or that "class." Mental and emotional health is a precursor to physical health. For the overall health benefits it brings, I try to stay serene.
Wow... after going "advanced" I see how much I've typed. I know it probably doesn't fully address your OP but I'll just leave it as is. It might help someone who comes along.
