Don’t say ‘try’, just leave out that word altogether. 
And I wish you the best of, well, not luck, but success! It’s very liberating to be able to say that nicotine doesn’t rule me anymore.
Good luck Brown Eyed Girl. I gave up tasty, tasty nicotine (in the form of “dip”) 9 years ago and, like Ruby says, it still calls to me from time to time. That right there is reason enough to give it up. If it has that much power - and you know you’ll do almost anything for Nick - you will never be the one in charge of the relationship. Eventually the urge reaches the level of an occasional “hmmm, I haven’t had any of that in a while … oh well.”
One problem to look out for … a few months down the road, maybe a year, you will tell yourself you are cured and that little voice will suggest just one pack. What could it hurt? Maybe I’ll just promise myself to only have one a day? DON’T DO IT, IT’S A TRICK! I managed to actually trick myself a couple of times before I figured it out, which seems unbelievable.
Weight gain is a problem. Not only do you want something to do with you hands and mouth but food suddenly tastes new and better. Accept the 10 pounds if it comes with the idea that it will be much easier to lose once Nick is out of your life. It will.
You gestated a nine-year-old? Now *that’s * willpower!
That’s what my mom did when she was weaning herself off smoking- she put all the extra money in a jar and bought herself something nice when she was completed free of cigarettes.
Save the money everyday that you didn’t spend on smokes and get yourself something!
Congrats!
NO!
DO! or do not, there is no try.
Kick Ass Brown Eyed Girl!
If I may, instead using the mantra you mention, try this: As soon as you finish one task, tell yourself that you’re gonna have a smoke after you finish the next task and then IMMEDIATELY begin a new task; repeat as necessary. You’re gonna face times when you have to stay hooked up on a moment-to-moment basis but those times WILL pass and sooner than you might expect. You WILL have incredible cravings even after you’re sure you’ve quit and while those cravings will be powerful, they last only a few moments and then fade as if they never happened. And there WILL come a day when you have no cravings at all; those days will quickly be so common that you won’t even realize you have had no cravings. You CAN do it and you WILL do it; remember that you have a tremendous support group right here on the SDMB. Hang tough.
:smack: She’s *now *age nine. Very funny! 
I had a meltdown today. But I didn’t smoke. whew!
I feel like I ought to point out that the cravings are actually not “all in your head”–the cravings are symptoms of an addiction. Your body is addicted to a substance, and it requires more of it, so it sends up an “I NEED” signal. Spotting the craving for what it is, is half the battle, IMO. Don’t view the craving as a failure of willpower, or a moral defect, or laziness, or a lack of character, or a Satanic temptation to sin, or whatever–view it as what it is, a physical signal from your body that something it’s been used to having supplied on a regular basis and has come to regard as essential is now being withheld.
And if you know that, then you can instruct your body to ignore it as being a non-essential. If you were thirsty, you wouldn’t ignore that signal, because to ignore it would be death. Starving hunger, ditto.
But nicotine is not essential to your physical plant’s working, and you can send your body the memo as many times as it takes to get it through its idiot head that it doesn’t really need that thing it’s whining for.
Wow, doesn’t that feel good? Anybody can handle it when life is good, but it takes a true fighter to succeed when life sucks. High 5 Brown Eyed Girl!
Go you! I’m at almost 14 months of no smoking after 25 years of pack-a-day, and yep, still get an occasional craving but it’s way easier to squash them nowadays. And like you, I made a point of NOT changing my other habits too drastically. I couldn’t avoid situations in which I normally smoked, because aside from sleeping and showering, there wasn’t much I did without a cigarette. I did gain some weight, but all of it in the first four months smoke-free, and I’ve lost about half of it since - so I’m at a net gain of about 9 pounds now, and with summer approaching I will be getting a lot more exercise, so more will come off.
You know what REALLY feels good? Being able to run up or down the stairs without panting.
YOU CAN DO IT!!!
I’ll be wrapping up the fifth smoke-free day in a few hours. Yesterday, was the first day I found myself in the company of a smoker. I was nervous at first, but soon realized that I didn’t much care. Never realized how much I stank as a smoker until I my son and his friend came over and I smelled them before I saw them. :eek: :o
His friend lit up outside as we were leaving and asked if it was okay if he smoked in the car. I hesitated a bit and then confidently said sure. Nope, no urge whatsoever to bum a cigarette and join him. YAY!!! So now I know I can be in the presence of a smoker without a discernible urge to cheat. This seems like a milestone to me. At the same time, I still plan to limit my exposure for the time being.
I feel totally great! Physically and mentally. This is such a positive experience that I never really expected. I’m going to attribute that to the Wellbutrin making this a LOT easier. And the fact that I was more ready to quit than ever before.
I look forward to being able to run up and down the stairs without panting! Glad I quit before this weekend’s move. I’m still battling fatigue a bit, but probably less so than when I was actively puffing the demonsticks.
LOL! I know! I was smoking 2 cigs an hour outside of sleeping and showering, so how am I going to avoid the associative aspect? Your comment amused me because I realized those truly were the only times I didn’t smoke. I also realized that I rewarded myself with smoke breaks for everything, because I only allowed myself to smoke in our office. So, start dinner, smoke, start laundry, smoke, phone call, smoke, make coffee, smoke, put groceries away, smoke, ad infinitum. Smoke breaks always took place in front of my computer, of course ('cause I have an internet addiction, too!). Taking my non-smoke breaks is a really weird experience, but reinforces my good behavior. I imagine eventually the breaks themselves will taper off as well since I really have no reason to take them anymore.
Keep up with the success stories. They’re very inspiring and appeal to my competitive spirit (14 months? I’m so there!). 
Next time you see me, I’ll be a non-smoker in Charlotte. YAY ME!
Good for you. When I gave up smoking, many years ago, I did it on the basis that if I can last an hour without a cigarette, I can do two, and if two, why not four? - etc.
IMO (and in my experience), it’s actually possible to do it that way - smoking takes explicit, deliberate action - the action of lighting a cigarette and bringing it to your mouth - if you stop performing this action, and don’t resume, you will have given up smoking.
Some other habits are different - with nailbiting, you always have them with you, ready to go - and over-eating can be a simple matter of scooping up a bit too much mashed potato, or making two slices of toast instead of one, but with smoking, there’s this chain of pure, conscious, deliberate actions you can interrupt.
Brown Eyed Girl, I’m proud of you.
I’ve moved and been real busy last few days, but I wanted to drop in and say that I’ve been completely smoke-free for 10 days and I’ve saved $62.00.
I’m having very few cravings and as I unpack my stuff, I smell the smoke in EVERYTHING!!! And it’s yucky.
Thanks for the support and encouragement.
Congratulations!
Four weeks today for me. I’m using the generic version of Commit lozenges. It’s going more smoothly than I expected.
Go Brown Eyed Girl! I quit on Jan 1 this year. I took the money that I was spending on cigs, and am having it automatically deducted from my checking account each week into it’s own special account. It’s money I’m not missing, and when I build it up, I can do something special with it without feeling guilty about my budget.