Nicotine gum tastes terrible, and doesn't really work to abate the cravings. I'm tempted to just drop the gum and go cold-turkey; wouldn't be so bad now that I've weaned myself down to expect lower amounts of nicotine. Statistically, I know I'm better off if I stick with it...So I'm just going to cover up the nicotine polacrilex with coffee and deal with it.
How do you motivate yourself to do something difficult, or something you don't really want to do?
A podcast that resonated with me by Gretchen Rubin pretend there are 4 type of people concerning getting motivated. -High achiever: like goobster, kleinbloo, nil (according to their comment). They find motivation within themselves to do what they intend to - Cerebral: like thenewgreen, need to think of all the good things (and bad) and that keep them on track - Socialite : (like yourself, I guess) Need to have other people account to their effort, and to push them forward - Rebel :( like me, according to that comment ) just do thing out of spite, even against themself. I stopped smoking, because everyone , and myself, said it was hard. I needed to prove them (and I ) wrong My advice, get cold turkey. 48h without nicotine. Tell your family and friend about that, get someone to stop with you. Drink a lot of water for 48h. Disrupt your usual pattern associated with smoking (mine was sugared-coffee, so I drank coffee without sugar and it was enough to stop the association ) Good luck, I have trust in you. And you'll feel so much better after, I promise
nil, ooli Alright, I'm cutting a deal with the both of you. I have two day's worth of nicotine gum left - after it's gone I'll go cold turkey, like you both suggested. I'll keep you guys updated. nil, sorry friend but I'm gonna need your help to understand what the fuck you're talking about! If you think there's some substance that can help me out, I'm all ears
The trick is to do it one hour at the time. When craving, drink some water, find some distraction. The craving long far less than it seems. After 48h without nicotine in your body. You have no more physiological dependency. The mental one endure for 2 month, and for some people that the most difficult. It's the demon in your brain having those automatic pathway of activity associated with nicotine. Change your routine, and tame the demon obligatory Alen Carr book (pdf): prdupl02.ynet.co.il/ForumFiles_2/15119301.pdf
You can do it! You're worth it! Withdrawals suck! I've gone on and off a few different SSRI/SNRI class drugs, which sucks, and I'm currently down-titrating something that's related, which also sucks. That period of time of things sucking is worth the trade.
Masochism. Sometimes you have to embrace the suck in order to cherish the contrast it brings. I doubt I would appreciate a Porsche convertible quite so much without the 32miles a day in a headwind through Silent Hill. Although I've never had to quit smoking. I 've seen plenty of people try and fail, but I've also seen plenty of people try and eventually succeed. I' ll be pulling for you.
Yeah, fair enough. I don't like the taste of the gum, but it's better than dying early from lung cancer or a heart attack. What's your silent hill story? I'll keep you updated. Gonna try and talk about it on pubski every week so the suck isn't totally bottled up, and I can go back and see how I've improved when it's all done. I've already been feeling better. I can keep going.
Remember, it isn't just dying earlier, it's also the lower quality of life at the end.
Answered your own question, really Now if you'll excuse me I have to hop into a Porsche convertible to pick up a library book about art nouveau jewelry.What's your silent hill story?
Gonna try and talk about it on pubski every week so the suck isn't totally bottled up
Integrity. I commit to something. And when I do that, I keep my word. Unfortunately, I also know that I can't focus on something until the deadline is menacingly close. So I set unreasonable timeframes and deadlines - that I am confident I can hit, if I get "in flow" and am REALLY PRODUCTIVE really quickly. The integrity part forces me to be my word, and deliver on my commitments. The self-knowledge part knows that I won't do it until I'm an in a panic about not having enough time to do it. This is completely healthy and sustainable, I'm sure... =\
“If your solution is ‘try harder’ or ‘be more careful’ you can go fuck yourself.” - unknown Sometimes I'll actively think through the worst case scenario. It's often less awful than my fear imagines it to be. Usually when something's difficult for me, it's difficult to start. Sometimes I need to actively remind myself of why I'm doing that thing in the first place. Sometimes I use the 'mindless' approach; I just need to get into the motions, I just need to get moving and then I'll be fine, so I find whatever mindless thing will get me an inch closer to my goal and do that.“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” - Mark Twain
You gotta be in some type of flow. Work hard but not too hard every day. Generally I try to avoid feeling like shit and feeling like shit comes from idleness. So I grind on something, either music or writing code or learning more math or whatever. There is a payoff to masochism. You have to make it organic. You're never going to have a good reason to be motivated if you constantly just feel like you're banging your head into a wall. Sure, self-discipline or whatever but you need to want it on some level. "Do what you love" isn't complete horseshit. Just 50% horseshit bcuz life is hard and we're 5 years since the big snap. The art I worked a lot harder on generally is more appreciated by the community. I have a shit job that keeps me occupied until my "real career" gets going. I feel like a loser but the alternative is a career selling the Chip reverse mortgage. I did computer science over biochemistry because although I love the second one I didn't want to be the guy that did the drugs and then majored in drugs. And the kids there love me because I'm not an asshole. edit: sorry didn't realize this was about quitting nicotine. I have no experience there.
Make lists. Check off the most difficult things first. Bam! You’re going to be a smashing success.
At the end of the day, week, year, whatever, the big bad thing will still have to be done. If it is done sooner rather than later I will have more time to do not-bad things. With regard to physical exertion I have it in my head that the signal to stop or quit is actually the signal that I am doing things right.