Brian -
Congratulations on deciding that you want to stop using tobacco. That puts you way ahead of the game. The people I feel sorriest for are those who don't seem to believe that tobacco is harmful, and therefore see no need to quit. It cracks me up every time I hear, "But I like to smoke". (Or dip). And I'll say, "Yeah, and heroin addicts like heroin".
I posted on 1/31 that I was going to contact a hypnotist and make another attempt at stopping smoking. Well, I didn't call her, and I feel bad about that, because I said I was going to. I came very close to calling her - looked all over for her name and number, which my friend has given me twice now - and was about to call him to get it again but just decided that I was just going to stop smoking, period. I didn't need yet another excuse .... "Oh, the hypnosis didn't work". No one is putting cigarettes in my mouth and lighting them but me.
I haven't smoked one since the night of that last post - two weeks now. I still can't breathe very well, but that's supposed to improve with time. At least I've stopped doing harm, and my spirits are much better, like a dark cloud has been lifted off of me. It feels very good to not be doing one of the most harmful things that one can do to one's body.
It always struck me as very odd that I take better care of my equipment (especially my tractor of course) than I sometimes do of my own body. Of course it's not the same thing; I'm not addicted to abusing my equipment, while smoking (and dipping) is one of the most powerful addictions there is. But it can be beat, once you decide to beat it.
One "trick" is to concentrate on all that you are gaining, not on what you are giving up. Tobacco use is incredibly pleasurable because nicotine has re-wired your brain to respond only to nicotine, and no longer to the naturally-occurring "pleasure" chemicals in the brain. "Gut it out" while your brain gets weaned off of nicotine, and you can enjoy vastly improved health for the rest of your life. Use the patch if you need to, or chew some nicotine gum.
In the end, you'll save a huge pile of money, save your teeth and gums, improve every cell and organ in your body, and have a whole lot more energy for all those projects on your list. You might even start getting some cardiovascular exercise and watch your health really take off in the right direction. You'll sure smell better and look better, and I bet you'll have more self-respect too.
Life is short, and tobacco makes it shorter. I know any of us can beat it once we decide to. I'm not telling anyone what to decide; I think I'm just encouraging you to decide.
I've always thought that deciding to quit using tobacco is a lot like a surfer deciding what wave he wants to catch. He knows which wave feels right to him, and no one can tell him what wave is "the right wave". And if he catches "his" wave and then wipes out ... well ... he can give up and go home, or he can paddle back out and catch another one. In the end, the ride is going to be worth the effort.
I know we can all do it if we really want to.
Yoda said it best in "The Empire Strikes Back". "Is no try, only do. Do, or do not".
John