Are we there yet?
As I type this, I am now over 50 days off the smokes. That’s over seven weeks now and I’ll be honest and tell you that I didn’t really believe I’d get here.
Riches beyond my mildest dreams
When I made the decision to quit smoking over 10 weeks ago, I signed up to the HSE Quit plan. They have a page which monitors how much money you save.
It supposedly helps with the motivation to keep off the smokes when you see the money you are saving. As I did mention in previous diary entries, the money aspect was a large motivating factor for me.
As you can see from the pic above, in just over seven weeks, I have saved over 500 euro. It both pains and pleases me to see that figure.
Pains me because I have thrown away so much money on smoking, but pleasing because now I seem to recognise the error of my ways.
I could book a holiday in the sun for the money saved already. The missus might have something to say about that, but you catch my drift.
Eric Idle
In previous diary entries, I have written about my live stand-up shows and how the ritual of a pre and post-gig smoke has had to be eliminated.
I was crazy busy last week, but this week I am glad to say I have had a quiet week regarding gigs. Trust me, I am not taking any of the gigs for granted, but it was nice knowing that I didn’t have to go anywhere this week to perform.
That itself brings it’s own challenges. Being idle can be a tough assignment. One of the big triggers for people smoking is boredom. You don’t know what to do with your time.
You become fidgety. You get a little stressed and feel compelled to be doing something, anything. This feeling, like the cravings, passes and as time goes on you just get better at managing it.
This weekend
This weekend I fly back to the UK to do two nights of shows in Birmingham at the Glee Comedy Club. I did their Cardiff venue a couple of weeks back and as I said then, they are properly run comedy clubs and I am very much looking forward to performing there.
It’s two nights away on my own and of course, there will be boredom, there will be idleness, but I will use that free time to either write or go on nice brisk fresh air walks!
I’m not 100% sure what the time-frame for quitting is. When is it okay to say that you have beaten the habit? As long as I still get the cravings and have those tiny battles in my head, I won’t believe I have fully kicked it.
I will keep trying and fighting and for now, well I’m over seven weeks off them and I am looking forward to the next seven weeks. ‘Step by step’ is the motto.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
