My first attempt at quitting smoking earlier this week was a disaster. I foolishly went into it thinking that it would be pretty easy and that I could just bull my way through the cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Yeah, right. It takes some planning and preparation just like much of anything else.
I finally made it back to the yard early this evening, dropped my trailer, and made a beeline to Wally World. I had a plan. I picked up a box of Nicoderm patches (wow are those suckers expensive!), some water, Gatorade, a bottle of alcohol to use to clean the skin before applying the patch (I'm told they stick better that way), and plenty of sugarless gum and sugarless sour candies.
Oh, and a bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans with which to treat myself if all goes well.
Tomorrow morning I'll be slapping on a patch and getting on with the business of quitting smoking once and for all. It still won't be easy but my earlier attempt did teach me a few things and I now have some better idea of what to expect as well as a decent game plan for dealing with the cravings and withdrawal in a more sane and realistic manner.