I recently passed the milestone of 3 years after quitting smoking (on October 26).
I think it is important to celebrate these milestones. For me, it helps to look at the benefits I’ve gained over time. So here are my statistics, assuming that I smoked one pack each day at 4 dollars per pack:
Over the last 3 years, I avoided smoking over 22 thousand cigarettes. That’s what I would have smoked had I not quit.
That 3 years worth of cigarettes would have cost me $4,608 dollars.
The actual time I would have spent smoking those 22 thousand cigarettes would have added up to over 76 days of continuous smoking. That is at 5 minutes per cigarette. If you don’t believe it, simply get out a calculator and do the math. A pack-a-day smoker wastes over a month out of each year engaged in the act of smoking!
From a productivity standpoint, this is astounding. Not only do you gain back years in life expectancy by quitting, but you are gaining back enormous amounts of time that used to be wasted on the actual act of smoking. And as smoking becomes more and more taboo in our society, the lengths we have to go to in order to smoke get bigger and bigger (like having to smoke outside, further away from buildings, etc.).
Now I realize that quitting smoking and recovering from drugs and alcohol are 2 different things, but they are similar enough that we can draw some useful parallels.
Why it’s worth acknowledging and celebrating milestones in recovery
I think it is worth celebrating these milestones in recovery because they become positive motivation for us. The milestones generate momentum. Success breeds success.
In the beginning of our recovery, we were miserable from our addiction, and there was very little that could motivate us that was actually positive. We finally surrendered to the disease of addiction because we were miserable, not because we were promised this great new life in recovery. In fact, many of us did not even believe that we could be happy again without drugs and alcohol, but we were miserable enough to give it a try anyway.
After we get some clean time and transition into the creative life in recovery, we no longer have to motivate ourselves with misery. Now we are enjoying a creative life and want to stay clean and sober to pursue further growth in recovery. (The point of life is life!).
It is the same way with quitting smoking. The motivation that you use in order to get yourself to quit smoking is not the same motivation that you use to maintain abstinence from cigarettes for the rest of your life. Why should it be? You are growing and changing and learning new things as you continue to stay smoke free.
Over time, your attitude should shift to one of gratitude. Celebrating the milestones helps us to focus on that gratitude; to cultivate it. I enjoy checking my stats every year for quitting smoking and seeing how much time and money I’ve saved. Acknowledging these tremendous benefits can help us from slipping back into the mindset that we are “missing out on something.”
Action items – What you can do:
1) Embrace gratitude for your progress in recovery.
2) Tally up your savings in time, money, and life expectancy that you have gained by being in recovery.
3) Work with newcomers to remember where you came from (this helps with the gratitude part!).
Recommended Reading
- Overcoming Addiction
- Addiction Recovery is about Discovering New Layers of Information
- 5 Ways to Supercharge Your Recovery, Avoid Relapse, and Dominate Your Addiction Over the Holiday Season
- 10 Ways to Embrace Creative Recovery and Take Your Sobriety to the Next Level
- Holistic Addiction Treatment Center
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey! Congratulations on your milestone. I have never smoked, but I have noticed here in Chicago cigarettes are almost $8.00 per pack. Unhealthy habbits are expensive and costly.
Thanks, Steven. Seems like the price will keep going up in the future, too. So glad to be rid of that habit, and all the hidden costs associated with it….
Congrats! That’s a great way to look at it from the milestones perspective. Since I quit I tend to look at it from a what I gained by quitting. I gained being able to actually SMELL my own perfume. I gained being able to SMELL the air fresheners I use in my house not laced with smoke. When I smoked I had no clue how bad I smelled to other people when I came inside fresh from a cigarrette. Now I understand.
Yes the habit was expensive but the health benefits far outweigh the expense… it was so worth quiting. I never thought I’d ever be one to say this. I’m soo glad I quit! And to anyone who wants to I’ll be the first one to tell you… no it isn’t easy you have to be ready to do it..really ready in your mind. I highly suggest painting your house first an start smoking outside so it’s a pain in the ass. That kind of gets you a little mentally ready. Then one day just do it. I learned one thing when I was struggling with cravings. (like the morning craving with coffee) find something to do while drinking coffee. Send funny e-mails, chat with a friend on the phone, write your to-do list for the day anything to keep your hands busy while drinking that cup. Preferably something with a pen or pencil that resembles a cig. One thing that I know is definately true…the craving for a cigarrette lasts for about 12 minutes. If you can get through that 12 minutes, your going to be just fine cause it passes.
I too have quit smoking three years ago and I feel a lot healthier.The extra money saved from not smoking allowed me to pay off my car and all of my debts.Climbing 4 flights of stairs due to a broken elevator and not feeling like I am going to die is priceless. :-)
@ Sherri – Good job Sherri! Three years is huge. You have saved thousands of dollars in that time, and the health increase is priceless, as you say. Awesome stuff! You inspire others to quit too!
well I’ve just finished 5 weeks, its not quite 3 years but i feel really happy just to have got this far