Could you evaluate a bit about the rewards, Kevin?
Money - i saved a couple thousand in the first year (i was pack and a half a day). because of money i was able to put a down payment on a new car and afford my own apartment, i'm also going back to school now
Time - i'd get into a bad bad habbit of smoking one cig, only to sit out there on my phone so long i'd be ready to have another. i'd do this for hours at a time and basically waste entire morning before work or evenings after work. hell, at least i could have been playing video games or something more fun, but no, i would sit there watching youtube, browsing and posting on Era (or GAF back then) and it always felt like a massive waste of time. now I have all that time back and it fucking great, i get so much shit done and feel accomplished af every day.
Energy - smoking just made me feel sluggish and ave no motivation for doing much else for that day. it fed into itself and made me not want to get chores done, workout, run errands, get out of the house and do something fun, etc. my energy level is at an all time high. and it's been like since i quit. i want to get stuff done in the morning (prime smoking time before i quit) like chores, errands, whatever, which leads into me having time to workout, plan something fun, go see my parents and more
Health - i was coughing up black pretty regularly, my chest hurt, it was difficult to breath sometimes (not always, but bad enough at times) so i couldn't really run, working out felt twice as hard because of no energy and my breathing was terriby so i wasn't getting the oxygen i needed, so because i had no cardio and i was barely using my muscles all day i was in terrrrbile shape. oh and my skin looked like shit
after i quit i started working out 3-5 days a week, eventually got up to running 2.5 miles a day, got fucking ripped lol, my skin cleared up like crazy, my eyes brightened and my teeth whitened, my appetite was back so i started eating well again, i mean, just in general i started to look hot lol! and have been told so by people here on Era and in real life. a lot of it had to do with working out hardcore though, so... here's a before and after comparison, i think the time is about a year and half after i quit, but had i not quit smoking i'm sure i'd never have had the time or energy or general healthy lungs to get this far...
Diet and tasting food again - i started being able to smell again, because smoking really desensitizes that, and thus began to taste my food again. this was a thing i had no idea how much i was missing because i had been smoking for so long i'd forgotten it... or really just never realized it to begin with. as a result i started eating healthier because the junk food i ate was too sweet or too salty, i actually couldn't stand as much of it as i used to be able to. i know kale salad isn't everyones cup o' tea but if you do it up right and can really taste all those fresh ingredients, it's a game changer for your food life.
not burning holes in my clothes on accident. it happened enough times.
keeping windows up in my car. which helped keep the clean fresh smell of my car in. also, cigs have flown back into my car (because i threw them out the window and littered like a fucking asshole) and burned the floors or seats
not smelling like cigs everywhere i went. people at work would comment, my parents would say something, my niece and nephew hated it and i loooove playing with them
no cigarette breath of course
when i leave the dentist i keep that nice fresh clean mouth feeling for hours afterwards, instead of lighting up immedately which is what i normally would do
girls... oh man, the girls came flocking. lol ok no they didn't... but it definitely helped a lot. and it's pretty much a result of all the above things.
i honestly could think of more but those are the first i spit out without even thinking about it. it's so worth it. smoking only feels nice for a short moment, that's literally the only good thing about it, but over time it feels fucking awful so even that doesn't make sense! Stick to it man. i can say that the craving never fully stooped, but they got much, much easier. i'm even at the point now where i don't really like the smell of someone smoking a cigarette like i used to. it's way too strong. so smelling someone else smoking is actually a turn off now.
sorry for the essay, i just love trying to help people see from my perspective when it comes to smoking and drinking because my quality of life has improved so vastly that i want other to experience that as well. good luck to you!
