I recently hit two years tobacco free and I have to say it feels great. It is hard to think about what two years down the road would look like when you are actively using tobacco, but remember, we all started at a day one when we decided to quit dipping. So what does two years of freedom feel like?
I don’t have craves anymore. Every once in a while I will be doing something that I strongly associated with dipping and I have a passing thought that a dip would be nice. This is not a crave though, it is the last whispering death throes of the nic bitch. I have my foot on her neck and I am never letting off. This passing thought might happen once every 2-3 months.
I have saved $5111 in two years by ditching smokeless tobacco. That is just incredible to think about. In essence, I have given myself a $2500 bonus each of the two years I have been tobacco free. Is there something you could use $2500 for this year? All the sudden that toy you want looks a little more affordable. A $700 kayak, $1000 gun and what else do you want? You can have your toy just for doing something that is healthy. That is what I talk about a win/win.
One of the biggest things I enjoy doing since I quit dipping tobacco is helping others. It is a great feeling to give someone encouragement who is looking down the barrel of their addiction and ready to take the challenge of becoming tobacco free head on. Honestly, the success rate is not that high, but there ARE people who quit. The ones you help along the way who succeed become one of your very own success stories. The guys that were there for me two years ago are still there for me today. We don’t check in daily because we are trying to not dip, we have already won that battle. We check in daily because we want to help new quitters and because we have become friends along this journey. We share life stories, success, failures and we definitely have a lot of laughs. In general, we all push each other to be better people. The underlying current is that we have all done something noteworthy and we want to help someone else do the same.
I tell you what is addicting that is good for you., improving yourself. When you quit tobacco you might find yourself looking for the next challenge. It is pretty easy to find something else to improve on once you kick the can out of your life. many people will set other 100 day challenges for health improvement. For example, many quitters set a weight loss challenge after 100 days of quitting smokeless tobacco. I mean, if you can quit dipping, you can drop a few pounds right? The fact is, there is very few things in your life that you will accomplish that are harder than quitting dip. After you clear that hurdle you realize you can do so much more in your life.
So what does it feel like after 2 years dip free? Well, I am no longer worried about getting cancer or losing all my teeth. My wallet is fatter. I have started doing other healthier things in my life – diet/exercise. I don’t feel guilty about breaking promises to myself or others anymore. I have at least a dozen people who have supported me who I call friends now. I know if for some reason I did have an urge to dip all I would have to do is reach out and these friends would be there to walk me off the ledge. I don’t think this will happen but it is cheap insurance to stay in touch with my group of quitters.
The bottom line is that it feels good – really good. It’s hard to see a few days ahead without tobacco when you are actively dipping. I promise you this though, it is worth it. Your quit journey is like an onion with many layers. The first days/weeks you see a ton of benefits of quitting. The benefits don’t stop there though. 2 years after quitting I am still uncovering benefits. For example, as I write this my 2 kids ages 3 and 6 are watching cartoons and I realize they will never remember that dad dipped snuff. Yeah, that feels good.
Ever heard about ED and using snuff?