[memyselfI]

The gratification of knowing that you are doing society, your family and loved ones, and most importantly YOURSELF a huge service by quitting really should be motivation enough to help people quit. But it's not, and thus it's important to recognize that. This is a minute by minute battle in the beginning, then hour by hour, then day by day, month by month and before you know it it will be year by year until you are at the point of revulsion at the thought of a cigarette. It is then that you know you are home free...(hubby has been there for four years now)

So, in the early minute by minute stages just realize that every step you take away from cigarettes is a step closer to being free from them. You need to reward yourself for your successes (seemingly small as they might be in the beginning, they are HUGE) and feel free to indulge yourself in other guilty pleasures while you are quitting.

My husband put the money he'd spend on cigarettes into a jar. In the beginning he rewarded himself with ice cream (oral gratifcation) or a different kind of treat at the end of the day. Then after he could make it through a few days he'd save up the money and at the end of the week by a book or CD. After a couple of weeks a really nice dinner to celebrate, etc. Pretty soon he got to the point where he could just save the money as the reward. But until he got there he needed to indulge himself in other ways that not only rewarded his good choices but kept him tangibly focused on what he was trying to do long term.

In the end the material rewards meant little compared to those that he got from quitting to benefit society, his family and loved ones, and himself.