#10 - When it's time to quit
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I remember my first cigar. I was 16 years old in the parking lot of my alma mater. The local health board had prevented my team from traveling to Nationals – a competition we had been preparing all year for. The reason? Why the H1N1 “Swine flu” of course. The worst part? My team was supposed to leave for Florida that day. Instead of evacuating campus per the orders of the school, we had an unapproved barbeque in the parking lot, and a couple of the seniors went to buy cigars for everyone. If memory serves mine was watermelon flavored. Today I probably wouldn’t want one of that quality, but then? I remember thinking “so this is what I’ve been missing.”
When I got to college, like so many others, I started smoking cigarettes regularly, and around 21 years old, I switched to vaping. This was the early days, before most people knew what a “vape” was. I have a tackle box you could use a museum of vaporizes, tanks, coils, and other paraphernalia all dedicated to a better way to consume nicotine.
Fast forward 7 years I am the definition of a nicotine addict. Then, I started to learn about the work of Dr. Matthew Walker at sleepdiplomat.com and the importance of sleep. He also talked about how nicotine and other stimulants negatively impact your capacity for REM sleep. There were health concerns surrounding vaping, but many were a consequence of media hype. Late last year you’ll recall that there were a rash of young teens dying that was attributed to vape usage. To my knowledge, this was largely traced to black market cannabis usage not nicotine vapes. Still it got me thinking about how dependent I had become on vaping, and how much it shaped how I interacted with the world.
Then one day late last year, I was leaving for a week-long trip to see customers, when I realized I forgot my vape at home. Rather than turn around or go buy a new one (something I had done before) I decided to buy a pack of Nicorette instead. I figured I may as well try weaning myself off the substance, if for no other reason than to test my resolve and will power. I backslid the next week at a trade show, so November 19, 2020 will mark one year since I used a nicotine vaporizer.
It was not easy breaking my daily addiction. It probably took about two and a half months before the lozenges were enough, and I didn't have cravings. I then went 60 days with no nicotine where I learned a valuable lesson – it’s a very useful stimulant for road warriors such as myself in emergencies. Today, I still enjoy an occasional cigar or a piece of Lucy Gum (referral code here, I like the pomegranate) when I need a little extra focus, but I’m not tied to a vaporizer or pack of cigarettes; and that is a cool feeling.
Quitting nicotine was a difficult choice that seemed daunting. I love my job, but when you’re not happy at work quitting can seem like just as daunting a task. You have become accustomed to the environment, the people, and of course the paycheck. The brilliant thing about tools like LinkedIn and other is that you can start to break the bad habits of complacency you have been become comfortable with, and replace them with at least marginally better choices. The goal when I stopped vaping was never to cut nicotine out of my life, but to see if I was able to go without it. Challenging yourself is uncomfortable, bu the cliché certainly rings true, it’s the only way to grow.