Quitters thread.

H

Houlahound

Joined
Aug 2, 2017
Messages
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Anyone trying to quit something that's not good for you or successfully done quit already post here for motivation.

Don't reveal too much about yourself or post anything that can be used against you.

Don't seek sympathy or make excuses - you will be disappointed.

6 months past something unhealthy this has happened;

Food has taste
Things have smell
I can sleep all night
More work gets done
More fun gets done
I paid off my debts
I can afford dumb shixt like collecting knives and be the first kid on my block to buy a Glonnas enabled watch with shot detection + other major cool shixt
.
.
.
etc

Make this your time to ascend.
 
Hmmm. Well, I'll bite.
I am coming up on two years of sobriety. I wasn't much for hard alcohol. I liked very strong hand crafted ales (9-12% ABV). I was also an avid home brewer. When life got tough, I found myself drinking instead of dealing with it, which made the problems worse, which made me more inclined to drink. At the height of my drinking, I was easily spending $200 a week on beer. Sometimes more. I was anxious, bad tempered, and hopelessly depressed about everything. Suffice to say that I eventually ended up in a place where the only options available to me were literally quitting or plunging headlong into the swirly gurgle. I managed to quit but as many find out, it is a constant task of vigilance and focus to remain quit.
The upside has been huge. It is good to wake up and remember everything that transpired the previous day. It lends continuity to life and helps everything make a little more sense. My health, both mental and physical, has been restored (I'm still nuts, but in a better way). But best of all has been the ability to put the fear of failure, pain, loss and ultimately death into their proper context so they don't rule my life. There's much more than that but it can be hard to put into words. Anyone who has walked a similar road probably knows what I mean. Let's just call it freedom and leave it at that.
In the first six months of this adventure, I had to face some pretty harsh stuff. But I was within my financial and emotional means to make a lot of it okay. The most remarkable incident was a freak tornado that ripped though our yard, taking some substantial trees down but which did no actual property damage (so no insurance payout or help with removal of said trees). This sparked a new found interest in chainsaws, vintage axes and subsequently knives. I am still working on those trees, by the way. But they were a gateway into a world of creativity for me. Restoring vintage axes that I actually use. Leather working, making sheaths for knives, axes and other things. I'm not great at any of it, but it keeps me from getting lost in the weeds and that's all I am after.
So, yeah. I quit drinking. I feel better. Now I buy axes and knives and I still don't spend as much money on those things as I did on booze. Thanks for reading.
 
Booze is problem the biggest drain on your wallet than any other factor in your life. The only other thing as heavy on the finances is what kind of vehicle you drive. And smoking. The cost of cigarettes is high and it's literally money going in smoke, and bad for your health as well.

I have a longterm friend with a problem. He's always short of money, and borderline broke. We're been. friends since high school and I like him. Good shooting partner and fishing buddy. But he's maybe the most finically responsible person I've known. He insisted on driving a jacked up F150 with lift kit and big tires that cost 1 grand or more to replace. He gets 10 miles per gallon and his monthly fuel cost os over 400 dollars a month. He drinks a lot of beer and spend a couple hundred a month on it. Never has any money and his credit card bills are killing him.

He constantly asks me how I, who has about the same income, always have money to go travel or buy a new gun, or whatever. I printout to him that I don't drink much and when I do its a bourbon and water. A fresh jug of Even Williams costs about 20 dollars a month. I drive a Toyota Corolla that gives me a monthly fuel bill of not more than 100 dollars month and costs 340 dollars for new tires every 50,000 miles. If Need a truck, I go rent one for a day. If I take a long trip to see family in California, I can make from Georgetown Texas to Mission Viejo California on 34 gallons of gas. Leaves more money to party and eat out in cali.

A lot of our purchases are ego driven. Clothes, cars, guns, whatever. Booze, cars and collecting hobbies can chew up a lot of money. Ask yourself what you really need to get by. Do you really need to spend that much money on that item, or is there an alternative that is less costly and just as effective?

Don't smoke you'll live longer. Hold down the drinking to social occasions or a one drink in the evening. Drive a mid range or compact car instead of large truck or SUV. You'll have way more money in your pocket than you thought possible.
 
Great thread as I have slowly come to the realization that my life will most likely be much better if I stop drinking alcohol. I've got some auto-immune stuff going on that alcohol seems to definitely make worse and of course my wallet will appreciate not having to pay for drinks. Also was introduced to something that I lovingly refer to as "The Gout" a few years back. When I'm not drinking I seem to have a much much lower chance of having a run in with The Gout and that's a good thing. I feel a billion times better without booze. Sleep better, exercise more, have more patience with the kids, and have a better life outlook in general. The most difficult part is that drinking is so engrained in our society and plays a major role in loads of social gatherings. But, I am going to give it my best shot and see how it goes.
EDIT: Let me add to this that I'm also trying to quit buying stuff that I don't need. Just sold off my last two Fenix E01 flashlights as well as....gulp....my Alox Pioneer. I'm going to go with a minimalist pocket carry. Vic Classic, Photon Freedom, and a Countycomm Pico Widgy Bar.
 
Go for it Gurdygurds! It strikes me that more folks end up trying to quit AFTER they get hit in the face with a proverbial 2x4. Being proactive and taking care of a problem before it becomes a problem is commendable. If you're thinking about it, what could it hurt to try it? If I knew then what I know now I would have quit long ago.
 
[QUOTE="Gurdygurds, post: 19185255, member: 353318"
EDIT: Let me add to this that I'm also trying to quit buying stuff that I don't need. Just sold off my last two Fenix E01 flashlights as well as....gulp....my Alox Pioneer. I'm going to go with a minimalist pocket carry. Vic Classic, Photon Freedom, and a Countycomm Pico Widgy Bar.[/QUOTE]

WOW!

As one who practices maximum minimalism, I have today I'm impressed all to heck. Really. You've taken into a higher plain that I am on and I salute you. I don't know if I cold ever give-up my Fenix E01, and even have a spare in the sick drawer if it goes out. My classic has been phased out for an executive as my sole EDC most days, and the Victoriox quarto and a P-38 will always be in my wallet. These items have ben such a long term every day thing I don't know if I could break the habit like you did. I still have my old classic on standby just in case. In castoff what, I really can't say, but habits are sooooo her to break.

You should become the Grand High Muckba of The Cult Of Maximum Minimalism!
 
For those that have quit and fallen off the wagon multiple times, keep at it. I've quit smoking several times. The last time was finally the last time.

The wife and I quit smoking February of 2012 when cigarettes were ~5/pack. We were just under "pack-a-day" smokers and split a carton a week so we were around five packs/week each.

If my rough calculations are correct, with the increase to $7/pack, over the past 7.5 years we've saved ~$22,000. Half of which was taxes that I was freely handing over to the government.
 
Easy there sir! This is just the beginning for me. I'm going to give this a shot, although I don't know why it won't work for me. My pocket knife NEEDS are minimal to begin with and I can get by without actually having a flashlight on me most of the time. The Widgy Bar will be the muscle when prying with the screwdriver\file isn't an option. This type of downsizing and quitting the impulsive buying is as much about being realistic as it is for my mental sanity. I've found myself spending a moronic amount of time reading forums, researching "stuff" that I MIGHT need at some random point in time. When I look at things realistically and think rationally I can get by just fine with quite little. So....that's what I'm going to try to do. Quitting this stuff isn't easy. In fact now that I sold my flashlights, my Pioneer, and a few other knives and items, there is some money sitting in my Paypal. My knee jerk reaction is to start searching for something to spend it on. For example my mind starts telling me, "Hey! Now we don't have any type of fixed blade knife at the house! What if we go camping?"And I impulsively start searching online for more knives! It's crazy! In my drawer I still have a serrated Spyderco Dragonfly which i clip to my waistband while trail running and for now that's going to stay. Believe it or not in my area of North Texas there were multiple coyote attacks on joggers not too long ago. So for now it's going to stay as it gives me a little piece of mind when I'm out doing my thing. It's not that the "Things" are evil, and I love looking at the cool knives and seeing people's collections. But my brain is very susceptible to becoming overly obsessed with thinking about and researching the "things" and it takes me away from what is really important. So there you have it! I'm trying to become a master of wanting what I already have. So the maximum minimalism posts and posts like this QUITTERS THREAD always resonate with me and help keep me on the right path...FOR ME.
jackknife said:
[QUOTE="Gurdygurds, post: 19185255, member: 353318"
EDIT: Let me add to this that I'm also trying to quit buying stuff that I don't need. Just sold off my last two Fenix E01 flashlights as well as....gulp....my Alox Pioneer. I'm going to go with a minimalist pocket carry. Vic Classic, Photon Freedom, and a Countycomm Pico Widgy Bar.
Click to expand...

WOW!

As one who practices maximum minimalism, I have today I'm impressed all to heck. Really. You've taken into a higher plain that I am on and I salute you. I don't know if I cold ever give-up my Fenix E01, and even have a spare in the sick drawer if it goes out. My classic has been phased out for an executive as my sole EDC most days, and the Victoriox quarto and a P-38 will always be in my wallet. These items have ben such a long term every day thing I don't know if I could break the habit like you did. I still have my old classic on standby just in case. In castoff what, I really can't say, but habits are sooooo her to break.

You should become the Grand High Muckba of The Cult Of Maximum Minimalism![/QUOTE]
 
Gurdygurds,
Everything you describe can be attributed to me as well. The amount of time I was spending on forums, seeing all the 'new' stuff I needed to get through my day was starting to get scary. Almost to the point of obsessive. I realized that the forums were actually fueling my quest for more and better flashlights, more guns, more knives. When I started o limit my time on the 'net, I noticed that it was a repeat of what I felt years ago when I did my first great downsize; an awakening like coming-out of a temporary insanity. Again I looked at all the stuff I had accumulated again, and thought what the heck was I doing with all this stuff again!:eek:

It was like a drunk that had fallen off the wagon and had to go sober again. "My name is Carl, and I'm a forum gear junkie." :(

I find that I can get by very well with my little bit of gear like the Fenix E01, Vic classic or executive, and a P-38. Sometimes the executive gets replaced with a Leatherman squirt for a day or two. I find out that with senior citizen arthritic fingers, a small pliers is often handy. And the squirt blade is enough for 99% of my pocket knife needs, as is the classic. I still like the simplicity of the smaller classic, and if through backpackers on the Appalachian and Pacific coast trail can get by with a classic, thats a great vote of confidence.

Theres been an attack by a coyote here in the Texas hill country, and a couple sightings of mountain lion, so a small handgun is always in my right hand pocket. At my age I'm not going one on one with some animal with just a blade.

Staying away form the forums more and keeping track of the things that really matter in life, I find myself not caring near as much as I used to about 'stuff'. You're on the right track, Gurdygurds, stay on it. Once I stopped buying new knives, guns, and EDC gear that everyone thinks you can't do without, it's amazing how much more money the better half and I have to spend. Having jus tone drink a night, eating healthier with more salads and spending time not on the forums but out walking, we each lost 10 pounds in a few months, feel better, and had money to go spend three nights at the Hotel Havana in San Antonio and eat our on the river walk and sight see.

It's an amazing experience to go out with just a little keychain knife, tiny flashlight, and wallet and feel light and liberated. I've said goodbye to the whole over blown EDC thing and just carry what my dad carried in his day. It works out fine.
 
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Booze, partake in moderation. Easier said than done if you're an alcoholic. All the programs to help you get off booze are voluntary. You can want to do something and then you see how hard it is, you go home and get back into the same old habits.

Smoking, best to quit if you can. My suggestion is if you must get your dose of nicotine, do it with a pipe and don't inhale. It's still smoking from an insurance point of view. Restrict smoking to time outdoors. That is difficult.

Money.... resist spending money on stuff you just want.

I am definitely a gadget guy. I just like to play around with stuff. Flashlights.... yeah, I use them all the time and like them. But I won't spend $100 on a flashlight unless hell freezes over.

BUT, don't loose sight of YOU. You are what you are and not what other people want you to be. If you like knives, buy a knife or two from time to time because it is your hobby. Guns.... same thing. But with many guns approaching $1000 a pop these days, I personally have weened myself away from buying most things and try to enjoy what I have already. You have to be you or you might as well crawl into a hole and die.

I have a friend who made the comment that he would rather cut off his man thing than quit smoking.... Guess what? He had a medical condition develop and he quit smoking in one day. He still has his man thing too.
 
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22-rimfire said:
I am definitely a gadget guy. I just like to play around with stuff. Flashlights.... yeah, I use them all the time and like them. But I won't spend $100 on a flashlight unless hell freezes over.

BUT, don't loose sight of YOU. You are what you are and not what other people want you to be. If you like knives, buy a knife or two from time to time because it is your hobby. Guns.... same thing. But with many guns approaching $1000 a pop these days, I personally have weened myself away from buying most things and try to enjoy what I have already. You have to be you or you might as well crawl into a hole and die.
Click to expand...

Great points!!!!

Thats the veil of the forums, you don't end up being you, but instead fall for the "Oh look, so-and-so's just bought an XYZ super ninja folder" and then you get beguiled by the nice photos and order one jus like it. I've seen it on the general forums and in the traditional forum. Someone posts a new GEC whatever, and next others are ordering one form whatever website that sells theater priced boutique knives. Never loose sight of who you ar,e what you are, and where you are. Not everyone can get by with a tiny keychain SAK, but not everyone needs a heavy duty survival knife capable of clear cutting large swaths of Amazon rain forest.

Flashlights. Yeah, they come one handy, and for my whole life I noticed that gets dark at night. Humans have pretty poor eyesight at night, and small pocket light is a nice thing. B ut do Need a 100 dollar whiz bang that will sear the optic nerves of a tree's raccoon at 100 yards? So far I've got by for over a decade with a little Fenix E01 on my keyring. Enough light to see what I dropped between the seat and console of the cat at night, or finding what the better half dropped on the floor of a darkened movie theater.

People tend to over spend on items because of hype and marketing. I keep telling myself "I am not a caped crusader out save Gotham. I am not the Lone Ranger. I'm a white haired senior citizen, how much do I need."

Don't over do it. Just enough will do.
 
No question about it.... I have purchased a lot of knives that I would likely have never known existed without Blade Forum's influence. I am trying to change that somewhat, but I would rather just decrease the purchases rather than going cold turkey. That applies to other vices as well. As my brother told me, even if money is tight, you still have to have fun.
 
Almost 11 years sober. I had family who picked me up and moved 100 miles away from where I was. I got a fresh start. I'm very thankful for that.

My two biggest fights recently have been weight gain and kicking the pop/soda habit. Kicking the pop/soda habit is going well. I switched to diet soda (I know, still not healthy) and since I hate the taste, my pop/soda consumption is waaay down. That will help me with the weight loss.

Thankfully I never went down the coffee or cig road.
 
gazz98 said:
Almost 11 years sober. I had family who picked me up and moved 100 miles away from where I was. I got a fresh start. I'm very thankful for that.

My two biggest fights recently have been weight gain and kicking the pop/soda habit. Kicking the pop/soda habit is going well. I switched to diet soda (I know, still not healthy) and since I hate the taste, my pop/soda consumption is waaay down. That will help me with the weight loss.

Thankfully I never went down the coffee or cig road.
Click to expand...

gazz, just knocking the sugar out of your diet can work miracles. Just 6 months ago my weight was 184, my sugar was 6.2, and I was pre diabetic. Cutting out the soda's and sweets, drinking my coffee and tea mostly black, cutting way back on the carbs, now weight is 174, sugar is down to 5.7, and I feel better. Drinking is cut waaaay back to one drink a night. Maybe two if theres company. But under no circumstances do I pass my two drink a night limit. An hours walk every morning before anything else helps.

Tobacco has been cut to one pipe in the evening. A pound of pipe tobacco lasts me almost a year now. I make it a point to never take my pipe with me when I leave the house like I used to. Not having a pipe or tobacco pouch on my person has worked. The upshot is, once I got used to the new regiment, I don't even miss the sugar, booze, or tobacco during the course of the day.

I really believe in moderation in all things. It works.
 
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As far as me trying to quit something, I have lessened my knife purchases exponentially. I still make purchases, but very rarely. Normally, when I feel the itch to get a new one, I'll hold off for a month or two (or three). Most of the time, by then I don't want it anymore. And mostly I use the change accumulated in a large change jar. You'd be amazed how much change accumulates. I take rolls of quarters and dimes and deposit them into the bank, or use them to pay off my credit card at the bank. I don't use my credit card for normal shopping in stores, buying gas or etc.

Jim
 
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I always find it funny how BF's threads pop up relative to my life. Beginning of this month I told myself I am going to stop smoking by the end of August. And sure enough this thread made at the start of August.

Just turned 34 this month, and that number made me feel older then 33:) And I also woke up short of breath the other morning, which scared me out of it a bit. I cut back from a full pack(sometimes over) to about a half so far.

But like alot of you, I have cut soda out mostly. One Monster a day(which is going with the cigs), then water or diluted juice. Not buying so much unnecessary stuff, and giving some effort to eating better and staying away from my sweets.

I figured between using the well being of my children/personal health and the money spent on cigs should be more then enough motivation for me. I figured I spend over $2200 yearly on cigs now(double that for the wife's share).

Which is enough to pay off our last credit card. And save up for the watch I always wanted as well. I know the watch thing kind of contradicts the unnecessary stuff thing, but honestly it helps me to stick with it til I feel the benefits of not smoking again. And I think it will be a nice goal/momento of living and becoming a healthy and better me.
 
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