How “later” helped me quit smoking
I grew up in Monroe, Connecticut. When I was about twelve or thirteen, my paper route took me through the center of town, past a cigarette machine where I could buy a pack for about 35 cents.
At first, smoking made me sick. I actually had to work at it. But I pushed through—and managed to become addicted, like so many people did.
I kept smoking through college. I remember leaning over a drafting board in architecture class with a cigarette going and even burning a hole in one of my drawings. Then I joined the Navy, became a supply officer, and kept right on smoking. At sea, I sometimes got up to two packs a day.
I tried to quit. More than once. I tried programs and various quitting aids. The harder I seemed to push with willpower, the harder something inside me pushed back.
Don't have it before dinner. Have it after dinner. After dinner came, and I pushed it to bedtime. Then tomorrow morning. Then later again.
Days became weeks. Weeks became years. Eventually, I deferred myself right out of smoking.
My father had once promised me $500 if I could honestly tell him I had gone a full year without a cigarette. The day finally came when I could tell him exactly that—and he made good on his promise.
That was more than four decades ago. I've been smoke-free for more than half my life.
— Forrest Greenwood
Sometimes “later” works better than “no.”
Later doesn't have to mean avoidance. It can mean giving an impulse time to cool off.
What can you put off?
No lifetime pledge. No streak. Just one decision moved down the road.