OK!!!

[amyakieran.livejournal.com]

SOOO! I just got the best idea EVER for how to keep myself motivated to quit smoking. Well, as we all know nicotine perpetuates a reward system in the brain (I have no idea how to better explain that, but yeh you know what I'm talking about, I hope)... And through habit, this becomes a conscious thing. You crave a cigarette, then you smoke one. WELLL I have decided that the biggest thing that would help me to quit is realizing how much it'll save me, and in turn help me to save for some serious long term goals (a kitty, cross-country/oversea adventures, equipment for herbal medicine making, etc). I figured out that each cigarette costs about $.35 so I wrote that on my just finished pack.

What I'm wanting to do, which is why I'm posting this here, is I want something (other than actually using thirty five cents) that I can signify the money I'm saving (and to create an alternative reward system) for each craving I do not smoke a cigarette. I want it to be something that I can take with me everywhere/anywhere (as my previous attempts to quit have shown me that being around other smokers is HIGHLY unavoidable and is really what causes me to fold helplessly) is easy to keep track of, isn't too heavy/bulky/weird, and is more than just doing tally marks on a piece of paper.

I thought about using pennies or pieces of paper, but I'm still wondering what you guys might be able to come up with! (I was thinking about putting them in the empty pack.)

P.S.
I'm totally going to cheat with this... Especially when I'm around smokers... I'll be like putting 23987987 times more than I would in fact smoke otherwise, just to really keep me motivated! :D

THANKS IN ADVANCE and feel free to share this idea for your or your loved ones' quitting endeavors!