Back to the Real World!

Hey everyone,

As some of you might have noticed I have not been posting on Steemit for a while now and also as you might have read on my latest post I decided to stop smoking cigarettes a while back. So the reason for my absence is that I have had a rough time trying to keep my mind busy and as I noticed during the first few days that sitting at my computer all day didn't cut it. I started to get stressed out and couldn't focus on anything for more than a couple of seconds.

It has now been 11 days, 5 hours and 13 minutes since my last cigarette and I am finally starting to feel better. The days have gone by very slow for me but it's been getting easier and easier as time has passed. I've tried logging on to Steemit and have probably started about fifty different posts since I decided to quit smoking only to lose my temper and flip out when I couldn't focus on writing. Today I finally woke up feeling better and actually being able to put my focus into something that matters. I decided to share my progress with you on staying smoke-free and also what I've been doing during this time.

To start off here are my stats on the app that I've been using since I quit. It has really helped out during cravings to look at the progress and know that it's not all for nothing.

Now after all this time it really sounds insane to spend around two thousand euros a year on smoking something that's as dangerous as tobacco. I am going to continue using the app as long as I feel I need to be able to remind myself of my goals!

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The first couple of days went by incredibly slow and after a while I realized that sitting inside would drive me insane. So I called up a buddy who I knew didn't smoke and asked what he was up to. I left for the city shortly afterwards to meet him and after some catching up we started walking around the centre! It was kind of sunny that day so we decided to go hiking along a trail that goes through this beautiful island called Ruissalo. On our way there we passed my buddys art exhibition which was in the city. It was a window exhibition which basically means you pay the place to let you hang up your art in the window. Sounds like the opposite of Steemit so I was pretty excited to introduce him to the platform. To my surprise he had already created an account a while back when I had first mentioned it to him but he never really understood it so he never got properly started. I tried my best to explain it to him and I think he really liked the whole idea. Here is a picture of his paintings. He really is amazing and I hope soon we will get to see his art here.

And here is another one of the whole window. The reflection made it a little difficult to get a good picture but as I mentioned we might have it here on Steemit soon enough!

Go ahead and check out his account and first post at @kasper.august where you can follow him so you don't miss out on his posts when they start coming! Also if you want to see more of his art right now you can check out his Instagram account aswell at the same username. After a while we continued on towards the island of Ruissalo.

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Ruissalo

We arrived at the island after about an hour and took the first path into the trail. We stopped at a few spots to catch our breath and also get some sun. It was really beautiful that day and here are some photos I took during the hike:

It really felt great to be outside and this was probably the first time that cigarettes didn't cross my mind for a whole day. The only thing you could worry about was ticks and fortunately they never bite me so there was nothing for me to worry about other than walking. Which felt perfect. Here is another photo from one of the spots we stopped at:

Another one!

After this picture was taken we started walking back towards the start of the trail so that we could head back to the city. I got home pretty late that day and I was really exhausted so falling asleep was no problem like it had been the days before due to the nicotine.

Since then I've been staying outside as much as possible and I've been trying to avoid as much smoke as I could.

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It feels great to be back on Steemit and finally being able to focus on posting again! I missed all of you and I hope you've all been well! :)

Take care everyone and have a great rest of the week!

Peace out, Strawhat