I Forgot About Safety?

                At a delivery last week, I saw a poster on the wall outside the breakroom with a cartoon drawing of a man with a bandage on his head, black eye, broken nose, arm in a sling and on a crutch.  On the poster it said, “I forgot about safety for one moment.”  That poster really ticked me off.

          I had this great post all worked out in my head then I decided to look up the word “forget” on the dictionary app on my phone.  (Yes, I’m that nerd that has a dictionary app on my phone.  A thesaurus, too.)

Merriam-Webster defines “forget” as”

    1.   To be unable to think of or remember (something),

    2.   To fail to remember to bring or take (something),

    3.   To stop thinking or caring about (someone)

I was all set to blast that poster right out of the water in this post until I saw the third definition.  And here I thought I was so smart.  BTW, the synonym listed for the word “forget” is “neglect.”  The first two definitions make forgetting sound like something that happens unintentionally, but the third one nails it.

Safety rules don’t leave our brains.  None of us (out of training) wake up in the morning not knowing we should do a pre-trip.  People don’t suddenly not know that they should lift with their knees, not their backs.  Seatbelts have been in motor vehicles for years.  None of this is new information.  I don’t know the exact number, but I believe that the majority of tickets, accidents and injuries would be prevented if people would stop neglecting the safety rules they absolutely do know.

To me, “I forgot” sounds like the beginning of a really crappy excuse.  It ranks right up there with “I didn’t mean to…” in my mind.  I’m a firm believer in being intentional and owning my crap.  When we use excuses, we rob ourselves of the opportunity to become better and no one buys them anyway, so why bother?

When I was in high school, one of my teachers had this quote up on her wall.  I have no idea who said it, but I love it and still quote it 30 years later.

“Excuses are tools of the incompetent.  Those who use them build monuments to nowhere and seldom amount to anything.”

Welcome To The Quitters Club

          I had my last cigarette on February 4th.  I haven’t yelled at anyone, cried, gotten road rage, or had to hide a body.  I think I’m doing pretty well.  I started smoking when I was 13.  I don’t feel old telling you that I’m 47, but I think I sound old when I say I’ve been smoking for 34 years.  I know, I’m weird.

          I spent a year talking myself into doing this.  No, I’m not doing it for my health.  If I was quitting for my health, I would have done it over twenty years ago.  My great motivation is that I’m tired of stinking like an ashtray.  The smell I used to crave so much has gotten quite offensive to me.    

          It really doesn’t matter what my WHY is.  What’s important is that I have a strong enough WHY to see it through.  There are plenty of solid reasons to quit smoking and I will reap the benefits of all of them no matter what my motivator is.

          I’m using a vape to quit because I know that quitting cold turkey turns me into a raving lunatic, I’m allergic to the adhesive on the patches, the gum and lozenges taste like pepper and I hate pepper.  This isn’t my first try, but this is the one I feel the most positive about.

          I started out at a level 6 nicotine and my plan is to cut down to a 3 on June 1^st, 0 in September and then on New Years Eve I’m going to pack up all my vaping supplies and be done.  I know my limits.  I know that trying to break the nicotine habit and the physical habit is a recipe for failure for me, so I’m doing it this way.

          Two people I know commented that everyone they knew that had tried to quit smoking using a vape went right back to cigarettes.  I can think of three people right off the top of my head that quit successfully using a vape, so I know it can be done.  I don’t believe in applying my “can’t” to other people’s lives and I don’t allow other people to apply theirs to mine.

          If you smoke, don’t worry that I’m going to be obnoxious to you about it.  I know that everyone walks their own path.  If and when you come to a place where you decide to quit, I will be your biggest cheerleader, but if that never happens, I promise to never forget what it felt like to “not be there.”

          Feel free to help hold me accountable.