SOPS V.2 - Incentivize

I have been thinking the last few days about my pipe smoking again.  Here is a brief summary of what has been going on in my mind:

1.  I have decided to become a Special Occasion Pipe Smoker (SOPS).  This means that on certain pre-approved occasions I can have a pipe, or two or three.  These would typically be at a visit with my elderly father-in-law (typically once a week or once every other week), or when attending a wedding reception or potentially a graduation party, etc.

2.  In SOPS V.1 (version 1), I found I was fairly successful in not smoking my pipes when I deemed it not appropriate.  In my calculation of that time, I was roughly 94% successful.

3.  When I was successful, I was feeling motivated to do SOPS.

4.  I have now gone back to smoking my pipe, albeit at roughly only 30% of my former rate.

5.  The difference is that I simply do not feel the same motivation to do SOPS.

Why?

I am not sure why, however, what I am sure of is that  I can tell you a variety of things about my experience going back to daily pipe smoking:

1.  I can notice I do not feel as good as when I was practicing SOPS.  Things  I feel that I dislike include a return of the phlegmy feeling in my chest,   my skin (especially my face and hands) feels exceptionally dry like it had before, I feel more tired, I feel more general aches and pains.

2.  When I was practicing SOPS at the 94% rate, I felt I slept better, my skin felt far less dry, I lost the phlegmy feeling in my chest, and I jogged far more easily. 

Now, it *may* be that *some* of the greater positives I felt during SOPS were due to the fact that they occurred between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Perhaps I was "giddy with holiday spirit".  It is possible, but in reality I do not think the holiday spirit contributed to my positive feelings.  I think they were REAL physical feelings that were positive.

So, why am I smoking my pipes (albeit at 30% of the former rate)?    It all boils down to motivation, I believe.  I somehow lost my motivation.  It started with Christmas Eve and Day, and from that point, my motivation was rocky, if not absent ever since. 

So, what to do? 

I think I need to adopt SOPS Version 2.  And, for V2 to work, I am going to try to (prepare for the horridly wretched, nearly pop cultural, almost Orwellian term) "incentivize" my efforts.  I apparently was able to "incentivize" myself with walking, because (I just counted) today is the 1,586th day in a row where I walked OUTSIDE, for roughly 5 miles, regardless of weather, holiday, health, or anything.  The walking effort has been so successful that I have expanded to jogging and regular weight training at the gym.

Why has walking been successful? 

It was not because I felt better (I felt better with SOPS V1), it was not that I lost weight (I have not gained or lost weight during SOPS V1).  I am firmly convinced that the reason why I have kept up with the walking for EVERY SINGLE DAMN DAY for 1,586 days is because of the NUMBER!  I was motivated to keep the number going higher (instead of back to zero) even when I was sick, even when I did not want to walk, even when I forgot sometimes until 10 o'clock at night.  The growing number MOTIVATED me.

So, today, I begin SOPS V2.  My goals are the same.... to only smoke 1, 2, or 3 bowls of pipe tobacco ONLY during a predesignated special occasion.  These would typically be at a visit with my elderly father-in-law (typically once a week or once every other week), or when attending a wedding reception or potentially a graduation party, etc.

I will keep a running tally of the number of days of my success in a row with SOPS V2 without screwing up.  I remember when I started walking, I did not feel much in the way of "number motivation" until I hit 30 days in a row without missing a day.  Then I started thinking that I just *MIGHT* be able to get to 50, then 100, etc until I am where I am now at 1586.

I am wondering if the number game would work for me in SOPS V2 as well?  I cannot really state why the increasing number motivates me, but it does.  So, I am going to give it a try.

I am starting today with SOPS V2.  I am thinking about whether or not I should count as a success day, the days when I smoke my pipe on an approved day?  At this time, I am thinking that I *should* count that day  because I still did what I said I would do.  But, on the other than, perhaps I should only count those days when I abstain, and give myself a pass on the days when I smoke my pipe ON AN APPROVED day?    The pass would allow me to keep my number rising as an indication of success.

I am not sure which numbering system I shall adopt.  But, I do know that today is day #1 of SOPS V.2.

PipeTobacco

Today's (Thursday's) Goal = 0 bowls
(the official start of SOPS V.2)

Wednesday's [1/23] Goal = 0 bowls
Actual consumption (Tuesday) = 5  bowls