After remaining 100% nicotine free for the indicated period of time:

The quit smoking color club milestone designations seen at Turkeyville and other sites were created in August 2000 at the Freedom support group as a means to both celebrate recovery and credential quitters. Almost immediate widespread acceptance and use, they invite us to take pride in our accomplishments, to set new goals, and to identify how long others have been free.

Although color clubs are a great way to mark recovery, let's never forget that each and every hour and day that we continue to remain nicotine-free is a victory in itself. Here and now, that next challenge (if any), is all that really matters, and it is vastly more important than any accomplishment definitions invented by me.

It's also important to appreciate that today's healing and glory belongs exclusively to you and that we're each responsible for recognizing and taking pride in getting here. Do not expect others to recognize or feel it for you. Thousands of quitters within the group, there's far too much happening, too many needs, and so little time.

Most of our members only have a few minutes each day to read and/or post. Like you, they work hard and their lives are full. When visiting, how can they best devote the precious minutes they have? How would you recommend that they spend them? If we are "expecting" others to rise in joyous celebration of our individual accomplishments then we will each at some point be horribly disappointed.

We have milestone parades almost every day. If our very special day has not yet been acknowledged, it's only because we failed to join the celebration.

Although the colors quickly share our achievement and credentials with visitors and new members, in truth the Law of Addiction applies equally to all. No matter how far we travel our arrested dependency travels with us. We each remain equal in being just one puff away from relapse.

Don't let online support become a crutch. It is a recovery tool and amazing resource built upon giving, but only "you" can protect your core motivations, and the dreams flowing from them. Don't trust them to a quitting buddy, to fears that may subside, to a busy doctor's desires, or condition their survival upon support, or a lack of support from family, friends, or us.

You are the sole guardian and protector of your freedom. Discard "all" expectations and instead join us in our common and shared celebration of life.

Milestone Descriptions

Green Milestone: Green is associated with renewal, youth, money, go. and safety. You are now skilled at using all the basic tools needed to fully navigate recovery and join us here on Easy Street.

By the one-month mark physical recovery is well behind you, the emotional sense of loss is passing, and all normal daily use triggers have been extinguished. The balance of this journey is primarily psychological. Here, the focus is upon extinguishing any infrequent use cues, using truth to squash any remaining use rationalizations, and maintaining the daily patience needed to allow the tease of thousands of old use memories, memories created by an actively using drug addict, to gradually lose their punch.

Continue using education, understanding and simple honest logic to destroy any remaining denial you created to insulate you from the harsh reality of chemical captivity and our senseless gradual self-destruction. Like a broken arm in a cast, the healing from day 30 to 90 can seem ever so gradual. At times, it may be hard to believe that the mind's addiction chatter will ever end and that calm and comfort will arrive.

But if we'll only remain patient while keeping our original reasons for seeking freedom vibrant and alive, the dreams flowing from them will continue to provide the wind beneath your wings, the wind needed to get you home. Continue to take recovery just one day at a time. Yes, still just one rule … no nicotine today!

Bronze Milestone: Bronze, silver and gold are the precious metals traditionally given to award victory and excellence. Going Bronze at three months symbolizes that you've taken the time to clense your mind of years of caked-up dependency, cost, and recovery denial, so as to allow your thinking to bask in truthful light.

Although you will still notice smokers as they feed their chemical need in the world around you, and have thoughts now and then about the years you spent as one of them, your time spent wanting to smoke nicotine is likely now down to just seconds per day.

Many have already experienced that first day where we never once think about wanting to use nicotine, but if not, it's not far off. After the first such day, they will become more and more common until you'll awaken to a new expectation of going your entire day without wanting.

Silver Milestone: Marking 6 months of freedom and healing, Silver is a wonderful opportunity to recall in as much detail as possible the daily grind of the chemical bondage now under arrest. Situated between Bronze and Gold, Silver is an opportunity to reflect upon our amazing healing our body has experienced, our vastly improved breathing, improved circulation and newfound endurance. It's a time for reflection and an opportunity to again revitalize our determination to never take another puff, vape, dip, or chew as our newfound comfort from wanting can become such an accepted and expected part of life that we risk beginning to take it for granted.

Gold Milestone: Arrival at Gold is that point in time where measuring glory in days and months begins to come to an end. It is that special day that will forever mark the calendar transition since our healing commenced. While some will no longer be able to locate or remember how to work your quit statistics counter, the math today is rather simple - ONE !

We sincerely hope that you'll return here to Turkeyville from time to time to share your wisdom and glory with those still struggling. When you do, please keep in mind that the struggling newbie will find it almost unbelievable that an amazing sense of calm, quiet and comfort awaits them too, that their addiction's chatter will ever end. What they most need to hear is about how you've come, so far that it's now difficult to relate to their plight. They want to hear about your day and how addiction's chatter wasn't there.

Sharing What We've Learned: Turkeyville doesn't just graduate successful ex-users. It sends forth some of the most educated nicotine dependency recovery teachers the world has ever known. We have each mastered the Law of Addiction, the most critical lesson of all, the key to freedom and making dreams come true! We hope you'll be brave when the opportunity presents and share the Law with others, as not learning it is a horrible reason to die.

Again, although colors mark achievement, in truth the Law applies equally to all. Yes, whether newbie or goldie there's only one rule ... that one equals all, that lapse equals relapse, that one jolt of nicotine will always be too many, while thousands never enough!

Yes, just one rule ... no nicotine today, or as Joel would say, to stick to our original commitment to Never Take Another Puff!

Breathe deep, hug hard, live long,

John (Gold x21)

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