For more than 20 years I was a smoker, if I had a cent for every
time I told someone that I want to quit smoking then I would be a rich
man. My wife was also a smoker, and like me she would often tell people
"I want to quit smoking". Intellectually we knew the dangers - but
somehow they always seemed to be dangers that might affect other people.
We never quite grasped that these dangers could affect us.
The worst moment ever in my life was in July 2002. My wife had been diagnosed with cancer, I met the doctors at the hospital that day and they had told me the bad news. When I got home around dinner-time I had to tell our two children that their mother had incurable cancer, and that she would die within a few weeks. That moment will haunt me forever. First the tears, then through the tears my daughter asked me, "why do you and mum smoke?"
I didn't have an answer, but I do remember saying I want to quit smoking - and I will.
I want to quit smoking - but my god it is was hard at a time when so much stuff was going on. My wife died a few weeks later, there was a lot to contend with and I really felt the need for cigarettes to get me through the day. I kept repeating to myself - I want to quit smoking, and I will.
Eventually I realized that saying I want to quit smoking wasn't enough, it would only happen if I made it happen. That meant I needed to take real action to stop. So I developed a plan.
This was the plan I used:
One - I set a date to stop! Really simple yet effective. I moved from saying I want to stop smoking, to making a definitive commitment to stop on a specific date. For me the date was 20th January 2003. When you set a specific date to stop you make a powerful commitment - a first step to breaking free from cigarettes.
Two - Throw away your cigarettes and lighter or matches. A lot of people trying to stop think it is good to keep one or two cigarettes to give them a feeling of "comfort". That is a huge mistake, it demonstrates a lack of real belief that you are going to succeed in stopping.
Throw away your cigarettes and remove the temptation to have "one last cigarette". When you throw away your cigarettes you can start to call yourself a non-smoker.
Three - motivate yourself with some physical evidence of the progress you are making. Here's a really powerful idea I used. I used to spend five pounds every day on smoking. So on the day I stopped smoking, I took an envelope and put five pounds into it.
The next day I put another five pounds into it.... and so on every day. Soon I saw money accumulating in the envelope, and this motivated me to keep going. I used the money to create a fund for going on a holiday to reward myself. Set yourself a goal to save enough money through stopping smoking to give yourself a treat.
Four - write down the trigger activities which make you regularly reach for a cigarette. I used to always have a cigarette with coffee - so I stopped drinking coffee and started drinking green tea instead. I also always had a cigarette as soon as I got into my car and started driving, so I bought clear mints and replaced the cigarette with having a mint instead.
Change all the patterns of things you do which go with smoking a cigarette, and replace them with something different.
Five - when the craving for a cigarette starts to get really strong, go and do something to take your mind away from thinking about having a cigarette. Go for a walk, read a book or magazine, phone someone - just do something which distracts you from the desire for a cigarette. You will be amazed how quickly the cravings pass - they only last for a very short time.
Six - start to exercise. You don't need to try and become an Olympic athlete, but start off with something simple like going for a walk for 15 minutes every day, and gradually increase the intensity and the distance you walk.
It's more than six years now since I quit smoking, and I have never touched a cigarette since 20th January 2003. Once I made a definite decision to stop smoking, and set a specific date on which I would become a non-smoker, then I followed the very simple plan described above. The thing that surprised me most was that it was actually a lot easier than I ever imagined.
If you are one of the many people who say to themselves regularly, "I want to quit smoking", then please understand that the consequences of smoking can affect YOU - just like they did to me and my children. Don't wait until its too late - the move from saying I want to quit smoking to becoming a non-smoker can be easier than you imagine.
The worst moment ever in my life was in July 2002. My wife had been diagnosed with cancer, I met the doctors at the hospital that day and they had told me the bad news. When I got home around dinner-time I had to tell our two children that their mother had incurable cancer, and that she would die within a few weeks. That moment will haunt me forever. First the tears, then through the tears my daughter asked me, "why do you and mum smoke?"
I didn't have an answer, but I do remember saying I want to quit smoking - and I will.
I want to quit smoking - but my god it is was hard at a time when so much stuff was going on. My wife died a few weeks later, there was a lot to contend with and I really felt the need for cigarettes to get me through the day. I kept repeating to myself - I want to quit smoking, and I will.
Eventually I realized that saying I want to quit smoking wasn't enough, it would only happen if I made it happen. That meant I needed to take real action to stop. So I developed a plan.
This was the plan I used:
One - I set a date to stop! Really simple yet effective. I moved from saying I want to stop smoking, to making a definitive commitment to stop on a specific date. For me the date was 20th January 2003. When you set a specific date to stop you make a powerful commitment - a first step to breaking free from cigarettes.
Two - Throw away your cigarettes and lighter or matches. A lot of people trying to stop think it is good to keep one or two cigarettes to give them a feeling of "comfort". That is a huge mistake, it demonstrates a lack of real belief that you are going to succeed in stopping.
Throw away your cigarettes and remove the temptation to have "one last cigarette". When you throw away your cigarettes you can start to call yourself a non-smoker.
Three - motivate yourself with some physical evidence of the progress you are making. Here's a really powerful idea I used. I used to spend five pounds every day on smoking. So on the day I stopped smoking, I took an envelope and put five pounds into it.
The next day I put another five pounds into it.... and so on every day. Soon I saw money accumulating in the envelope, and this motivated me to keep going. I used the money to create a fund for going on a holiday to reward myself. Set yourself a goal to save enough money through stopping smoking to give yourself a treat.
Four - write down the trigger activities which make you regularly reach for a cigarette. I used to always have a cigarette with coffee - so I stopped drinking coffee and started drinking green tea instead. I also always had a cigarette as soon as I got into my car and started driving, so I bought clear mints and replaced the cigarette with having a mint instead.
Change all the patterns of things you do which go with smoking a cigarette, and replace them with something different.
Five - when the craving for a cigarette starts to get really strong, go and do something to take your mind away from thinking about having a cigarette. Go for a walk, read a book or magazine, phone someone - just do something which distracts you from the desire for a cigarette. You will be amazed how quickly the cravings pass - they only last for a very short time.
Six - start to exercise. You don't need to try and become an Olympic athlete, but start off with something simple like going for a walk for 15 minutes every day, and gradually increase the intensity and the distance you walk.
It's more than six years now since I quit smoking, and I have never touched a cigarette since 20th January 2003. Once I made a definite decision to stop smoking, and set a specific date on which I would become a non-smoker, then I followed the very simple plan described above. The thing that surprised me most was that it was actually a lot easier than I ever imagined.
If you are one of the many people who say to themselves regularly, "I want to quit smoking", then please understand that the consequences of smoking can affect YOU - just like they did to me and my children. Don't wait until its too late - the move from saying I want to quit smoking to becoming a non-smoker can be easier than you imagine.
Robert Craig has created a website for people who want to break
free from the addiction of smoking. Finally and forever stop smoking -
you CAN do it.
[http://www.i-want-to-quitsmoking.com]
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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_A._Craig[http://www.i-want-to-quitsmoking.com]