Trying to quit smoking will likely take a very large amount
of dedication and determination from you personally. At the same there are plenty of problems that
you may encounter as well. Knowing what
these potential problems are and having a specific plan for your success is
important. Knowing exactly what you are
trying to do will enable you to plan for success, rather than merely stumble
along trying to quit.
Step 1. You need to
take the time to create a plan to quit smoking.
This means looking at the reason why you smoke, and working to create a
plan that will help you to succeed. If
you are addicted to nicotine then you need to look at a product to help you
slowly curb the nicotine addiction. If
you merely smoke because you are bored you should look for thing to do to keep
you occupied instead of bored. However,
if you are smoking because you are stressed out then your plan should include a
way to reduce stress as well.
Step 2. Seek all of
the help you can get. With help coming
in the form of stop smoking aids, as well as support from your friends and
family it will be very important to get anything you can. If you have a lot of problems getting the
help that you need, you should work to resolve these problems before you
attempt to quit. For example, if you
have a very tight budget and cannot afford the nicotine gum that you might
need, save up money for a couple of weeks to purchase the gum to start with. Then once you have what you need, start working
to actually quit.
Step 3. Log your
progress. If you write down your goals,
and also how you are progressing towards your goals you are making yourself
accountable for everything. For example,
if you decide that you are going to reduce your one pack a day habit to only 10
cigarettes each day it is important to write down each cigarette that you
smoke. This will allow you to see a
specific pattern to your smoking, and also make sure you are aware of how many
cigarettes you are smoking each day. You
may find that as you are writing down each cigarette you decide to skip a few
just so that you do not have to write them down. If you choose this method make sure you are
really honest with yourself. Cheating on
your log will get you nowhere very quickly since the information is all
incorrect.
Step 4. Celebrate
your success somehow. If you have
managed to go 24 hours without a single cigarette, you should celebrate. This does not mean you need to throw a
gigantic block party for each tiny milestone but you do need to do
something. If you treat yourself to your
favorite coffee, ice cream, book or even the purse at the mall you have been
eyeing it will help encourage you to continue on your path of success. Save up a huge party, or even a dream vacation
for once you have quit smoking for a longer period of time such as 1 year for
example. This will give you a huge
incentive to continue the success and you can use the money you save from
stopping smoking to fund the trip or party.
Always ensure that you follow these steps and you will find
that in no time at all, you will be able to join the ranks of the non-smokers
of the world. Taking advantage of all of
the help available as well as holding yourself accountable is a huge step in
the right direction. Knowing what you
should expect from yourself is also helpful because you will be able to
anticipate problems before they appear.
Merely waiting until problems do occur is asking for a disaster. You owe it to yourself to quit smoking
successfully, and these four suggestions will get you there in record time.
- Mohammed Zahran -
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