Quit Smoking – Here’s How

Trying to quit smoking is definitely not one of the easiest things to do in life, some people would rather eat sand than having to go through the withdrawal period. Cigarettes is one of the most socially accepted drugs in most countries, it is definitely not illegal, it may just be illegal to smoke in certain places, but it is not a banned drug.

As with everything in life, trying to kick the dirty habit is all about choice, however, easier said than done as most smokers would say.

Here’s how:

The first thing is to make a conscious decision to quit, not a conscious decision to try to quit. Our brain sometimes does funny things to us and because we sincerely know it would be the right thing to do, we practice a little mercy on ourselves and put the words “will try to quit” in our sub-conscious mind, meanwhile, telling family and friends we have decided to quit and then going through the painful, agonising withdrawal period only to relapse. It is called denial! Take a moment, sit down and have a heart-to-heart with yourself. List the pros and cons of it if you need to see it in black and white. This is also effective in actually helping you to see that there really is no pro’s to it. How can there be when with each puff, you are hurting yourself and your organs and with secondary smoke, hurting the ones you love most. It starts with a sincere intention which comes from understanding why you need to, not want to, but need to quit smoking, then making the conscious choice to quit, and then comes the hard work by following through on your decision. This is by no means easy so get professional help if you need to. Avoid people, places and things that would normally cause you to light one up. Avoid those 3 things at the beginning of the process, but manage them at a later stage because you cannot be avoiding the rest of the world nor reality, you will encounter smokers at some time or the other during your time of quitting.

Most smokers who finish a packet a day will admit that most of it is due to habit and not actual craving.

You can only manage what you can control. Monitor yourself when you have a craving. How long does it last? What happens to you during that time? Ask yourself if you will be able to manage it when it happens again?

Also, to entertain the thought of a craving is to validate it, so do not pay too much attention to it, otherwise you will find yourself anticipating when the next craving will happen.

It certainly is a process to quit smoking, so be conscious of that, but do not use it as an excuse to relapse. Relapsing is a choice too.

So it really helps to think of the benefits to your organs, especially your lungs, think of all the money you will be saving, you will be able to taste better, you will be increasing your chances of a longer healthier life and of those loved ones around you. The pros of quitting definitely outweighs any craving.