Want to quit smoking? Cigarettes are terrible for your health,
yet they're hard to let go of. Yet read on for some strategies and tools
that can help you quit smoking for good.
First of all, if want to
stop smoking cigarettes, give yourself a big pat on the back. This is
probably the single most important improvement you can make to achieve
better health.
I won't bore you with a list of reasons why you
should stop smoking. Chances are you're all too familiar with them --
and have tried numerous times before, but without success.
Why would this year be different?
Let me give you a few important strategies that can really help you quit smoking and stay quit too:
1) You take the task of quitting smoking seriously
What
do I mean by that? Exactly what it says. Just because the non-smokers
around you don't think it's a big deal doesn't mean they're right. In
fact, kicking the smoking habit may be the most difficult thing you'll
ever do.
Smoking feeds your pleasure circuits in ways few other
things do. And the withdrawal symptoms can be hellish. In fact, smoking
is more addictive than heroin.
And that doesn't even get to the
social aspects of smoking -- the fact that it may be pleasurable, that
it's part of your routine, that you may have built a social life around
those cigarette breaks you take throughout the day, and so on. In fact,
you may be worried that without smoking you won't get those breaks
anymore.
So the first step should be to acknowledge the enormity
of what you're about to undertake -- and promise yourself to be gentle
with yourself. AND to give yourself every tool you can to help you
succeed.
2) Give yourself tools
I stopped smoking myself -- many years ago. It was very hard. I stopped many times before I was able to make it stick.
One
thing that finally helped me do it was Nicorette chewing gum. That
allowed me to separate the pleasurable part of smoking and the social
aspects from the physically addictive part.
I was able to deal
with those first, while still getting my nicotine fix. But I hated the
gum, so eventually, I relied on it less and less.
I also acknowledged that this would be hard. I had proof of it too -- all those many attempts that led to a re-start of smoking.
And
if there's a special reason -- special to you -- that might motivate
you to stick with it this time around, by all means, use it. Maybe you'd
like to avoid wrinkles, or impotence, or the fact that each time you
try to stop -- unsuccessfully -- you put on another 5 pounds.
3) Get MORE tools -- and support
Give yourself some support. Whether it's a group or just some friends who are supportive of you.
And
then, consider that there are even more and better tools out there now
to help you quit smoking than there have ever been before. Nicorette is
available over the counter -- no more need for doctor's appointments and
embarrassing admissions that you STILL need it. And there are new
prescription drugs that may help you stop smoking cigarettes too.
And that's not all. There are also very powerful tools to help you stop smoking that go far beyond that, from hypnosis to neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).
You may be amazed by how much they can help you with quitting smoking
and staying quit! And you can even check some of them out for FREE in a
powerful 5-part e-course by clicking here: http://www.TurboSelfGrowth.com
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elisabeth_Kuhn
