Quitting can be easy. It doesn’t require willpower. It doesn’t require going cold turkey. What it requires is that you are clear about the reasons you want to quit. And it requires you list those reasons, keep the list accessible, review frequently and give thought to those reasons.
My guess is most smokers would like to stop. Scary social, medical and oral health reasons are aplenty. Many smokers try to stop. I know that some of you ‘wanna-be-quitters’ stop for varying periods of time but get back to smoking. Now you bercome a ‘Stop Smoking Failure’.
It really isn’t hard to stop smoking. The beauty of this method is that you can stop smoking and NEVER HAVE TO DENY YOURSELF a cigarette when you want one. Consequently…NO WITHDRAWAL! In fact, don’t ever tell yourself “Don’t Smoke". It just doesn’t work. For a lot of reasons both your body and unconscious responds to the word ‘Smoke’ and ignores the word ‘Don’t’.
The more you say “Don’t Smoke" the more you’ll want to smoke. So How Do I Successfully Stop Smoking?
1. List all the reasons you want to stop smoking. Each person has their own reasons.
2. Review the list frequently throughout the day. Some reasons will be more important to you than others. These will be the main reasons you want to quit.
Make sure you spend time thinking about each reason. Not thinking about why you want to stop can prevent a successful outcome. The two reasons most important to me when I quit smoking 24 years ago were
1. I didn’t want to get sick before I got old and
2. I hated the fact that cigarette companies would kill me to make a profit.
3. Make notes on yellow sticky paper about why you want to stop and put them in places to serve as reminders to talk to your self about them. (For example: On the bathroom mirror, on a phone, near where you drink coffee, etc.)
4. ANYTIME YOU WANT A CIGARETTE, TAKE ONE…without guilt.
5. You will soon make better conscious and unconscious decisions about not taking a cigarette. Soon you will be a non-smoker. Try it. You can do it! To increase your chance of success:
a. Get a quitting buddy - someone who wants to quit, or a non-smoker to talk to.
b. Speak with your doctor about using a nicotine replacement product, such as the patch or gum or medication developed to help you stop craving nicotine. It can help.
c. Avoid anything that triggers cravings, including alcohol, caffeine, and stress. It also helps to stay away from smokers for awhile.
d. Remember , whenyou quit, positive physical and psychological benefits start immediately.
e. Put away money you save by not smoking. When you quit, use that money to get yourself and your quitting buddy a treat. You both deserve it. © 2007 Marvin Mansky, DDS www.personaldentistry.com
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