Question 5: For Quitting Smoking, What Works And What Does Not? Mastering And Learning New Habits?

Tags:
When you want to get better at something – you practice, practice, practice.
http://tcsmoking.wikispaces.com/file/view/quit-smoking-for-good4.jpg/94034910/quit-smoking-for-good4.jpg
This is true about both the addiction and the secret of breaking the habit. The double-edged sword can cut both ways.
  • For smoking it is really hard to find a substitute for! Some suggestions have included
  • Pipes
  • Just having them and carrying them around (not smoking it)
  • Pills, mints and gum
  • Cutting them in half and discarding them (every time you want/crave one)
  • Just having three with you and rationing yourself
  • Placing bets on how long you can go without one or rewarding success with a cigarette or something you really wanted! Killing two birds with one stone so to speak. Yes, we do some crazy things, but they never really work.
Breaking the habit of smoking can be an insurmountable task at hand for most of us. It is demanding and utterly hard to really quit and butt out permanently. Beating this habit will be hard work. It is a deliberate and overpowering habit. You have to find a good habit to substitute for smoking or you will not be successful at sticking to your guns and quitting successfully. That is the key. Smoking is very much part of our day and routines, so it is about MORE than just NOT smoking, it is about NOT doing a whole lot of other stuff to and this is where most have a bigger challenge on their hands. Changing behavior takes time, effort and discipline. It does not happen overnight.
Without smoking in and around your life, you will experience sudden loss, meaningless emptiness, where this once was filled with smoking.
You subconsciously let is, allowed it in and now it is just GONE! This gaping hole in your life, routines, day will throw you off balance a bit and it does get the better of most, for they do not realize there are these layers and dimensions to the problem, addiction and bad habits . It is about so much more than just NOT smoking the cigarettes!
Smoking becomes a second nature habit, deeply entrenched in your life and will cost effort to get it out of there, by and to the root! You need to find something else to relax and reward you (like you are doing with the smoking habit in your life). This can be demanding a task! For some IMPOSSIBLE!
You need to use your willpower and conscious decision-making  TO MAKE BETTER CHOICES! That is what will get you to quit smoking permanently, effectively and quickly.
But willpower is not powerful at all. It is submissive and gives way easily. We are weak. You cannot place all your ‘hopes’ of quitting on this alone!
Your subconscious might just overrule you at some points and you will find yourself giving in, rather than risking and sticking with it. WILLPOWER IS NOT ENOUGH! You can will yourself to not succeeding also. Negative self-talk will doom you before you even tried. You need to make and effort, yes, but not obsess over it. How habits are formed and understanding that better might also help you quit more easily and readily.
There are certain situations and triggers that want you to light up – you need to avoid them and get them out of your sight, life and routines, if you want to enable and empower your process, increasing your chances of succeeding. You need to get rid of all stimulated responses and stimulants in your life that can have you reaching for that beloved smokes! EVEN RELAXING (which is normally why people take up the habit in the first place!)
Ignoring or not giving in to the stimulus-response type logic behind smoking, might actually help you quit more easily. RELAX NOT REACT can be your new mantra. As opposed to reaching for your pack or cigarettes, breathe and relax. That sounds like an easy thing to do right when stress and tension is getting the better of you – NOT smoking, but relaxing. Perfectly logical – hard to do! BUT IT WORKS!
We want to all be happy and fulfilled, we avoid pain and suffering – such a human trait. Does it apply to smoking and quitting – you bet! No, you will not be able to fool yourself into thinking and believe that smoking is really a bad thing and unpleasant after experiencing its rewards for so long, but you can adjust slowly to altering your thinking about them and changing the habits that go along with them.
Rather, focus on rewarding yourself for not smoking – make that the pleasure, boost your self-esteem –  by not smoking. By placing your focus on YOU, NOT the quitting you might actually feel yourself less tense, nervous and irritable, not ballooning and eating too much, miss smoking and not enjoy it anymore. The pleasure and reward has changed, so will the habit in the long-run!
—You will not start to eat your way through the supermarkets.
—You will not miss cigarettes.
—You will enjoy not smoking.
One of the things that we have on our side is a fact that you’ll find unbelievable now, even though you will definitely come to agree with it.
You do not enjoy smoking.
Okay—laugh if you will. But if you’ve read this far, you’re an easy one. You do not really like to smoke.

0 comments

Leave a Reply