people are, judging by all the ex-smokers who look back and figure it
was really no big deal!
But then, I guess that even the highest mountain poses no challenge to
those who've already conquered it?
How you feel about quitting smoking is of course terribly
important, because success or failure is going to be
decided entirely in your mind. And in my experience, the
greatest harbinger of doom is the word 'last'.
"If I can only last until... " I hear these words all too
frequently, from the lips of individuals who have
absolutely no chance of successfully quitting smoking
this side of a huge psychological reappraisal.
As things stand, they have doomed themselves to failure!
And why? Because they have pinned all their hopes on
the surprisingly common misconception that their
cravings for cigarettes are a purely physical
phenomenon, which will eventually disappear, if only
they can 'last' long enough...
In actual fact, nicotine withdrawal symptoms are just tiny
twitches that you may occasionally feel pulsing around
your body. On their own, they cause so little bother that
they're hardly even worth noting, and many smokers go
through life failing to notice them completely!
It's the special sense of deprivation they trigger, deep
inside the mind, that drives smokers to carry on lighting
up - and that's something that by no means depends
upon them. A thousand other situations can trigger it as
well.
Smoking is a form of habitual behaviour, and a smoker
will feel driven to light a cigarette in many situations
where the body isn't actually demanding nicotine. If this
were not the case, then nicotine replacement therapies
such as patches would be 100 percent successful, and
quitting would be no more arduous than taking a stroll
through the park!
To quit confidently, one needs to understand that the
challenge is entirely psychological, and that physical
withdrawal symptoms simply aren't the enemy - the
enemy is within one's own mind!
The great news is that, once this reality sinks in, the
whole process of giving up smoking becomes a whole lot
easier! Because, just think about it - so long as you're in
the right place psychologically on day one, there's no
need to worry about how you'll 'last' - you're already
there!
So if you're positively looking forward to treating those
first, precious moments after you've discarded your final
cigarette as the beginning of a new dawn, then
congratulations! Because you've already beaten
smoking, and what's more you know it.
Of course, you're aware there'll be minor challenges ahead, such as
not getting too carried away with your ravenous new appetite and
piling on pounds, but all in all, you're already in a great new place.
You are a confident quitter, whose success is guaranteed.
But if you're reading this with serious doubts - if
something's niggling you, especially concerning all that
'lasting' business - then why not take some time out to
seriously appraise your approach, question your values
and be honest about your motivation?
In the end, nothing pays dividends quite like getting into
the right frame of mind before you try and quit!
For more information, please visit http://www.quitclever.co.uk