Positive Thinking And Self-Talk Strategies – Easiest Way To Quit Smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the toughest things to do in life. You can divorce your wife, divorce your work, but smoking, no, sir. It is the toughest thing to do.

Many best ways are spoken about, or written about. One of them is reduce your smoking slowly over a period of days. That sounds nice to a smoker wanting to quit. But the problem is that after smoking the first, the eyes go to the clock, waiting for it to strike the hour when the next can be lit up. So that’s not going to work

Another tip is to have a nicotine patch, now available. It is said to reduce cravings. Maybe. But to a smoker, it is not only having the chemical moving inside, but also the habit of holding a cigarette in hand, and a lighter in the other and going through the motions of lighting it, and drawing the puff and blowing it out! Maybe the craving is not there, but the additional habit of using it is still there.. So there it goes with the wind!

So what is the best way? Quit, Quit, Quit, Quit. Stop smoking. Period. No other method works. What is required is the mental ability and strength to just stop. No keeping cigarettes in the pocket, or in the drawer or in the washroom. Just stop buying and just stop smoking.

The craving will increase. You are more comfortable with a packet in your pocket. Just do away with that. That increases your craving. So what do you do. Just say “No”.

We all know the dangers of smoking, its long term effects on our nerves, on our lungs, and that is one of the ways to get oral and lung cancer. Yet, smokers, like us, never are deterred by these ‘dangers’. We have seen patients in hospitals suffering and going through the treatments, which are horrible really, and yet, we come out and knowingly and unknowingly we light up.

it’s a question of habit. It is habit we picked up in the later years of school of trying to be like one of the heroes in the films, or someone we admired elsewhere. Over the years, we grew accustomed to it, and it became part of life.

For the smallest insult, we are ready to divorce our life partners, but when it comes to divorcing our habit of smoking, we find all reasons to stay with it. Never mind the ever rising prices. We stay true to our partners who do us harm!

So the way out is simple, yet difficult, and sometimes, it is impossible. DIVORCE YOUR HABIT. Just as a family divorce hurts for sometime, divorcing your smoking habit has the same effect. Instead of leaving a scar in your mind, it haunts you, and begs you to take it back. And you succumb. No, don’t succumb. It will try again and again. Situations will arise when you will be tempted to get that relief – temporary – but in the end your partner may win. The point is you have to win! That problem which brought back your companion in, has not gone away because your partner came back did it? No.

So you have to talk to yourself and say No. NO. NO. You will suffer. You will. No doubt about it. The question you have to ask and answer yourself when you suffer is whether you have done the right thing. Yes. Yes. Yes. Say this to yourself every time you have the craving. And you are winning the battle. if the craving becomes too much, your brain is inducing your body to release certain chemicals which trigger the craving, and that acts as a stimulator. To overcome that stimulator and weaken it, drink a glass of water. Every time you want a smoke or that craving is driving you crazy, just drink a glass of water. It will help you in many ways. One you won’t get dehydrated, and second, it will calm you! Don’t believe it! Try it first, then say no.

If the craving begins, walk across to another person or to a public place where smoking is prohibited. Just involve yourself in conversation in that group, and it helps if you declare that you are there to avoid smoking. You will find that people are helping, and drawing into their conversation. Stay long enough till that craving is gone.

Tell your office head that you want to quit. And therefore there may be abnormalities sometimes. They will understand and offer support. You may be invited to come in and sit down when you have the craving.

The best way is to talk to yourself, the right part of yourself. Your brain has two sides. One is asking for you to smoke. You have to use the other part and tell it to tell its other side, no way. I am going to win, he’s not going to smoke. it’s like as if one part of your brain is God and the other the Devil. If you are an atheist, one part is bad, and the other is good. So use the good part to tell the other part to reform.

All these are self help, self talking objectives. This writer has been there, and now he is going to use those very same techniques to quit.

Divert your attention. Read a book, seek non smoker company. Don’t let go. If alone, find a crowd or companion. Talk nonsense. Does not matter. You need not even say sorry because when you give up, you will laugh at the stories of your behavior you displayed when you were giving up.

The mantra is NO, NO, NO, NO.I am not going to SMOKE. I am not going to SMOKE. I am not going to SMOKE. Repeat it to yourself nth number of times, and DO IT. DON’T GIVE IN. TALK TO YOURSELF, YOUR FRIENDS AND OTHERS.

Positive Thinking And Self-Talk Strategies – Easiest Way To Quit Smoking by Abhishek Agarwal