Quit Quitting Until You're Ready To Quit

See more progress on: Quit Smoking

The date: June 15, 1999
The hope: Quit Smoking
The tool: Scratching My Record

It was June 4th 1999 and rumors of Y2k were putting most people in a panic mode. At the time, my girlfriend was working out of the province and I took a month leave of absence from my work to join her.

The day before I boarded the plane my mother suggested that I try a stop smoking cessation product and try to quit smoking cigarettes while I was away. Without thinking about all the implications, the apparent hassle it might be to give up this habit, or even considering why she was offering me this information I went to the Doctor’s and got my prescription.

At this time I had been a smoker for over 9 years and hadn’t planned to quit smoking anytime soon. I tried quitting once in high school for a week or two but after almost ruining all my friendships due to a case of the crankiness I soon realized that quitting before I was ready was futile. But I did know that “one-day” would come that I would quit, so I continued to enjoy my addiction until then.

Well needless to say the trip was a success in that I quit smoking on June 15th, and surprisingly lost the seemingly constant urge to smoke. What helped me along the process was in retrospect the following 3 reasons:

1. I always knew deep inside that one day I would quit. Henry Ford put this best when he said “Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right.”

2. I tricked my mind into getting help by not thinking about the future when I went to the doctor to get the prescription. As long as I didn’t tell my mind what I was doing, it wouldn’t have the opportunity to give me all the reasons why I shouldn’t.

3. I changed my environment or settings. Being around friends and family that smoked didn’t contribute to the willpower that would allow me to quit. So not being around them for the month allowed me the time to instill a newly desired and healthy habit.

People always state how quitting smoking is hard but I find this information to be delusional to the fact.

Quitting smoking is a ONE-STEP process.

1. Stop doing it. That’s it and that’s all. Easy, you don’t have to do anything else because you’re already not doing it.

BUT

To continue smoking one has to:

1. Find the money they could be spending on other things they want.
2. Go to the store and purchase the cigarettes. Perhaps get ID’d from the clerk.
3. Buy, borrow, or carry around a lighter to light the cigarette.
4. Find a smoking area (in a land of increasing non-smoking areas) to smoke in.
5. Smoke it without trying to get it in your eyes.
6. Smoke it without trying to get the smell on your clothes.
7. Smoke it without trying to get the smell in your hair.
8. Smoke it without trying to get the nicotine smell on your fingers.
9. Find an ashtray to butt out the cigarette when finished.
10. Find some perfume or cologne to combat the “smokers” breath.
11. Find some toothpaste to brush your teeth and combat the “smokers” breath.
12. Find some mouth wash to rinse your mouth and combat the “smokers” breath.
13. Find some hand wash to keep your fingers from turning yellow.
14. Worry about what others think about you.
15. Worry about the time it takes you away of your everyday activities to smoke.
16. Beat yourself up about the unhealthy habit you are giving into.
17. Listen to friends, family, and loved ones tell you how much you should quit.
18. Obsess over when you’ll smoke next, making sure all the above conditions are favorable.

You can start by adding up these differences in your own words and use your own examples.

This will give power to the truth and take away power from the false beliefs the mind has erected to keep you in your comfort zone.

Believe that you will quit smoking soon and appreciate that you won’t do it one single minute before your ready.

I believe in you and if there is a way that I can support you please drop me a line.

Forward Towards Success