Convincing yourself that quitting smoking is difficult will almost definately sentance you to a lifetime of smoking misery.
Why is it that the vast majority of ordinary people are convinced that quitting smoking is one of the hardest things anyone could do?
FEAR!
FEAR that you will never enjoy a meal again without a cigarette.
FEAR that drinking your coffee without your little friend won’t be possible.
FEAR that you’re going to be completely miserable if you have to go without a smoke for a substantial length of time.
FEAR that those stressful situations are going to become worse if you don’t have your nicotine quota.
With all of that in mind it’s a wonder that anyone ever tries quitting, let alone actually succeeds! But they do succeed. Every minute of every day someone has just inhaled his or her last puff of poison.
This might be difficult for you to digest but hear me out. The most important thing for you to overcome, if you want to quit smoking, is to first acknowledge and then deal with the fear of quitting. There is not one thing for you to fear, not a thing. In fact, turn that fear 180 degrees and look forward to quitting. Embrace the realization that you’re just one cigarette away from being a non-smoker. Once you get yourself conditioned to be scared of nothing then you will actually become a non-smoker the moment you put that last cigarette out.
“But I will suffer horrific withdrawal pangs!”
“I’m an addict”
“i can’t go a day without a cigarette, let alone a lifetime”
That’s the fear i’m talking about, which is in fact created by smoking. That’s right, you are under a spell, you have been conned i’m afraid. Smoking doesn’t make a meal taste any better. Smoking doesn’t relieve stress – it causes stress! It’s like wearing a bracelet that is too small and digs into your wrist so that you can feel the relief when you take it off!
I will concede one fact though. Nicotine is an addictive drug. There’s no denying that. But how easy is it to withdraw from? I mean, how bad are the withdrawal symptoms?
Painfull stomach cramps? NO!
Hot and cold sweats? NO!
Burning up with fever? NO, ABSOLUTLEY NOT!
The good news is that the physical withdrawal symptoms for nicotine are something similar to hunger and being a little bit restless and insecure. And guess what? The longest that these insignificant symptoms will last is about 3 weeks.
Get your head right, don’t be scared – be excited. If you can do this then you will have taken one of the biggest steps to stop smoking
Cliff Truss is an ex-smoker from London. He believes passionately in these words and you can find out more about the steps to stop smoking if you visit his popular Squidoo lens. The author has kindly granted his permission for you to re-produce this article. All that he asks is that it is re-produced without any revisions or edits.