Are You Thinking About Stopping Smoking?

Many smokers are like me and go on for years before they finally decide to stop. This is not because they didn't want to stop, it's because they hadn't made the decision to stop smoking. Many, like me, made half-hearted attempts to stop and did not follow through. I can't tell you how many times I tried to stop smoking and then just started back up when the going got tough.

Make a Plan to Quit Smoking

To really succeed in not smoking cigarettes anymore you may need to make a plan like I did. This will be necessary particularly if you find it difficult to stop smoking. One essential part of the plan I had to look at was my commitment to not smoking. I had to look at my motivation and understand what really motivated me to stop. I also had to look at any doubts I had about not smoking because this would directly affect my commitment to not smoke cigarettes-ever again. One part of the plan I did not neglect to look at was how I was going to handle the withdrawals I would go through. I didn't want the anger and bitterness to surface like they did the last few times I tried to quit. And I did not want the loneliness and depression either. I had to have positive motivation to quit this time backed with a firm commitment.

I also think that part of the total commitment to quit was developed as I made my list of the reasons I wanted to quit this time. These reasons had to be important enough to make me want to succeed. I believe the number one reason, this time, was that my sister was dying of lung cancer and she was younger than me. There are other positive reasons I used, so if you are planning to quit also, put as many as you can think of on your list. I didn't forget to list the positive benefits of smoking this time either along side the negative benefits of smoking. And I had to look at the negative and positive aspects of not smoking also.

Part of the plan I had to think about was the difficulties I would face during my withdrawals. How was I going to work through these until they began to subside? I had to think about changing my thinking and behaviors from the old to the new. Then I had to list them on paper so they would be real to me. I really did not want to stop stopping after four or five weeks. This was now a life or death situation I had to go through.

Comparing Your Lists-The Pros and Cons of Smoking

When I was done with all this I compared the two lists. The one with the real reasons I wanted to quit and the one with the reasons to continue smoking. I compared the positive next to the negative and really looked at them. I had to look at the motivating factors on each side and decide which were more beneficial to me. Naturally I looked at the positive side of smoking simply because I had been smoking for 45 years. I really tried to place emphasis on the positive reasons for not smoking too. The lists were comparable in length and I knew that each one had permanent effects to stopping or continuing.

So, which did I want? I really did not want to become discouraged again. My commitment seemed to be stronger this time so I made the decision to quit smoking cigarettes. This was about 10 days before my sister died. Seeing and listening to what she was going through really helped me. I will not fail this time.

If you feel discouraged, do consider your options. It is, and always has been, your choice to smoke cigarettes or not. Your commitment to not smoking may be stronger if you do what I did. There are many more parts to making a plan-go through your attempts to quit and list the positive and negative. Then re-do the list and make a firmer commitment to stop smoking. Most successful non-smokers tried several times before they actually quit. Learn and do the same. Good luck to you.