A Therapist's 10-Minute Guide to Quitting Smoking

Quit smoking. You've heard it before, but you just couldn't kick the habit? Wrong. You can quit smoking and other tobacco products. It's easy. If you've thrown away your tobacco before and started smoking or using chewing tobacco again, it's because you wanted to. You have plenty of willpower. You just lit a smoke moments ago because you have willpower.

I have heard all of the excuse under the sun, so forget trying to make up a new one. I wrote the book on excuses many years ago. There are only a few simple steps to quitting tobacco products. If you follow these steps provided in this article and do not deviate from the instructions in any way, you will quit for good. Skip a step and I guarantee you will fail, and it's because you chose failure. Let's begin.

Answer the following:

1. Do you need to quit?

2. Were you told by a Doctor you need to quit tobacco?

3. Are you quitting because you can't afford the habit?

4. Are you quitting because you want to quit?

Unless you answered NO to questions 1, 2 & 3 and YES to number 4. Forget it. You must want to quit or you will not, it's that simple.

Assuming you honestly want to quit, let's do it.

Throw your cigarettes away right now. Break them apart and flush them down the toilet. They can not be retrieved from the trash, patched up and smoked later.

Don't try to justify not throwing them away right now because they are too expensive. If you have to think about the cost, you couldn't afford them in the first place.

What brand do you particularly hate to smoke? Go to the store and buy 1 pack of those. Not 2 packs, not a carton. If you hate rolling tobacco, buy that. If you can't roll a smoke unless you're absolutely desperate to have one - ditto.

Cut them all in half and put them in a plastic bag or a small tin with a lid.

Go outside to the garden shed, upstairs, or anywhere else which is inconvenient for you to reach for a smoke. Leave them there.

You will not smoke when you drink coffee, tea or alcohol.

You will not smoke after you eat.

You will not smoke when you're sitting at the computer.

You will not smoke in your car.

You will not take your smokes to work.

You will not smoke unless you're home alone. People do not want to see you smoke. You're already a social leper. You smell like tobacco, not cologne.

Children do model their behavior after you, whether you think they listen or not. You will not smoke in front of your kids unless you know the answer to the following question and are prepared to tell them.

"Mummy, Daddy, why are you giving me Cancer"?

Get into the habit of everything above. You can get into the habit and you've already proven that because you got into the habit of using tobacco.

Write this down on a small piece of paper and keep it beside your bed. Every night when you're ready to go to sleep, recite the following until you doze off:

"I am a non smoker. I am free of smoke. Cigarettes taste disgusting. I am free. I have no desire to smoke."

You subconscious mind knows only the most direct instruction you give it. If you got into bed and repeatedly told yourself:

"I wish I could quit and I think I can do it" ......................you get the point. Be direct.

The words trying and wish will not be in your vocabulary. You will do it, you can do it, and you are currently doing it. Simple.

If you're a heavy smoker, persist until you quit. How long will it take? That depends on you. Are you sticking to the guide? Great, keep doing it. If you smoke 10 or less per day, or use very little chewing tobacco you will quit in a very short time, there is no doubt. The end result of quitting smoking is that you will be physically healthy and you will feel physically better. The important key here is to be proud of yourself starting right now because you know it will happen. Knowing this means you will start the whole process with a psychological advantage. You're completely confident. These feelings have a way of gathering momentum, and soon you will have no desire to light up ever again. In fact, you will be a pain in the butt ( no pun intended ) to those you know who still smoke. Point them to this guide. Let them know how easy it is and that they can quit too. Make sure they want to quit first. If they tell you they need to quit, ask them again at a later date. Most likely they will want to quit after they see you have done it anyway. Some people won't quit because of the fear of failure, so by quitting first you've set a great example for them to follow.

Monitoring your progress:

How long did it take you to quit?

Tell a friend, message me. Tell everyone how proud you are of yourself. You should be. I am proud of you too!
Just don't tell me you can't/couldn't/got stressed/ I will not reply to excuses about why you chose to fail. If you have a legitimate question I encourage you to ask me and I will help you.

The words can't and couldn't are not in your vocabulary either. These are negative or indirect instructions to your subconscious which clearly show that you assume failure is imminent. The more you use these words, the more you're reinforcing that failure. If you follow all of the steps you will quit tobacco.

Did you skip a step?

Start again.

If you need more information on why you smoke, what's in your smokes, or what the benefits of quitting are, read my other article here.