SolveYourProblem eLearning Series: Smoking
I'd Rather Not Die From Smoking
Learn The Harmful Effects & Quit Smoking Now
( 27 pages )

Get Support From Your Family & Friends

Let the World Know You're Quitting

Once your mind is made up you have a very important thing left to do. You have to announce your decision to quit smoking to as many people as possible. Tell all your friends that you have decided to quit and ask them earnestly to help you as much as they can. Remember, you are going to need all the help in the world. So, it is all the more better that a lot of people know about your decision to quit.

There is one good thing about letting others know about your decision to quit. It makes you more accountable. It lessens your chances of taking a sneak puff. Having people who support you all around you, keeps you distracted from that great pull. And believe me it is a lot easier to stick to promises made in public than to keep promises made in private.

In one word, it just makes you all the more accountable. You now have a word and reputation to live up to, and the fear of being scorned and ridiculed by others for breaking your promise is a strong force that can keep you going. Discuss your decision with your family, tell them about your decision and the difficulties that you are going to face. Tell them that you are going to need their support and help and that it is not going to be easy for you.

An excellent thing you could do is draft out a contract for yourself about your decision to stop smoking and sign it. Afterwards, hang this contract up for all to see. Keep this contract with yourself at the forefront of your mind constantly.

It is best if you can get one or two other people to quit smoking with you. Quitting smoking is a lot like losing weight, so it is best if it can be done in small groups. If your partner also smokes, then it’s a wonderful thing for both of you to make the decision together so that you can go on backing and encouraging each other.

Smoking Is A Formidable Foe. Watch Out!

The battle is not going to be easy, because you will be pitted against a very formidable foe. Most people tend to underestimate the intensity of the issue. Again, I repeat that quitting is not an easy task. I would recommend that you do not measure the size of the enemy by the size of the cigarette. Size doesn't matter sometimes. After all, a stick of dynamite is not very big - but just consider the amount of damage that it can bring about.

It is not just one cigarette that you are going to be fighting against. Consider that big chunk of humanity that has been removed from the face of the earth just because of tobacco. You have the statistics to prove it. If so many people have succumbed to cigarette smoke, then obviously it’s no ordinary killer.

That is why it is highly recommended that you approach the issue only after thorough preparation. I suggest that you compare yourself to a commando who’s preparing to venture into a thick forest shrouded with danger to rescue a hapless child from the clutches of some hardened criminals. Such a commando would be armed to the teeth. He would have been taught all the survival skills and would be a force to reckon with.

The commando would be constantly on his guard and even while resting his eyes and ears would be alert. Success for him is not a matter of luck but comes as a natural consequence of his training, his skills and his alertness. He’s brave, he’s sharp, he has nerves of steel and that is just what you must try to be. This battle should be fought to be won, because just like for the commando, for you too this is a matter of life and death.

A Smokers Myth to Break

First, let us break a myth. Most smokers honestly believe that they can quit any time they want. This is far from reality. The fact is that most smokers just can’t do that. The decision to quit is not something that is wholly controlled by the brain.

This exercise of control by the brain happens only in the first few days. After that, the brain or mind takes the back seat. It will seem as if your whole body is screaming out for more and more, and the brain has no choice but to comply. As we can see, every part of our body is connected and the brain too prefers to tow the line.

So when a smoker believes that he or she can quit any time that he or she wants, then the person is actually fooling himself or herself. I don’t want to underestimate anybody. I agree that some people do have more will power than others. But what I would like to point out is that we are talking about a force that is more than just a physical or mental control. We are talking about withdrawal symptoms...

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