When people decide they want to stop smoking, it’s not long before they realize how many different directions they can take. At the time of this posting, a Google search for the term “stop smoking” brings up 34,000,000 different results. That’s a pretty large pool of information for just a single term, but it illustrates the many different ways to quit smoking cigarettes. There are so many products, strategies, and methodologies that your head can start spinning from information overload. In many instances (and this was true for me) the shear amount of information can discourage people from quitting, out of fear that they may make a mistake or take the wrong direction.
I’ve always said that quitting smoking is an extremely personalized process that is more dependent on the individual than on the process. There are thousands of different ways to quit, and each of them have probably worked for at least one person in the past. But there’s no guarantee that what works for one individual will work for another. Thus, the onus lies with the quitter to find whatever can help end his/her own smoking habit.
What follows is a rundown of approaches that have worked for me in the past, but please don’t take it as Gospel. What you can do is use this information as a tool to find your own unique ways to quit smoking cigarettes. Creativity and uniqueness goes a long way in this journey, so don’t undervalue your own possible contributions to this information. I’ve found that emphasis on the following points is usually a great way to get the creative process in gear, so read them over a few times and contemplate each. Before long, you’ll be mapping out your own path to becoming smoke-free.
Have a Plan and Stick to It
I’ll say this once: It’s very hard to quit smoking off-the-cuff. If your approach is random and unorganized, chances are you’ll fall right back into old habits before you even remember you were trying to quit. I’m not saying that it’s never been done, but everyone I know whose tried to stop smoking in this fashion has ended up failing somewhere along the line (including yours truly). You need to treat quitting the same way you would treat buying a home: everything has to be perfectly in place. Having a plan can help eliminate a lot of the randomness and uncertainty that oftentimes follows your initial decision to stop smoking. You can find tons of information on quit plans online, but I’ve personally found the best info at quitsmoking.about.com.
Identify Your Weaknesses
Every person that I’ve spoken to who has quit smoking has told me that there were certain situations/circumstances that triggered their cravings more so than others. In fact, one of the main reasons that they were able to quit smoking stemmed from their ability to successfully identify those situations, and actively avoid them when possible. This may not be as easy as it seems, as many people don’t even notice the circumstances in which they are more likely to smoke. Regardless, with a little bit of practice, you can start to differentiate the conditions that result in your strongest cravings. One of the things I did was take a notepad around with me, and whenever my cravings were at their absolute strongest, I would write down where I was, what time it was, who was around (was I by myself or around others?), what I was doing, etc. Eventually, I was able to piece together the situations/circumstances in which I was the most likely to smoke, and made arrangements to bail from them whenever possible. Of course, it’s not always possible to leave the room or stop what you’re doing, but remember, we’re only trying to reduce the number of instances where our cravings are the strongest. Taking steps to avoid at least some of them can go a long way towards quitting long-term.
Quit With Others
Have you ever noticed that a difficult task seems monumentally easier when there are others to help share the load? Quitting is no different, and frankly, this was my absolute favorite way to quit smoking cigarettes. Through all the different steps and paths that I followed, I started seeing a marked improvement in my efforts once I started sharing my experience with others. In this case, it was a co-worker (who I smoked with frequently) who was also looking for a way to quit. I approached her one day about becoming accountability partners (AP), and she eventually agreed to it (albeit with some hesitation). We both had our difficult moments (as we each backtracked at least a couple of times), but we eventually took advantage of our relationship to ultimately break our addictions. I would encourage anyone to take this approach, as it helps to have someone you can confide in while making such a huge lifestyle change. I do, however, have one word of caution: if you do find an accountability partner, make sure they meet two criteria:
a.) They are someone that you trust, and will be discreet in the information that you share with them. Having an AP is almost like having a therapist. There is delicate information you’re sharing with them that you may not otherwise share with other people. You want to make sure that they don’t broadcast your struggles to the rest of the world.
b.) They are a person who you believe will get on your case when you need them to. Though we don’t like to admit, we periodically get oversensitive to criticism of our addictions. Sometimes, a dose a tough-love is necessary to help keep us on track. I’m not suggesting that you get a drill sergeant as an AP, but find someone who isn’t afraid to be straight with you when you need it.
Each of the points I’ve outlined in this post have been instrumental to me eventually quitting smoking. Keep in mind, I’m not advertising this as a formula for smoking cessation, but I do think that anyone who is hellbent on quitting can take something away from this information. Take some time and reread the main points, think about how you could apply them to your own situation, and start figuring out how you want to get started. The key to success in this process is ACTION. Whether you take my advice or not, please know that you’ll never get anywhere without putting what you’ve learned to practice. I wish all of you a smoke-free future!
