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11 Ways to Keep Your New Year's Resolution to Quit Smoking(Short Version) By Fred H. Kelley © Copyright 1997 Fred H. Kelley See the end of this report for reprint
information. December 22, 1997 Every year about this time, people begin thinking about the new year and the changes it will bring. Some people make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, get a better job, get married, or simply to get a life. Millions of Americans will also make the resolution to quit smoking. Nearly 48 million Americans aged 18 years and older smoke. Of these, fully 70%--nearly 34 million smokers--want to quit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. This year 1.3 million of these smokers will quit successfully. Why do tens of millions want to quit but only a fraction actually succeeds? The answer is that most people just don’t know how to go about quitting. Follow the 11 simple steps outlined below to assure your quit-smoking success. 1. Decide Right Now to Believe that You CAN Quit Smoking Studies of smokers who successfully quit smoking show that one of the most important traits of a successful quitter is their belief that they have the ability to quit smoking. Do you believe that you can quit? If you don’t, you will have a much harder time trying to quit. The best action you can take right now to start the quitting process is to fix in your mind the belief that you have the ability to quit smoking. You might say that you can’t change your belief, but you can. Believing you can quit is so important because your belief will guide everything you do in your attempt to quit. The way you think, the research you do, the steps you take, the people you talk to, the help you seek--all these will be influenced by the belief you have in your ability to give up cigarettes. Fixing in your mind a belief that you can quit smoking may sound impossible if you now believe that you don’t have the ability. Here are some tips to help you change your beliefs:
Successful people in all walks of life become successful through planning. The same is true for smokers who successfully quit smoking. You must create a plan that you will follow daily, so that you quit smoking purposefully, not haphazardly. Put your plan on paper. Write each of these steps in your plan:
You can’t win the battle if you don't start the battle. The problem with too many unmet goals and plans is that no action was ever taken to start down the road to achieving the goal or plan. If you created your "Quit Plan" in Step 2 above you now have a plan for quitting. Getting started on your plan may be difficult, but once you get started it’s hard to stop. So get started today! While most of the media attention surrounding the smoking addiction focuses on chemical addictions to nicotine, you are in reality "multi-addicted." You are addicted to the feel of the cigarette in your hand and mouth. You are addicted to the actions of lighting your cigarette, moving your cigarette up to your mouth, flicking ashes from the cigarette and holding your cigarette between your fingers. You've also become addicted to the visual appeal of cigarettes: the flame, the smoke, even a dirty ashtray. You’re also addicted to the deep inhalations and exhalations you take as you puff on your cigarettes. You may have become addicted to smoking buddies at your workplace. All these stimuli serve to meet some physical, psychological or emotional need within you. Part of preparing yourself mentally is understanding, studying and attacking your addictions. Think about the pleasures you derive from smoking. Think through how you feel when you smoke. Are you happy, sad, soothed, or more alert? The next time you smoke a cigarette, notice all these things. Jot down your observations, then re-read them regularly. Study your own addiction so you understand what you must overcome. As Socrates said, "Know thyself." 5. Get Help and Support from Family and Friends Sometimes our family and friends can be our worst enemies when we are attempting something very difficult or "different." If your family or friends don’t smoke, they may not understand your desire to quit. Nor will they understand the extreme difficulty of overcoming your addiction. Ask your family and friends to give you positive encouragement. Make sure they know that you do not want them to point out your faults, mistakes and slips. Ask them to praise your victories, large or small. Ask them to be understanding during the times that you may be less than friendly or patient. Ask them to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem. Research shows that smokers who quit with assistance and support from a physician have higher rates of success. Even patients who received only minimal instruction and encouragement from their doctor showed improved "quitting" results. Your doctor can give you the medical facts regarding the effect of cigarettes, plus tell you the benefits of quitting cigarettes. Also, he or she may prescribe some of the latest prescription-only quit-smoking medications. Contact your doctor today. If he or she can't or won't help you, ask for a referral to a doctor who can and will help you. 7. Visualize Your Way to Quit Smoking Success Your mind is a powerful "device." This device can be used for positive or negative purposes. You win or lose in life based on the way you "run" your mind. Much of running your mind involves visualizing--visualizing what has already happened in your life, as well as what may happen, good or bad. Visualization is very similar to what our teachers and parents may have called "day dreaming." Day dreaming or visualization allows us to create bright, fun, fantastic futures for ourselves. Unfortunately, visualization for adults often becomes scenarios of unfounded fears, drudgery, regretful memories or just plain darkness. The problem and the opportunity with visualization is that your mind doesn’t know truth from fiction when it evaluates the visions in your mind. Your mind simply accepts the visualization as reality. An example of this is the effect a scary movie may have on you. When the movie Jaws came out in 1975 many people were so frightened by it that they would go nowhere near a beach or lake. For these people the experience was so real that they changed their actions in the physical world. This is an extreme example, yet it is typical of the way that imagination and visualization can affect your physical existence. Whatever you imagine, your mind will accept as real. In time your mind will work to "fulfill" your thoughts, creating them in reality. Think negative thoughts, create negative results. Think positive thoughts, create positive results. Here are some quick tips for using visualization to help you quit smoking: Visualization often begins with affirmations--positive statements you make to yourself. Some examples of positive affirmations include: "I enjoy breathing easily and deeply," "I am free from any desire to smoke," and "My hands and teeth are clean and smoke free." Write down some goals for yourself, relating to smoking. For example, "I will quit smoking by the last day of March," or "My body no longer desires nicotine," or "I will take a vacation to Mexico next year with the money I save by not smoking." To create deep visualizations that can profoundly affect you, relaxation is very important. To relax you should sit in a comfortable chair and close your eyes. Begin breathing long, deep breaths. In between breaths repeat statements like "I’m getting very relaxed," and "going deeper." After two or three minutes, begin focusing on the affirmations and goals you have created for yourself. Visualize your lungs as very clean and healthy. Visualize socializing with non-smokers. Visualize yourself effortlessly running a marathon. Visualize your friends and loved ones honoring you at a quit-smoking banquet. Don’t "push" your visualization. Lee Pulos, author of
The Power of Visualization Your next step toward self-knowledge and quitting is learning what triggers your smoking. A trigger is anything that instantly engenders within you a desire to smoke. For example, the end of a meal may be a signal (trigger) to your mind and body that it's time for a cigarette. Common triggers include people, places, events and stress. People: when you are with other smokers you are more likely to light up. Places: certain places are synonymous with smoking, such as bars or restaurants. Events: stressful or extraordinary events such as a family member’s illness or death can trigger stress, which consequently triggers your smoking. Stress: As mentioned above, stress can be a trigger, causing you to reach for a cigarette. Cigarettes do have a legitimate calming effect on many smokers, encouraging the use of cigarettes as tranquilizers. Step 9 below discusses exercise as a stress reliever and quit-smoking method. Meditation and visualization (Step 7 above) are also good stress relievers. Plan how you will reduce stress in your life. Exercise is an excellent way to reduce stress. Exercise also can play an important role in helping you to quit smoking. Research shows that smokers who take up a regular exercise program have a much higher quit-smoking success rate. Smoking and exercise simply aren’t compatible. A Gallup Poll found that smokers who exercised were twice as likely to quit smoking versus smokers who did not exercise. The many positive effects of exercise include:
To get started exercising you need to choose one or two activities that you enjoy. Common exercises include walking, jogging, biking, swimming, tennis, basketball, etc. Try to exercise 20-30 minutes at a time, three to four times per week. If you are out of shape, give yourself time to work up to this regular exercise schedule. Consult your doctor before beginning your exercise program. Be sure you pick an exercise that you enjoy, and consider exercising with a buddy. Chances are you know another smoker who wants to quit. Suggest to that smoker that you help each other "douse the flames" forever. Studies show that smokers who partner with a Quit Buddy to provide mutual support are more successful when giving up cigarettes than are smokers who try to quit on their own. Quit Buddies can provide support by way of daily or even hourly phone calls. Make yourself available to your Buddy whenever he or she needs help making it through the tougher moments. Provide positive encouragement when your Buddy succeeds. Do your best to ignore any relapse your Buddy may have. Don’t try to "shame" or coerce your Buddy into quitting. Studies show that negative feedback does not improve quit-smoking success rates. Many smokers who have successfully given up cigarettes have made several attempts to quit before they finally kicked the habit. You should know going in that quitting may be a lengthy, or even life-long, process. There is no failure as long as you follow Step 1 above (Believe). If you believe you will quit, you will! It may take three or four attempts before your quitting "sticks." If you quit for a short time then resume smoking, you are one step closer to quitting for good. Just quit again. Keep doing it Until. Until you win, until you quit for life. Conclusion The beginning of a new year is a wonderful time to decide or "resolve" to quit smoking. Use this report to formulate your quit smoking plan. Share the report and your plan with your family, friends and other smokers. Please let me know about your quit-smoking successes (and troubles). I would like to learn from you about the effectiveness of this report as well as effective tips and methods that you create yourself. Here’s how you can reach me: Fred H. Kelley For more information consult the following resources: American Cancer Society American Cancer Society American Heart Association American Lung Association National Cancer Institute Office on Smoking and Health QuitSmoking.com =========================================== Permission to reprint or reproduce this article is granted as long as the following conditions are met:
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