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Noted American humorist, Mark Twain, said, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.” Does that sound like you?
Have you tried to stop smoking before - only to go back to it in a moment of weakness? Then the next time you want to quit, you have that memory of failure, so you’re more skeptical of your potential for success each time you fail.
Counselors teach a technique called “reframing.” It’s like taking an old oil painting out of the worn, scratched frame and placing it inside a beautiful new frame - same picture, new frame.
That’s what you need to do in the way you talk to yourself about your goal to stop smoking. Reframe your past experiences like this: “I may have failed the last time, but now I know what obstacles tripped me up and I’m better able to avoid them.”
That’s how you reframe the situation so that you look at the positive. Or as sales people say, “always fail forward!” The great news is that there are so many methods you can use.
You know one or more ways that did not work for you, so this time, use a different method. It doesn’t matter what you uncle or best friend did to quit smoking - all that matters is finding what works for you.
And it’s not about a timeline, either. As long as you’re making progress, it takes as long as it takes. Remember - quitting means quitting, not tapering off. You have to quit smoking in your mind before you quit in a literal sense.
You can’t do it to please someone else - you have to do it for yourself. Until you are fully committed to stop smoking, no method on the planet will work for any length of time.
Once you’re fully committed to stop smoking, you can be successful with almost any method. The most important element in smoking cessation is YOU. This takes your effort, your time and your dedication.
Give yourself credit for taking on a huge challenge. You might not get it right the first time. You may go for months smoke-free and then face a stressful situation where, without thinking about it, you go back to smoking.
Don’t get down on yourself. You succeeded once and you can do it again! Plus, you can better identify the stressor that started this chain reaction so that you can find other ways to handle the stress.
As soon as you recognize the slip, stop and get back to what you already know about smoking cessation. Review your smoking cues and what you’ve learned in finding alternative healthy habits.
Not only will this put you back into smoke-free mode, but you’ll also be better able to handle the stressor that caught you off guard. You aren’t a weak person for smoking - or even for relapsing after you quit.
Your sincere desire to stop smoking proves that you’re strong and willing to face this addiction so that you can take back control over your health and your life. You want to do this and you can do this.
Success is within your reach.
Will you go for it?
