Most people lose motivation before they even really try to quit smoking. Quitting can be attained by having a positive attitude, and the right tricks that can help you, like the ones written in this article. Follow the advice provided, and you will quickly realize that quitting is not as difficult as you imagined.
To aid in smoking cessation, remove yourself from your circle of friends who smoke. Don’t worry; this is just a temporary measure, but you really do need to do this. Constant exposure to cigarette smoke, plus the social aspect of smoking together, will automatically squash your hopes for success.
Keep a cold glass or bottle of ice water nearby at all times. When you get a craving for a cigarette, take a sip of water–even if this means you hardly put the bottle down at first. This gives you something to do with your hands and mouth, and it can be a useful way to prevent snacking, too.
You must know why you want to stop smoking. Having shallow reasons, like it is bad for you are not good enough. To really get yourself motivated, you need a personal and powerful reason to quit. Maybe you are scared of lung cancer. Or maybe you would like to keep your family from second hand smoke. It might be because you want to both feel and look younger. Choose a strong reason that outweighs your urge to light up.
Though aversion therapies have gotten a bad rap recently, they do sometimes work in helping you to stop smoking. They do not need to be extravagant methods and you don’t need to pay a therapist to employ aversion techniques. Try the simple things, such as permeating your favorite sweater with the smoke from that last cigarette you smoke. Then reach for it after not smoking for a day or two; you will be appalled at the offensive odor that you have been subjecting yourself and others to on a daily basis.
To keep yourself motivated to quit smoking, be clear about why you want to quit. While there are many good reasons to quit smoking, you want to focus on your most powerful, personal reasons. Every time you feel tempted, remind yourself how much you want to improve your health, save money or set a good example for your kids.
To cut back on smoking cravings, change the habits that once surrounded smoking. For example, if you always smoked on your breaks then see if you can get your breaks at a different time to make it harder to succumb to those cravings. Likewise, if you always had a cigarette with coffee then switch to a new caffeine fix like tea.
Blow off some steam to keep yourself from blowing smoke. One of the most effective ways for you to work through nicotine cravings is to exercise. As an added bonus, you will feel the effects of your improving health more readily if you subsidize quitting smoking with a more rigorous exercise routine.
Receiving support from friends and family members can go a long way in helping you to quit smoking. It’s especially important to remind them that getting over an addiction can cause mood swings and irritability. If people close to you are understanding of the situation, it will make relapsing that much easier to avoid.
Take the time to really sit down and think about how quitting smoking will improve your life. This is especially effective if you already have serious health conditions that smoking can exacerbate, like asthma or diabetes. If your family has a predisposition for cancer, then it can also be very powerful for you to acknowledge that quitting now could actually save your life.
If you quit smoking and slip up, do not beat yourself up or assume that you’ll never succeed. Many former smokers quit and relapse several times before it finally sticks for good. Pay close attention to what may have triggered a relapse, learn from the experience, and give it another shot promptly.
The truth is that a lot of people wish they could quit smoking, but don’t know how to do it. In order to be successful in your attempts to quit, you need to have a solid plan, and plenty of motivation. The advice that was in this article will help you to devise a successful plan in your battle to quit smoking.
