The Only Easy Way to Stop Smoking Is Being 100% Successful the Hard Way
A habit can be established in 21 days, according to Benjamin Franklin.
It therefore logically follows that a replacement habit can be established in 21 days.
To break the smoking habit should take 21 days.
Not so.
I smoked for 25 years with many failed attempts at quitting.
I am amused at the promises and offerings on the Internet and TV of stopping in 10 days.
You will not break the smoking habit in 10 days, 30 days or 30 years.
You will always be an ex-smoker and hopefully a non-smoker.
I am horrified at the offerings on TV to stop in 10 days, but they sell you a 30-day supply of their "Mouse milk".
They then warn you of many things it can do to your body, including death, but so will cigarettes.
Go to their websites and read precautions.
One of my failed attempts lasted for 5 years.
I did not know at the time of quitting that breaking the smoking habit was a process, not a destination.
That is when I identified a devil on my shoulder with many reasons to return to smoking.
They all sounded logical while I was starving for a cigarette.
I named him Nick O'Teen.
I paid close attention to Nick and his arguments.
It is like deciding in advance how much to risk at gambling.
I identified many of his "convincing" arguments and built my defenses based on them.
Psst, now listen here: Well two packs a day isn't really bad, a lot of people smoke more.
It's one of your few enjoyments and you deserve at least one.
I'm sure that that hacking cough is post nasal drip and not caused by the cigarettes.
There are the times that you need stress relief that the cigarettes provide for you.
You sure picked the wrong time to quit because xyz is taking place and making you nervous.
Tomorrow, you can quit again.
I don't know why you decided to quit.
You enjoyed it and didn't smoke enough to really hurt anything.
Next month we are going to xxx and you can stop then.
I made a website on breaking the smoking habit and while preparing to do some photography, I bummed an unlit cigarette from my Nephew for a picture.
WOW, after 29 years of not even touching a cigarette, it had such a familiar and pleasing feel.
It was almost like touching my High School sweetheart again.
I finally filtered out his BIG argument.
That is the argument that snared me many times.
I built up immunity to it and it has served me for 29 years.
One of his big ones, but not the biggest is the experimentation phenomena: "Now that I have broken the smoking habit for xxx days, years, I wonder what one would be like?" The biggest obstacle faced by the person stopping smoking, is the close association with other smokers.
The next biggest trigger is Alcohol.
It therefore logically follows that a replacement habit can be established in 21 days.
To break the smoking habit should take 21 days.
Not so.
I smoked for 25 years with many failed attempts at quitting.
I am amused at the promises and offerings on the Internet and TV of stopping in 10 days.
You will not break the smoking habit in 10 days, 30 days or 30 years.
You will always be an ex-smoker and hopefully a non-smoker.
I am horrified at the offerings on TV to stop in 10 days, but they sell you a 30-day supply of their "Mouse milk".
They then warn you of many things it can do to your body, including death, but so will cigarettes.
Go to their websites and read precautions.
One of my failed attempts lasted for 5 years.
I did not know at the time of quitting that breaking the smoking habit was a process, not a destination.
That is when I identified a devil on my shoulder with many reasons to return to smoking.
They all sounded logical while I was starving for a cigarette.
I named him Nick O'Teen.
I paid close attention to Nick and his arguments.
It is like deciding in advance how much to risk at gambling.
I identified many of his "convincing" arguments and built my defenses based on them.
Psst, now listen here: Well two packs a day isn't really bad, a lot of people smoke more.
It's one of your few enjoyments and you deserve at least one.
I'm sure that that hacking cough is post nasal drip and not caused by the cigarettes.
There are the times that you need stress relief that the cigarettes provide for you.
You sure picked the wrong time to quit because xyz is taking place and making you nervous.
Tomorrow, you can quit again.
I don't know why you decided to quit.
You enjoyed it and didn't smoke enough to really hurt anything.
Next month we are going to xxx and you can stop then.
I made a website on breaking the smoking habit and while preparing to do some photography, I bummed an unlit cigarette from my Nephew for a picture.
WOW, after 29 years of not even touching a cigarette, it had such a familiar and pleasing feel.
It was almost like touching my High School sweetheart again.
I finally filtered out his BIG argument.
That is the argument that snared me many times.
I built up immunity to it and it has served me for 29 years.
One of his big ones, but not the biggest is the experimentation phenomena: "Now that I have broken the smoking habit for xxx days, years, I wonder what one would be like?" The biggest obstacle faced by the person stopping smoking, is the close association with other smokers.
The next biggest trigger is Alcohol.