Setting yourself up to be successful is not something that should happen by accident. If you really want to stop smoking for good, you will need to make a few conscious decisions that must be followed.
If you wake up each morning with the goal of trying to avoid cigarettes and while not having a real plan on how to actually avoid cigarettes, you may find yourseld smoking again very quickly.
In the beginning, you will discover that you are probably afraid of quitting. While you know that it is the smart thing to do for your health, it is a habit that has become a huge comfort to you. However, letting yourself believe you will fail will result in failure. If you believe that you can succeed, you will find it much easier to quit for good.
Your first step should be picking out a specific date that you want to stop smoking. This can be any date that you want, and this date should actually come. Once the date arrives, having your friends and family to support you would be a great help. They can help you keep your will to go on.
As a great step in the right direction, you could even avoid buying new cigarettes if you are out, or destroy any that you currently have. As a hint, if the cigarettes are in the cabinet in the kitchen or the living room but not physically on you, then yes they do still count as being in your possession.
You need to remove everything smoking related from your home. This includes matches, lighters, ashtrays, and all cigarettes. Wash everything in your house if you can, especially bed sheets, and drapes. Anything that smells like smoke should be cleaned. This will clear your home and get it smelling fresh and clean. This great new smell can go a long way towards warding off cigarettes since you will not want to smoking in the clean house and ruin the fresh smell.
Create a reward system for yourself. A good place to start would be a tiny reward after your first 24 hours with no cigarettes. Then move onto 2 days, then 3 days, then a week, two weeks, a month, two months and so forth. These small rewards will help you to stay motivated as the going gets tough and your willpower starts to diminish. If you give into the temptation, you lose out on your reward and this should be painful in order to be effective. If you are a huge sports fan, you might buy yourself season tickets for your favorite team. Every time you meet a goal, you go to a game, which can encourage you to stay on track so you can use those great tickets.
Writing down your goals is another great way to rid yourself of cigarettes. There is something about writing down goals that just makes them more important. If you are just walking around with your goals and rewards in your head it is easy to change the rules as you go along. If they are written down, it is a lot easier for someone in your family to help hold you accountable. In addition, this can make it seem much more reasonable to actually quit.
Talking about quitting can sound really scary, seeing it written down on paper can remind you just how simple the process really is.
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