Qutting smoking

1.Wake up! We all know that smoking is bad for us, but if you're like most smokers, you avoid looking at the destruction smoking causes whenever possible. Take the blinders off and read everything you can get your hands on about smoking. It will help you start to make the mental shift necessary to quit smoking.

2. Write it down. Writing down what you're going through is a useful tool for anyone trying to quit smoking. Start with your list of reasons for quitting. Include everything from big to small, and leave room to add to it. Think about the pros and cons of smoking and make your list as detailed as possible. Be honest with yourself.

3. Reaffirmation We have a way of believing what we tell ourselves over and over. Your journal will help you cement these goals. Prompt yourself with present-tense messages like: "I am a nonsmoker" or "I am strong and healthy", and commit them to paper. Daily affirmations will plant the seeds of change in your mind, and it won't be long before your actions are following your thoughts.

4. Lean on Someone Having others who are interested in your success is very important. The Smoking Cessation Forum here at Smoke Away is a thriving, active group of people who can give you the help and encouragement you need. Sign in as a guest to browse and read posts from other quitters, or register(free) to post messages of your own.

5. Start taking your body back. Smoking cessation throws our bodies into shock initially. If you take care to give your body the fuel it needs to run properly, you'll find that you're better able to cope with the discomforts of nicotine withdrawal. Have the right foods within easy reach and you'll minimize weight gain due to quitting.

6. Listen to your body. When you're tired, cravings to smoke will seem stronger while you feel less able to manage them. Fit a full 8 hours of sleep in every night, and a nap here and there if you need it. If you have trouble sleeping when you first quit smoking, try taking a long walk a couple of hours before bed. Most importantly, you have been abusing your body with nicotine for so long, it's time to repair it.

7. Water You'd be surprised what water can do. It will help to flush residual toxins out of your system, and beat back cravings to smoke. When you're well-hydrated, you'll feel better in general, which is a plus when you're going through nicotine withdrawal.

8. Get back in the groove. If you already have a daily exercise regimen, good for you! If not, start now. Choose something you enjoy doing, and you'll be more likely to stick with it. Aim for a half hour of exercise every day. Walking is a great way to move and it's a quick fix for the urge to smoke. Get out for a 15 minute walk around the block and you'll come back refreshed and relaxed. Chances are if you start seeing an impvovement, you'll want to keep it going. But you have to start.

9. Be Determined. Your determination to quit smoking is built one day at a time. Every smoke free day makes you stronger, and when you consciously take time to reflect and rejoice in the value of what you're doing, you're working to fortify your will to make this the quit that lasts you a lifetime.

10. Be grateful that you still have a chance to change things.Think about the blessings in your life. We all have them. Be thankful for the freedom you're creating for yourself today. Remember that you've wanted to quit smoking for a long time and you're finally doing something about it. List out the benefits you see in your health and overall being due to quitting tobacco. Make gratitude a daily conscious part of your life.

11. Know that it's hard and accept the challenge. Relax into your quit and embrace cravings to smoke as they come. Don't fight - lean into urges and ride them out. Most cravings last 3-5 minutes. Think of them as signs that your body is healing - that is just what they are.

12. Don't long for the old you. Quitting tobacco is a gift, not a sacrifice. Don't sabatoge yourself by feeling sorry that you can't smoke. You are choosing not to smoke because you want to be free of this killer of an addiction. Keep your perspective!

13. It doesn't happen overnight. Just as Rome wasn't built in a day, people don't quit smoking in a day either. Most of us had 20 years or more of smoking under our belts before we quit. Give yourself the gift of time and patience. Work to undo old patterns and replace them with newer, healthier choices. Each day you complete smoke free brings you closer to lasting freedom.

14. Make this the year We all vow to do it, but we let lifes challenges knock us off track. But remember, life's challenges are easier to deal with when you are not chained to nicotine addiction. You can quit smoking for good! and Shed the chains of addiction and take back your life.

15. 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.

16. One little smoke does make a difference. If you don't truly believe you can quit, you'll probably find yourself saying, "What's one little cigarette? I've got a headache. I just can't quit like other people." If you believe you can quit, instead you'll be saying "My head is hurting from withdrawal, but I can make it through this. I know the headache and other withdrawal symptoms will go away in a few days. My life is more important than a stupid cigarette."

17. Believing shapes everything you do. So does not believing. If you believe something strongly enough your mind will give you the correct thoughts to help your body take you in the direction of your belief. You must believe that you can quit smoking, even if it takes 10,000 attempts.

Realize that your old belief was founded on old ideas and circumstances and that your new belief is based on new information and your newfound desire to quit smoking now.
On 3X5 cards, write out several positive statements about your ability to quit. Read your cards three times a day: morning, noon and bedtime. Some statements to use: "I believe that I have the ability to quit smoking," "I am a non-smoker," "I no longer need cigarettes in my life," "I happily quit smoking," "It's easy to quit smoking," "I am a powerful, self-directed person," "I control my own life." Make up some of your own statements. Make them positive, as if you have already completed the task.
Post a sign on your bathroom mirror with one of the above statements on it.
Repeat the above statements to yourself, whenever you have a free moment.
Use visualization techniques to visualize yourself mastering your smoking habit and winning the fight.
Ask your family and friends to encourage you with positive statements about your ability to quit smoking.
18. Create a "Quit Plan" 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.PLan your work and work your plan.

19. Take the plan seriously. This is your life we are talking about! Study this report and write down how you will mentally prepare yourself to quit smoking. Don't try to quit until you feel you are ready.

20. Set a quit date. Decide on a specific date that you will quit. Write down your "quit date." Make sure your quit date comes after you have completed step "a" above. Also, choose a quit date that occurs during a relatively low stress time. Don't try to quit during a stressful time at work or during the break-up of a relationship, for example.

21. Hold yourself to the date. Quitting on a specific date is preferable to slowly reducing the number of cigarettes that you smoke. By going "cold turkey" you won't have to keep track of how many cigarettes you smoked yesterday and how many you will smoke today. You will also remove the temptation to cheat and smoke too many. By using this report to prepare yourself for your quit date you will be ready to quit, and going cold turkey won't be so difficult.

22. Think about the upside. Write down all the things you will enjoy doing after you quit smoking (long walks, eating out without being restricted to the smoking section, taking a vacation with the money you will save, etc.). This step is very important, so spend extra time dreaming up your "smoke-free future."

23. Remember the triggers. Write down the times and occasions when you are most likely to smoke. Write down what "triggers" your desire to smoke. You may be surprised to find that you have organized your day around smoking.

24. Plan your new life. Write down five to ten things you will do instead of smoking, whenever you feel a cigarette craving coming on. For example, you might drink a glass of water, go for a short walk, type a letter, do some filing, call a friend, read a book, or mow the grass. Plan how you will distract yourself. Try to distract yourself with something healthy and/or beneficial. Match the distractions you've created in this step with the times and occasions your wrote down in step "d" above.

25. Identify your support network. Write down the names of three people whom you trust to support your efforts to quit s