Want to quit smoking forever? It’s actually pretty easy to do. All you have to do is…..change everything.
OK, so that is not easy to do. But it is pretty simple. It is just a lot of work, a lot of effort, and you have to make this effort in all areas of your life.
“But,” you protest…”I just want to quit smoking. Forever.”
And you will. But in order to stay quit, forever, you need to do some serious work.
So what needs to change? What do we mean when we say that you have to “change everything?”
It means that you have to change every single thing about your life, from the inside out. The way that you deal with problems and stress has to change, among other things. But even more than that, here are some other changes that will help insure long term success when quitting smoking:
1) Daily exercise – those who do not exercise on a regular basis are making it at least 5 times harder on themselves. Why? Because regular exercise practically replaces the effects of smoking completely on a chemical level. The amount of “feel-good” endorphins that you get pumping to your brain is very similar to someone who is smoking cigarettes all day long. And yet so many people will find a mountain of excuses to avoid this most crucial step.
2) Rituals – you get in the car, you light up a cigarette. You finish a meal, you light up a cigarettes. It seems like everything you do is defined by smoking. If this is the case, then you will need to redefine all of these rituals after you quit. Getting through these situations will be difficult at first, but it will get easier each time you do so without caving in. In time, you will have established new rituals that do not involve smoking, and may not involve much of anything. But it takes time to reprogram your brain to realize that the old reward is gone.
3) Social circles – everyone knows about the little huddle of people who stand together outside of work. It’s the smokers! Well if you quit smoking, you obviously are not going to be joining them any more out there, and this might require a bit of a shift on your part. You can still be social of course, you just have to do it in a different way and possibly with some new people.
