January is here a New Year and a New Start. It’s that time of the year when thousands of people will be saying… “This is the year I’ll quit smoking. I’ll deal once and for all with it and I will become healthy, fit and richer.”
Despite these good intentions, sadly most will fail.
Statistics show that 80% of New Year Resolutions are broken by the end of January with most people tailing off by the 2nd week.
Sorry, if you are one of those who have made quitting smoking your new year resolution, I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but it is highly likely you will fail. WHY? You may ask yourself.
Forget statistics, the reality is that if you decide on a whim to quit smoking the chances are you’ll be one of those who fail. Basically, it all comes down to a misunderstanding about smoking…
You see, quitting smoking is a process… it is not a one off event. A sudden decision to quit and that’s it. Okay, some people (very few) do manage to achieve quitting on will-power alone, but the vast majority don’t. Quitting smoking is a process of renewing one’s mind to a new way of thinking about life, it’s about creating new beliefs about life where smoking just doesn’t fit into. It’s about seeing yourself as a person who does not smoke, and feeling all the emotions that go with it. It’s about rehearsing difficult situations that trigger you to smoke so that when you face them you’ve already got a back up plan. It’s about staying focussed.
And all this takes time…
So give yourself time… stop worrying or thinking about the future and live in the moment, facing the challenges of the day. One hour at a time, one day at a time.
A non-smoker is not just someone who doesn’t smoke. True success is when you can say you never think about smoking. When there is no desire or need. And that takes time.
So take time to plan your own quit smoking programme… start visualising yourself as a person who does not need or want to smoke. Start imagining what it would feel like going through an average day as a person who does not desire to smoke. Get all the help and support you need before you quit. Get all the information you need to help you make a decision to quit. Find out what quit programme would be most helpful to you – have a look through the menu bar at the top of this page for a range of self-help and 1-1 programmes.
Get armed and get ready…
2016 could be the year that sets you free from smoking, providing you don’t make a rash desicion, think it through and take your time… build up your determination and then go for it with a programme that will renew your thinking, change your habits and create a new you.
Catch you later…
