The first step to quitting those cigarettes that are making your teeth yellow and breaht smell bad is to tell yourself you can. You have the power over you. Not the ciggie!
If you can’t believe that you are capable of quitting smoking and that the cigarettes will always take over your free will every time then chances are that you simply will not be able to quit at all. Research on smokers shows that the smokers who truly believe that they are capable of mastering the bad habit are the ones that succeed.
Often those who can’t quit believe that they can’t be happy unless they know they can have a cigarette whenever they want. Resolving that you will be happy with or without a cigarette is key to eliminating its power over you. You need to believe, truly and with all of your heart, that you can quit and not face a future where you feel deprived.
The reason that this proactive and positive belief that you will be able to quit is essential is incredibly important as it will guide everything you do in the future. If you don’t believe you can quit then you may seek the company of people who also are negative about quitting or seek out a method of quitting smoking that is known to have a high failure rate so you can blame the method, rather than yourself.
If there is one thing that people who can’t quit smoking have in common it is the belief that they are terminally unique. They might believe that withdrawal symptoms are too painful to endure or that they are special somehow physically or spiritually and be spared from smoking’s consequence.
Here is a tip to get started when it comes to combating that inner voice that tells you “What’s one little cigarette going to matter?” or “You just can’t get through this.” On recipe cards write out several positive statements about quitting and post them in places that you will see them, such as the mirror in our bathroom. Make them affirmative and in the present such as “ I am a non smoker.” “It is easy to quit smoking and “I control my life, not cigarettes.”
Realize that your old belief that you can’t quit is old fashioned and misinformed and that your new belief is based on new information and your newfound desire to quit smoking now.