How To Quit Smoking For Free
Michael Jordan, Alexander the Great, Gwen Stafani, Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, William Shakespeare, Albert Einstein, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Mead, Susan B. Anthony, Jane Austin, Helen Keller, Marilyn Monroe, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Tupac, Britney… All these people have accomplished many amazing things in a lifetime. And the fact is, they are not much different than you.
You were meant to conquer the word and live your wildest dreams. I wouldn’t associate with anyone who tells you otherwise. It boils down to will power, and it’s in you. There’s a voice inside telling you to quit. Listen to that voice. And if the people I have just mentioned can accomplish truly wonderful things, than you can quit smoking. Once you quit, you can then start accomplishing your own marvelous goals. So whatever dreams you have, get ready to start chasing them down. It’s no coincidence that the famous people at the top of the charts are always saying you can do anything if you put your mind to it.
Facing the Music
In order to quit smoking, you need to face the facts. Although it is difficult to accept, you must embrace the following notion: Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, and you are addicted to it. From personal experience, I know that nicotine is dictating your life. It’s the first thing you do when you wake up, and it’s the last thing you do before you go to sleep. You smoke when you’re happy because it feels good, and you smoke when you’re sad because it makes you feel better. You will justify any excuse to have a smoke. You become irritable if you go a morning without a cig, and when that happens, lighting up is all you can think about. You need one after you eat to settle your stomach, and if you had to choose between a quick lunch or a cigarette, you would most likely choose a cig. Again… nicotine is a drug, and you are a drug addict.
The physical effects nicotine have on your body are devastating. Not only does it greatly increase your chance for heart disease and cancer, but it also effects your body in more subtle ways as well. If you are anything like I was or many other smokers I know, nicotine most likely suppresses your appetite. Because of this, you probably aren’t eating enough healthy food. Therefore, your body isn’t getting the proper nutrition it needs to thrive. After the morning cigarette, you don’t feel like eating a large breakfast. This leaves you hungry, irritable, lacking focus, and stressed out. As a result, you fill up on junk food and soda while smoking more cigarettes due to stress. Also, most smokers I know usually substitute sugared drinks for water thus leaving their bodies dehydrated. The cycle continues for lunch and dinner every day of your life.
Nicotine is classified as a stimulant. This means that it will make people feel wired. Consequently, you will have a difficult time getting enough sleep at night. So you wake up tired, stressed-out, hungry, irritable, unable to focus, and craving a smoke. Day in and day out you are running your body and soul into the ground, grinding out a torturous life minute by minute. Depriving your body of nutrition and sleep is asking for an early grave. By continuing to smoke, you are missing out on the quality life has to offer.
Despite the devastating effects smoking cigarettes creates, people still smoke them habitually. This is because they are addicted to a drug. I realize this may sound harsh to most people; however, realizing that I was addicted to a drug that was ruining my life was the first step towards successfully quitting.
The Hook
One thing to recognize that will increase your chances of quitting is that you are a different person now then when you became hooked. How old were you when you started smoking? I’m pretty sure I was sixteen. At that age, like everyone else, I desperately wanted to be cool. I thought smoking would make me stand out, and I associated with others who felt the same way. I also thought the world was very rough on me, as if I was the only person facing problems. Anytime things got tough or I got scared, I could always rely on a cigarette to make me feel better. I even thought they helped me relax and understand school work.
Looking back, I realize I was basically a child when I started smoking. I suffered from low self-esteem and let other people hurt my feelings. When it came to problems I had to face, I was a scared little boy who wanted to run and hide. I had no real responsibilities. I was a naïve young man hooked on an addictive drug, and as soon as I turned eighteen, I was smoking a pack a day.
There are worse stories out there. More six-year-olds are addicted to nicotine than you think. I know from working in day-cares that there are many children who are exposed to second-hand smoke since they were conceived. These children grow up in houses where one or both parents smoke indoors, and even as babies, they breathe in nicotine on an hourly basis. It’s not uncommon for these kids to be smoking a pack of cigarettes every day by the time they are fifteen or sixteen-years-old. The reason why these children start smoking is unfair, and they have an incredibly tough time quitting. However, I believe they have the inner strength to quit. That’s why I am writing this blog.
The point I am trying to make in this section is that many smokers become addicted to cigarettes at a very early age. It may not have been your choice to start in the first place. As you seek to grow and develop yourself to become stronger, it helps to realize you are a different person then when you first started smoking. You are strong now. You aren’t scared of challenges, and you don’t need cheap thrills like cigarettes to make you feel better.
A great exercise you can do to help you quit is ask yourself the following questions: How old were you when you started smoking?; Why did you start smoking?; Are you the same person as when you started smoking or are you different?; And in what ways are you different? If you find this post interesting, please share it with your friends. To find out more, you can check out How To Quit Smoking For Free.
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