by Darren Warmuth
If you've been a smoker for any length of time, you've given thought to quitting. Why haven't you? Because you keep making excuses like "Now's not a good time for me" or "I need to lose some weight first." You know exactly what I mean because if you haven't said these words, you know someone who has.
First things first. Get out a notepad and spend some time writing down the exact reasons that are driving you to rid yourself of this habit. Then once you are done with that, turn the page over and jot down all the reasons (excuses) you might make to justify why you haven't.
The act of putting your thoughts to paper gives you clarity. It allows you to sit back and subjectively analyze not only why you want to quit, but to scrutinize all the excuses that are keeping you from doing so. Doing so in this fashion will show you how silly your excuses are in comparison to the goal you are looking to attain.
Have a look at a few of the most often stated excuses and apply them to your list if applicable, however in the end it is your job to list every single excuse as to why you smoke that you can think of.
"Smoking helps to keep me thin."
The blunt answer to this one is 'who cares!' Studies have shown that you are better off to be 70+ pounds overweight than to smoke when it comes to your health, but that's not a goal you are looking to attain either. The truth is that yes, some people do gain weight after quitting, but this is usually less than twenty pounds and if that frightens you, then this problem can be easily remedied by careful and detailed planning before you quit. Get it through your mind that you are not going to substitute food for cigarettes and if you do, it is healthy foods like celery, carrots and fruit, not candy bars, chips and other 'comfort food'.
"Smoking is too enjoyable to quit."
If that's the case, then why are you reading an article on quitting smoking? Truth is that I also said this exact same thing. It's purely a defense mechanism so you can justify why you smoke to other people. The problem is that as I said before, if you say something enough times, eventually you will come to believe it. This is no different. So it's time to be completely honest with yourself. Do you really enjoy smoking or is it just a lie you've come to believe? What do you love about it? Is it the coughing, the breathlessness, the stale smell in your hair, clothes, car and home? What is it that you truly appreciate about what smoking does for you? When you look at it that way and actually write the answers down, I think you'll find that you really don't like smoking very much at all.
Don't take what I am saying the wrong way. It is not meant to be cruel or mean. It is solely meant to shake you up and wake you up to the fact that any excuses you make as a smoker now or in the past will do nothing but keep you smoking forever. The sooner you realize this, the easier it will be to quit.
Trust in yourself and you'll find that you already have what it takes to beat these lies.
About the Author:
When you are ready to stop smoking check out both Darren's own quit smoking program and also this independent stop smoking reviews site.
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