Easy Way To Stop Smoking

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that wonderful moment of relaxation and satisfaction when you do remove them. Perhaps you feel
that would be rather stupid. You are absolutely right. It's hard to visualize while you are still in the
trap, but that is what smokers do. It's also hard to visualize that soon you won't need that little
'reward', and you'll regard your friends who are still in the trap with genuine pity and wonder why
they cannot see the point.
However, if you go on kidding yourself that the cigarette was a genuine reward or that you need a
substitute to take its place, you will feel deprived and miserable, and the chances are that you'll end
up smoking again. If you need a genuine break, as housewives, teachers, doctors and other workers do,
you'll soon be enjoying that break even more because you won't have to choke yourself.
Remember, you don't need a substitute. Those pangs are a craving for poison and will soon be gone.
Let that be your prop for the next few days. Enjoy ridding your body of poison and your mind of
slavery and dependence.
If, because your appetite is better, you eat more at main meals and put on a couple of pounds during
the next few days, don't worry about it. When you experience the 'moment of revelation' that I
describe later, you will have confidence, and you'll find that any problem you have that is capable of
being solved by positive thinking you will be able to solve, including eating habits. But what you
mustn't do is to start picking between meals. If you do, you will get fat and miserable and you will
never know when you've kicked the weed. You'll just be moving the problem instead of getting rid of
it.
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38 Should I Avoid Temptation Situations?
I have been categorical in my advice so far and would ask you to treat this advice as instruction
rather than suggestion. I am categorical, first, because there are sound, practical reasons for my
advice and, second, because those reasons have been backed up by thousands of case studies.
On the question of whether or not to try to avoid temptation during the withdrawal period, I regret
that I cannot be categorical. Each smoker will need to decide for himself. I can, however, make what 1
hope will be helpful suggestions,
I repeat that it is fear that keeps us smoking all our lives, and this fear consists of two distinct
phases.
1 How can I survive without a cigarette?
This fear is the panic feeling that smokers get when they are out late at night and their
cigarettes begin to run out. The fear isn't caused by withdrawal pangs but is the psychological
fear of dependency - you cannot survive without a cigarette. It actually reaches its height when
you are smoking your last cigarette; at that time your withdrawal pangs are at their lowest,
It is the fear of the unknown, the sort of fear that people have when they are learning to dive.
The diving board is 1 foot high but seems to be 6 feet high. The water is 6 feet deep but appears to
be 1 foot deep. It takes courage to launch yourself. You are convinced you are going to smash
your head. The launching is the hardest part. If you can find the courage to do it, the rest is easy.
This explains why many otherwise strong-willed smokers either have never attempted to stop
or can survive only a few hours when they do. In fact, there are some smokers on about twenty a
day who, when they decide to stop, actually smoke their next cigarette more quickly than if they
had not decided to stop. The decision causes panic, which is stressful. This is one of the occasions
when the brain triggers the instruction 'Have a cigarette', but now you can't have one. You are
being deprived - more stress. The trigger starts again quickly the fuse blows and you light up.
Don't worry. That panic is just psychological. It is the fear that you are dependent. The beautiful
truth is that you are not, even when you are still addicted to nicotine. Do not panic. Just trust me
and launch yourself.
2 The second phase of fear is longer-term. It involves the fear that certain situations in the future
will not be enjoyable without a cigarette or that you will not be able to cope with a trauma
without the cigarette. Don't worry. If you can launch yourself you will find the opposite to be
the case.
The avoidance of temptation itself falls into two main categories:
1 I will keep my cigarettes available, although I will not smoke them. I will feel more confident
knowing they are there.'
I find the failure rate with people who do this is far higher than with people who discard them. I
believe this is due mainly to the fact that if you have a bad moment during the withdrawal period, it
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is easy to light up a readily available cigarette. If you have the indignity of having to go out and
buy a packet you are more likely to overcome the temptation, and in any event the pang will
probably have passed before you get to the tobacconist's.
However, I believe the main reason for the higher failure rate in these cases is that the smoker
does not feel completely committed to stopping in the first place. Remember the two essentials to
succeed are:
Certainty.
'Isn't it marvelous that I do not need to smoke any more?'
In either case, why on earth do you need cigarettes? If you still feel the need to keep cigarettes
on your person, I would suggest that you re-read the book first. It means that something hasn't
gelled.
2 'Should I avoid stressful or social occasions during the withdrawal period?'
My advice is, yes, try to avoid stressful situations. There is no sense in putting undue pressure
on yourself.
In the case of social events my advice is the reverse. No, go out and enjoy yourself straight
away. You do not need cigarettes even while you are still addicted to nicotine. Go to a party, and
rejoice in the fact that you do not have to smoke. It will quickly prove to you the beautiful truth
that life is so much better without cigarettes - and just think how much better it will be when the
little monster has left your body, together with all that poison.
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39 The Moment of Revelation
The moment of revelation usually takes place about three weeks after a smoker stops. The sky appears
to become brighter, and it is the moment when the brainwashing ends completely, when, instead of
telling yourself you do not need to smoke, you suddenly realize that the last thread is broken and you
can enjoy the rest of your life without ever needing to smoke again. It is also usually from this point
that you start looking at other smokers as objects of pity.
Smokers using the Willpower Method do not normally experience this moment because, although
they are glad to be ex-smokers, they go through life believing they are making a sacrifice.
The more you smoked, the more marvelous this moment is, and it lasts a lifetime.
I consider I have been very fortunate in this life and had some wonderful moments, but the most
wonderful of all was that moment of revelation. With all the other highlights of my life, although I [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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