Your mindset is one of the most important factors in your attempt at quitting. You can't stop if you aren't ready, it's as simple as that.
You need to be READY. You need to WANT to be ready. You need to want this more than anything else in your life! Sometimes it takes weeks to prepare yourself for the right moment in your life when you're truly ready to give it all up. When that moment arrives, you'll definitely know and want to act on it.
It should be when you have no big event in front of you. Perhaps you just finished going to a wedding, or a big camping trip, or the long holiday weekend. If there is nothing in front of you to make you think you need to continue to smoke for, then stop immediately. You want to quit, right?
Quitting smoking must be your #1 priority above everything else. You have to be totally serious about it. You can't go to the bars the same night you've quit. You can't go to a concert the same night, either. You can't do most things for a little while, but that's OK. You must focus 100% of your energy on never touching a cigarette ever again. Don't worry about anything else. If you do, you're doomed and you'll most likely relapse. You don't want that to happen, do you?
Being tobacco-free needs to be your #1 end goal.
For the first few weeks, every night I would immediately crave a cigarette to alleviate the stress of the day.
I knew I didn't need one, but my natural instinct was to have one. You have to get it in your head that you DON'T want one and that it will do nothing for you.
Only then will you be able to talk yourself out of it, and simply go home after work, instead of thinking finally -- then proceed to light up in the car.
There will come a time in your life when you're sick and tired of it and ready to turn your life around. It happened to me. You'll be tired of the sore throats and the coughing, being sick all the time, the slavery, the anxiety, the cost, etc. The list is enormous.
I just want to say you might not enjoy lighting up forever. I enjoyed it-- I didn't want to stop. It was fun and it really didn't get in the way of my everyday life. But later on in life was an entirely different story. It controlled my every thought.
Also, it's important to quit for yourself. Don't stop because of a loved one, or because of a TV commerical, or because of your parents, or any of that nonsense. You have to want this for YOURSELF, and that begins in your mind. That's the bottom line.
Now it's totally OK to quit for your kids, or any loved ones, and many people do, but you have to realize that if you aren't doing it for you first and foremost, then you'll be very vulnerable to cravings and triggers. You'll be likely to make excuses because you aren't being true to yourself.
Let's not kid ourselves OK. I've been there, I know what it's like, and it isn't fun. In fact, it was a nightmare. I hated my life. I hated the fact I had to leave the party because I ran out of cigarettes. I hated the fact I turned to them when I was stressed out or nervous. I hated that they controlled every part of my life, from the moment I woke up and until I went to bed.
The most important rule of thumb in your attempt is: YOU MUST BE READY! That's half the battle right there.
This is the biggest lifestyle change you'll ever face. So get into the correct frame of mind, and never look back. You have to change for good!
Within days, you'll love yourself for it. You'll wish you had started sooner. Once the withdrawal has vanished, you'll never want to go back. You'll feel too good! You'll realize just how bad you felt all those years. No one regrets it. That I can guarantee!
