Do you remember back to grade school when you were learning the multiplication table? It seemed like so many numbers to memorize and at the beginning seemed overwhelming. Some people seemed to just work, work, work at it, and they would eventually get it. I was one who loved it when I could find shortcuts to accomplish a goal like this. It was very helpful when the math teacher would give us clues and ideas to help us remember things. I recall thinking about 25’s in terms of quarters and money. It helped me a bunch when I equated 7’s with touchdowns in football.
If you think about this for a moment, what I was doing was utilizing knowledge, ways of thinking, and strengths that I already had to help me accomplish something that wasn’t otherwise connected to the task at hand. We can do this in many parts of life.
If we can use it for grade school math we can certainly use it to help with stopping tobacco.
First, generate a list of strengths that you have. If this doesn’t come easily, spend some time paying attention to things you do well in life or ask a family member or friend to help you identify your strengths.
Next, think about these things and look for creative ways to utilize your strengths to help you with stopping. Using the examples above, you can focus on money you are saving by not buying tobacco, put the saved money in a stash, and plan to do something special with it. Using the football scores, you can count up by 7’s in your head, think about your favorite football team, join a fantasy football league…you get the idea?
The best ideas for you are going to be your ideas using your strengths!
