Quitting Smoking? Be Accountable to Others
By: Darren Warmuth
If you want to quit smoking - and truly quit, not just have it as some passing fancy - you must hold yourself accountable not only to yourself but others as well. The nicotine beast, other smokers and your subconscious can all be very persuasive threats on the road to quitting so this is why I so firmly advocate a solid support group of at least two or three other people. Five is even better.
Here the numbers are important because it is that much more difficult to get past five persons to succumb to an overwhelming urge strikes than it is to convince just one person – yourself.
When you work with a group, you are accountable to others.
Actually, it’s all about holding yourself accountable to others. If you have been off cigarettes for one week and then your mind comes up with some silly reason that you need a smoke. It will very cleverly convince all the dissenting voices trying to remind you of your resolve so that you become weak and break down before the urge and take a smoke.
However, if you had five loyal soldiers standing between the nicotine demon and you, it will be entirely different story.
Here's how it works.
So, it is very essential that you set up a small support group for yourself either through email, telephone, or a support forum. Let your support group know of your goal to quit smoking and also what you expect from them. You don’t want them to pester you every now and then; make that clear. All you want is that they be there for you when you need help and positive support. You will have weak moments, and it is at that time that you will need their encouragement.
Now, with a support group in place, when you again encounter an overwhelming urge to smoke, you will have to get past not just your own guilty conscience, but you have to call these five people and tell them that you have decided to start smoking again.
And that's all you get to say. No more. Then you just have to sit back and listen without getting angry or upset. If you can make it through all five members of your support team and you still think that their advice and support is misguided and your deep down beliefs that you should quit are suddenly wrong, then by all means have that 'one' cigarette. But I warn you now, don't think that you'll just have the one - you won't. It's always, always, always the first one that will get you.
The support system works so well only because of numbers; it is six times more difficult to convince six people (your support team plus you) against the 'one'.
As I say, the more you know about quitting, the more successful you will be. So get all the information you need before you try to quit. It's much easier, believe me.
Happy quitting,
Darren Warmuth
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