Movin' On Up - Issue 4 - January 2014 - 1 | Page 8

Is It Your Time To
Quit?

y
n B irn
te
rit cNa
W eM
Kyl

Alright, it’s a new year and you’re
thinking about quitting smoking. Maybe
it’s because of health problems, maybe
financial ones. The reason doesn’t matter, but
know this isn’t for the faint of heart. You’re
going to wake up feeling worse than
ever before, but I’m here with my
somewhat expertise (I’ve only tried to quit
smoking more times than my mother has
told me too) to keep you from wimping
out and giving in to those oh so
tasty cigarettes. So buckle in
you
dumpster baby, this is going to be a tough
ride. And the first thing you need to do is...
DO You Really
Want To Quit?

It is a simple question, but you need
to ask yourself it before you even attempt
to put any effort into quitting. If you don’t
really want to quit you are setting yourself up for failure right from the start. You
have to really want to quit to actually pull
7 | Movin’ On Up | www.noswagent.com |

it off, because (and you’ll hear this more
than once) quitting smoking takes conviction. If you don’t have that conviction,
then I guarantee you that you will fail.
You may get a week in, maybe two, or
maybe even only twenty four hours, but
you will fail. Because eventually you will
have a bad day, and you will go back to
what you know best, smoking. Without
that conviction to keep struggling even
during the tough times you will quickly
slide back into what feels natural. If,
however, you find that conviction then...
Start Right Away!
Lots of people make the conviction
to quit smoking. Where they fall short is
that they never actually get to starting.
They make up excuses such as “I’ll
quit after this next pack” or “Oh, I’m
only going to smoke when I’m [insert
generic activity that probably involves
drinking].” That is NOT quitting.That
is fantasizing about it so that you can feel

good about quitting without actually
putting any of the effort in. If you
actually have the conviction to quit
smoking you have to start right away.
Because the thing is smoking has this
nasty little habit of subtly controlling your
life if you give it any leeway. You have to
disassociate yourself with smoking right
away. So you have a pack of smokes left?
Throw it out. Because the longer you
leave it the more of your conviction
leaves you, and the stronger a connection
cigarettes have on you.
Have A Plan And Stick To It

You need a plan of attack. This
part is non-negotiable. It doesn’t have to
be some complex master plan, but you
need some way of approaching this problem. Are you going the cold turkey route?
Or maybe you would prefer to slowly cut
down until you’re comfortable cutting
them out completely. Whatever you prefer
you must choose one and STICK WITH
IT. If you choose the cold turkey
option then don’t cheat, stick to you plan.
If you’re goint to slowly cut down create
a schedule and STICK TO IT. Because
quitting smoking is a goal, and the best
way to accomplish your goals is to have
a plan, an underlying frame work. A
plan will help solidify your conviction
because
it’s
entirely
possible...

all. But of course it never quite ends up
the way we imagine it to. We slip up,
make mistakes. And soon, after we makes
these mistakes, we slip back into our
comfortable routines. Because that feeling
of failure, it crushes us and going back
to smoking makes us feel good again.
But when you slip up, smoke that
cigarette, you have to put that failure
behind you. Because if you don’t you
will be right back to where you were
before. Giving up is the only mark of
failure when it comes to quitting smoking,
not slipping up.
Become Comfortable Around
Smoking

What we tend to forget when
quitting smoking is that the majority of
people we associate ourselves with smoke.
Trying to quit smoking then is like trying
to keep yourself from drowning in a pool
of purple kool aid (well, at least I know I’d
be drowning). So the key is to become
comfortable enough to tread water. If you
are looking to keep the friends that you
have who smoke, still be around family
who smokes, than you must become
comfortable around smoking. You must
become comfortable enough that you
do not feel the need to ask for a smoke,
that you can hold someone’s cigarette
for them without having to take a drag.
Because you can never avoid smoking
You may Slip Up, But Don’t Fret entirely, it will always be around. Whether
it be friends, family, or even people on the
See the thing about quitting smoking str