I've been a smoker for 16 years now, and I'm totally done with it. I want to quit. Lately it's been bothering me more and more how I'm a slave to my addiction. The Dutch word for addiction literally translates as "enslavement", and it couldn't be more appropriate.
Me, thoughtfully enjoying a cigarette.
I've quit it before, sometimes successfully for over 6 months and other times I didn't even last a day. This time I decided to get some help, and went to a "Quit Smoking coach". Secretly I hoped for some kind of miracle cure, but honestly I think I already knew there was no such thing. One can dream, though.
Instead of prescribing me some kind of medication we just had a good conversation, and I left with a bunch of good tips. One of them was to make a list of reasons I want to quit and look at it every time I feel the need to light one up. Since I spend hours on Steemit each day I figured might as well write the list here.
Benefits of me not smoking (in no particular order)
- I'll smell better
- No more worries over when and where I can smoke
- Lower chance of getting cancer, cardiovascular problems and other horrible diseases
- I'll save about €40 every week (that's over €2000 a year!)
- Nicer breath
- No more standing in the cold and/or rain by myself while everyone else is warm and dry inside
- My father will be quite proud of me
- My teeth will start looking whiter
- The freedom to go wherever I want without having to figure out if and where I have to buy a new pack
- Better sense of taste and smell
There's probably a lot more benefits (let me know!) but this list will suffice for now.
The plan
Here's what I'm going to do to successfully quit:
- I'm not going to quit right now. I know from past experiences that there will come a point at which I say "This is it. NOW I quit". That moment will come as a result of the following actions.
- Make a list of reasons to quit and read it at least twice a day. Preferably out loud.
- Look for good apps that will help me stay motivated.
- Make a detailed planning of both the positive and negative effects of quitting I will experience in the first few hours, days, weeks, months. This overview will be the basis of that.
- Going through my calendar and note all the events (parties, holidays, etc) that have an increased chance of luring me into smoking again. Knowing beforehand that it's going to be a tough moment is already half the battle.
- Make a list of potential scenarios that might make me want to start smoking (death or disease of a loved one, a break-up, getting fired). I don't expect any of these to happen, but I guess nobody does. Again, being prepared helps.
- Buy nicotine gum for the hard moments. Maybe I won't use them, but at least having them on me is a reassurance. I expect my morning commute to be the toughest part of the first few days, so I'll definitely keep a pack in my car.
Now that I've written this post I can cross "making a list of reasons" off my list. Next up: finding a good app. Any tips?