Many smokers tell me that if they knew how to quit smoking successfully they would just stop and be very glad. As an National Health Stop Smoking specialist and hypnotherapist I've helped many people become ex-smokers. Experience has shown me that often the route to success is to start by posing a few questions.
Now, smokers know lots about their habit and the perils of continuing. So these questions are not health-related.
My questions range from what have they done so far to stop; to what would they enjoy most about being smoke free.
Then I ask could they imagine that they've only three months to live unless they stop immediately.
Of course, that's a serious ultimatum to consider and at first not many will really do it. However, after some persuasion and pushing a there's a flow of ideas and strategies.
Here's a typical list:
Get my friends and family to help me.
* Have a list of things I'll really like and enjoy doing that I can employ whenever I'm tempted
* Reward myself along the way.
* Keep a list or visual reminder of all the reasons I want to stay alive and healthy in front of me. For instance pictures of my family.
* Try hypnotherapy for relaxation
* Drink more water and have healthy snacks handy
And so on.
So it's not that a smoker doesn't know how to quit it's more about whether they really intend to quit and how much commitment they put into that.
Motivation to Start
Many smokers don't get motivated to quit by the obvious rewards that being smoke-free will bring. These include more cash; no smelly fingers/car/house/clothes, or better skin. No, despite being delighted when these become apparent for many smokers they're not enough to start the quit attempt.
Often what makes them take action is a clear and present threat to health. In other words, things have to get really bad. So getting them to imagine that worst-case scenario happening gets them off and running.
A Case of Identity
Once underway the effort of quitting is all about staying motivated. I find that asking questions about who they really are helps at this stage. You may be curious as to what I mean by that.
Well many smokers unknowingly define themselves by their habit. It's how they know they belong. They do it by sharing the smoking experience with family or mates at work or down the pub. And often for them it's how they stand out from the crowd by not 'toe-ing the party line'.
So contemplating quitting means becoming somebody else. But there is a way to get round this.
Use Your Imagination
We all love to create whether we are aware of it or not. So ask yourself what do you want to create?
* Is it a healthy life?
* Do you want to create an example for your children to follow?
* Create your own epitaph. What would you like people to say about you when you're gone?
Imagining the answers to these questions invites you to step into your own future and create it. Big or small, this is how most of us win our goals.
Now I'm not asking you to believe quitting is easy all the way. Anyone can stop, it's staying quit that counts. Nevertheless, if you take on some of the ideas and suggestions here you'll be equipped to make a good start and continue to succeed. Becoming an ex-smoker is a skill and skills are learned.
Perhaps you can begin by asking yourself if it's an important enough change and whether you're ready to create a smoke free you?
Author Resource:-
Liz Labrum Master NLP and Hypnosis Practitioner has helped many uncover and overcome the mental barriers to qutting for good.Visit Think-RightNow
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