How to quit smoking

I decided after I got engaged in June 2007 that I would quit smoking by July 2008. And I have. It has been 23 days, as of this writing, since I had a smoke.

In preparation for this, the first Sunday in June 2008, I dedicated myself not to smoke any cigarettes. I got through the day mainly by not seeing the sky. I enjoyed my DVD collection, carefully avoiding Thank You For Smoking, drank some beer and cooked. Giving myself something to enjoy made a large difference in maintaining a positive mental attitude.

Now on the cooking subject, I have heard several people say to me that they are afraid to quit because of possible weight gain. While this is perfectly valid, what you have to decide is that, in having the self-control and commitment to follow through on your decision to quit smoking, you will have to apply this same mentality to your nutrition and exercise habits.

So I got through about 30 hours without a smoke, and for the last 3 weeks of June, I kept myself to 2-5 cigarettes per day. I worried that I hadn't gone without since that Sunday, and I certainly had a lot of stress in my life. To deal with this worry I reminded myself why I had made this decision a year ago.

Knowing why I wanted to quit smoking was very important to maintaining both my composure and my motivation not to smoke through the last 3 weeks. I wanted to quit because of the following.
1) I had been smoking nearly 10 years and I felt that was a maximum if I wanted to live a strong, healthy life. I knew people who smoked for decades and quit later in life, but I decided that I wanted a better quality of life than that.
2) I want to start exercising and my endurance and motivation to do so were severely hampered by my preference to reward my hard work with cigarettes. In June, I dug my bike out of storage, made sure it was in good shape and decided that in July, my first month without cigarettes, I would ride it for at least 15 minutes per day on a low gear.
3) I wanted to look and feel better. I am not grossly overweight or anything, 5'10, 180lbs, but I wanted to look good! And to do that I need to exercise, which means I had to quit smoking. I was convinced that knowing that I had made a difficult decision to quit, I would have something new to be proud of, that I had stuck by my decision.
4) I thought that I would discover something about myself. This I will share at the end.
So at a little after midnight on June 30, I went outside and looked at the sky and smoked my last cigarette. I had 5 in the box, smoke one, broke 2 and I still have the last 2 in my drawer. I kept these so that if I felt like I was going to die unless I had a smoke or something, I wouldn't have to buy another pack.

The First WeekThe first week is definitely the worst. I had major changes going on with my business, relationship and financial stresses, all the usual stuff. To stick to my decision, I mainly needed to remind myself frequently why I had decided this was important to me.
The Second WeekThe weekends are relatively easy compared with the workweek. For one thing, I was in the habit of taking a break every 2-3 hours to step outside and take a smoking break. What I did when I felt restless was walk around my building a couple of times, at which point going back into the air conditioning was almost reward enough.

At times like these first few weeks, it is reminding myself of why I made this decision and congratulating myself for following through on my decision that keeps me going. It is so easy to just go have a smoke, but knowing that means I would have been going against my decision was just enough to keep me from retreating in my resolve.

I stood in line at my local Krauszer's, where I used to buy packs regularly, and saw 2 women in a row buy 5 packs each, $60 worth of cigarettes. That was one of the first times I was in a situation I used to be in but could now say "Wow, at least that is not me!"
The Third weekThis is my third week, and I can honestly say that the desire to smoke has moved from my gut to my head. I have had some really tough business events and even so, I felt less consumed with thinking it would be easy to give in, just this time. What I remind myself is that if I don't do it "just this time", I then get to stick to my decision.
Last week I read about this Knol product by Google and I decided that I'd like to participate, but I didn't know how. I really hope that by writing about my personal experience here is helpful to the many people out there who also need to quit smoking but haven't yet made the decision to do so.
So what have I discovered in the last 3 weeks? That Ryan Turner, entrepreneur, engaged to be married on New Year's Eve 2008, American patriot, is, as suspected, so much more than this addiction. With this bad habit farther behind me every day, every time I want a cigarette, I can stop myself for 1 minute and remind myself that I am more than my habits and that controlling my inner self helps me understand and control the world I live and breathe in. Oh, and breathing easier is heavily endorsed!

by KNOL