O.k. It’s July the 1st, 2007, and the UK has now gone smokeless. Well not quite, but there is now a ban on smoking in all enclosed public places and that includes bars, restaurants, Churches(!) and, well you get the picture.So now it’s time for me to sign up to my first commitment, which will no doubt have the greatest impact on my road to better personal health.
Yep, time to ditch the cancer sticks. Period.
Step 1. - Honesty.
By publishing this intent in the public domain I am actually admitting to a few people that I didn’t really give up all those months ago. Well I did, but it only lasted a few days. Er, sorry.
Another big thing to be honest about is why I have been smoking. It wasn’t for the following reasons:
- It made me look cool
- It helped me deal with stress
- It helped me concentrate
- It was my friend
- It understood me
- It was my crutch
Reality check:
- The only thing smoking can make you do is get ill. Everything else is up to you.
- Smoking raises your blood pressure by constricting your arteries, it inhibits your breathing - well you know the risks. Hardly a stress free process.
- Hang on a minute, a magic drug that both helps you relax and makes you hyper vigilant. I don’t think so somehow.
- 5. & 6. - Ah, the subliminal Jedi mind trick. Telling yourself lies one has been.
Let’s face it, there are two reasons why I’ve been smoking.One is an addiction to nicotine. The other is that my brain learned to respond inappropriately to stimulus that really required a different answer.
“I’m hungry” or “I’m bored” shouldn’t equal “Have a cigarette” - but the brain gets lazy and starts jumping to the same conclusion, because it’s quicker that way.
O.k, there’s a third reason: I gave in to that little voice in my head!
Well this should be a good intro for us and I will post back later with my date for becoming smoke free (as opposed to quitting, which we’ll discuss another time). In the mean time if you are in the UK and thinking of giving this a go, you might find this link useful:
http://www.gosmokefree.co.uk/
Andrew.
If you really want to stop smoking and quit the habit forever, I recommend the free trial from Stop Smoking Resolution.