Stop Smoking Resources
Quit Smoking
By Jill Binder, Thu Dec 8th
Do you do Bad Things? Even though you know you shouldn't? It's not your fault. It really isn't. You know you should stopdoing it, but no matter how much you know that, and how much youtry, you just can't stop! Everyone knows how to lose weight. Don't eat fattening foods.Exercise. Everyone knows how to give up smoking. Don’t light thecigarette. Yet having this knowledge just isn't enough.Sometimes even having the desire isn't enough! Time and again Ihear about people who get really close to quitting smoking. Theycan get all the way down to one or two cigarettes a day, butjust can't give up those last two. Many even make it all the waydown to zero, but the cravings, oh the cravings! They arewretched, those cravings. Most will go back to smoking withinthe first few days. They can cut away most of the "stuff" thatkeeps them glued to the cigarettes, even not be addicted tonicotine anymore(!), but there is just something deep in theircore that magnetically pulls them back in, like two lovers whoknow they are bad for each other but just can't help themselves.
What is this thing? What is at this core? Let me take a step back for a moment. How many adults do youknow who are happy? I mean really, truly happy? Think thatquestion is foolishness? Let me ask you this. How many people doyou know who love their work? I'm talkin' jump out of bed in themorning, can't wait to start. Sadly, the percentage is verysmall. Why is this? We live in an interesting quick-fix culture. People don't reallyhave to deal with their issues. We've got: •television •movies•shopping •toys •and hitting the gym to distract us and make us feel better. Even more than that,many people's issues are quite buried. Think of dreams that weresquashed when we were young. "An artist? You could never make aliving at that! You should be a doctor!" People often forgetwhat their dreams once were. As a result, I see an awful lot of unhappy, unfulfilled peoplewalking around. They don't know what is bothering them, theyjust have that gnawing feeling that there must be more.Advertisers pray on this, selling us more and more bottles andgizmos to give us that ever elusive Happiness. True inner needs? People either: •think they're impossible tofulfill •are too scared and resigned to fulfill them •or are sodisassociated from those needs that they don't even know whatthey would be even if they had to guess! All those "bad" things -- smoking, overeating, gambling,alcohol, the list goes on and on -- are easy ways to fill thevoid. Smokers will be able to relate to this one -- if you'vejust had a fight with your family, what do you do? You go for asmoke. Smoking makes it feel like the problem goes away. (I callthis the "smokescreen." Har har!) I'll let you in on a little secret--the real reason it's so hardto quit is not the nicotine. It's this void-filling. When youquit smoking (or any bad habit), you're suddenly faced with reallife. All those stresses and needs that you've been avoiding?There they are, pulling at your coat tails, yelling, "Payattention to me! Pay attention to me!" If you got in touch withyour real inner needs and took baby steps to start fulfillingthem, you would actually have little desire for cigarettes. It'strue! I see it happen time and again in my Stop Smoking Coachingpractice. How do you do that, you ask? Here are some baby steps that youcan start trying out now: •Next time, instead of taking thatquick fix--stop. •Have a little quiet time and listen to whatyour insides have been trying to tell you. •Try journaling --don't edit your thoughts, just write. •Some people findmeditation and yoga to be great accesses. •Try deep breathing.•Go for a quiet, leisurely walk by yourself. •Personally, I findit easiest to just start noticing where in life I seem to beavoiding things the most, or if I want something more immediateand active, doing a mindmap (a word drawing) to figure out whatI'm really thinking. For each person, the key to figuring out your needs isdifferent. Play around with it, don't give up! You'll be gladyou did! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jill Binder is a Stop Smoking Coach witha 90 day program to show people how to quit smoking forever,with a 100% success rate. She is the author of "What's YourSmoking Type?" and has appeared on the radio on "RadioactiveWomen" and the newspaper Metro Toronto Today. You can sign up for her newsletter, "YourTurn - Turn YourWeaknesses Into Your Perfect Life" athttp://www.StopSmokingCoach.ca. About the author:Jill Binder is a Stop Smoking Coach with a 90 day program toshow people how to quit smoking forever, with a 100% successrate. She is the author of "What's Your Smoking Type?" and hasappeared on the radio on "Radioactive Women" and the newspaperMetro Toronto Today. You can sign up for her newsletter, "YourTurn - Turn YourWeaknesses Into Your Perfect Life" athttp://www.StopSmokingCoach.ca.
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