Success Factors When Quitting

There are thousands of products offering a 100% guarantee that you will quit smoking but while every method will work for some, no method works for everyone. But successful quitters do have several factors in common.

Build Desire: Quit smoking because it is important to you. Find your own reasons for being becoming smoke free. Often people trying to convince smokers to quit, give their own reasons instead of looking at what is important to the smoker. See how smoking is incongruent with your values and what is truly important to you. Until you want to do something, you won't do it.

Undercover Limiting Beliefs: A belief is just something that you tell yourself over and over again. What are you telling yourself about your cigarettes? What are they giving you that you think you can't get someplace else? What "can't" you do--how can you change this belief and see that often we say we "can't " do something when we really mean, "I don't want to."

Confront Fears: Smoking is something most smokers have done for so long that it becomes part of a person's identity and when quitting, the question is How will I change? Who am I, if I'm not a smoker? What is it that you are afraid of-if you quit? Loss of identity? Fear of pain from withdrawals? Loss of control? Weight gain? No way to deal with stress?

Take Action: What are you willing to do? Quitting is a process that a smoker moves through instead of a one time event. What is the first step that you are willing to do? Maybe that is just gathering more information about different methods and products available. Maybe it is something simple like leaving your cigarettes in another room, so you have to think about smoking one, instead of automatically reaching for one.

Believe in progress, not perfection. Quitting smoking is one of the hardest things you can do but it is the most important thing you can do for your health.