Top 10 Things You Need to Do to Quit Smoking

Is giving up smoking as easy as throwing your cigarette in the trash? Or is smoking cessation necessarily involve a long, agonizing and stressful process which a smoker needs to endure to fully free himself from nicotine addiction? Or, does quitting require a series of physical, psychological, and emotional preparations to ensure a successful transition from nicotine dependence to nicotine free living? Regardless of what you believe, quitting smoking is a lot easier with a little preparation.

Anybody, even you can benefit from a little bit of preparation. Below are the 10 things you need to do before finally deciding to kick smoking out of your life. It should be noted that these things done all together as a whole do enhance your chances of successfully quitting.

1. Don't just cut it down.

Quitting cold turkey isn't the best remedy for your smoking addiction problems. Sometimes, it even forces you to want more. There are two reasons for this. One is the unwanted symptoms cause by withdrawal, and the second one refers to the psychological factors. It would be great if you can start eliminating the psychological factors that bring you into the habit. As this happens, you'll go a long way.

2. Determine why exactly you want to quit.

People who don't smoke would tell a thousand reasons why you should quit. You might have heard them plenty of times already until they no longer mean anything to you. The internet, TV commercials, radio campaigns and posters all say the same thing. But in identifying the reason to quit, you need to focus on something that really means to you. Write such reason/reasons and stick to them.

3. Do it for yourself, not for anyone else.

While you can get inspiration and deep sense of motivation to quit smoking today from your family and friends, you need to quit not because you want to please them or you're tired of hearing them saying 'quit now'. Do it for yourself. When you do this, you'll have the willpower you need to successfully stop lighting up.

4. Calculate how much you spend on smoking.

Did you ever try to compute how much you spend for your cigarette? If you're like most smokers, you won't. Or else, it'll just disappoint you. But try this and you'll have another driving force to stop smoking now. Studies reveal that an average smoker spends around 2,000 dollars!

5. Imagine the things you would have spent that money on.

What could you have purchased with your 2,000 dollars? Maybe you could have bought new sets of furniture at home or you could have traveled and spend quality time with your family. What if you've been smoking for 5 or 10 years now? You could have bought a new car or have settled a huge down payment for your home loan. Well, it isn't too late. You can start saving money if you quit smoking now.

6. Think of how many days you spent on smoking

It's like counting money you could have saved but this is a more significant thing because it talks about your health. Perhaps, the most compelling reason why you should stop smoking today is to live longer. Did you know that you lose five minutes of your life every time you light up one cigarette?

7. Think of the positive things smoking do for you.

If you find it hard to acknowledge the positive effects of quitting smoking, maybe you can do it the other way around. Think of what smoking does for you. Does it make you happy? Research says it doesn't. In fact, it makes you depressed sooner or later. At the end of the day, you'll realize that you'll get nothing out of it.

8. Imagine yourself as a non-smoker.

It's the same as imagining yourself to be a healthy, happy, and good-looking person, someone who is adored by many people, and someone who would live longer.

9. Set a quit date.

When do you wish to stop smoking? The sooner, the better it is. But don't push yourself too much. Be realistic. Seek professional help if you think you need to.

10. BELIEVE you can DO IT.

You need no miracles to quit smoking today. As long as you believe in yourself, you can absolutely get through it and beat the odds.

Cheers to a smoke-free life!