Quitting Smoking - My 5 Point Check List
We all have different reasons to stop smoking.
Some people will tell you it is because smoking costs too much, because it is anti social or because it damages our health.
These are all valid points.
I knew that I had to quit when I could hardly walk up the hill behind my house without gasping for breath.
I love being outside with my energetic dogs, walking for miles and enjoying the beautiful countryside.
I love camping at the beach with friends and spending all day exploring the dunes and the coastal paths.
A few years ago, I found myself making excuses not to go for long walks or do any challenging exercise.
I told my friends that I was just tired.
My dogs started to put on weight and so did I.
I felt pretty bad about my future.
I have always been an active sort of person, but there I was, just blobbing out and watching TV.
I was getting pains in my chest, my teeth were brown, and I had to scrub the nicotine stains off my fingers.
Oh yes, and smoking.
I loved my cigarettes.
I rolled my own with liquorish papers and tiny filter tips.
Those cigarettes were a work of art! I had a choice.
I could continue to smoke myself to death, sitting on my sofa watching instantly forgettable TV, or I could quit smoking and get the life that I loved back.
I will admit, it was an anxious time.
Smoking is a disgusting habit, but I had been doing it since I was 14.
The thought of living without this dependable crutch frightened me.
I could not imagine life without it.
I turned to the Internet to see what sort of help and support I could get.
There were lots options.
I read somewhere that that it is important to focus on the positive reasons why you are quitting smoking rather that just dwell on the fact that you are depriving yourself of pleasure.
I wrote and printed out my 5 Point Check List, and you can too.
1.
Breathing.
Being unable to breath is very frightening.
2.
Fear.
My father had died from a smoking related disease.
My brother is incapacitated due to his 30 a day habit 3.
Vanity.
I was looking old before my time with sallow, lined skin and disgustingly stained teeth.
4.
Social: Smoking is now socially unacceptable.
I was tired of standing outside to smoke, it was no longer a choice.
Every single one of my friends had stopped.
5 Money.
Cash is an issue, but as an addict, it was way down the list! Obviously, I found something that worked to make me kick the habit.
I feel great, I look better, and I am much, much fitter.
So are my dogs!
Some people will tell you it is because smoking costs too much, because it is anti social or because it damages our health.
These are all valid points.
I knew that I had to quit when I could hardly walk up the hill behind my house without gasping for breath.
I love being outside with my energetic dogs, walking for miles and enjoying the beautiful countryside.
I love camping at the beach with friends and spending all day exploring the dunes and the coastal paths.
A few years ago, I found myself making excuses not to go for long walks or do any challenging exercise.
I told my friends that I was just tired.
My dogs started to put on weight and so did I.
I felt pretty bad about my future.
I have always been an active sort of person, but there I was, just blobbing out and watching TV.
I was getting pains in my chest, my teeth were brown, and I had to scrub the nicotine stains off my fingers.
Oh yes, and smoking.
I loved my cigarettes.
I rolled my own with liquorish papers and tiny filter tips.
Those cigarettes were a work of art! I had a choice.
I could continue to smoke myself to death, sitting on my sofa watching instantly forgettable TV, or I could quit smoking and get the life that I loved back.
I will admit, it was an anxious time.
Smoking is a disgusting habit, but I had been doing it since I was 14.
The thought of living without this dependable crutch frightened me.
I could not imagine life without it.
I turned to the Internet to see what sort of help and support I could get.
There were lots options.
I read somewhere that that it is important to focus on the positive reasons why you are quitting smoking rather that just dwell on the fact that you are depriving yourself of pleasure.
I wrote and printed out my 5 Point Check List, and you can too.
1.
Breathing.
Being unable to breath is very frightening.
2.
Fear.
My father had died from a smoking related disease.
My brother is incapacitated due to his 30 a day habit 3.
Vanity.
I was looking old before my time with sallow, lined skin and disgustingly stained teeth.
4.
Social: Smoking is now socially unacceptable.
I was tired of standing outside to smoke, it was no longer a choice.
Every single one of my friends had stopped.
5 Money.
Cash is an issue, but as an addict, it was way down the list! Obviously, I found something that worked to make me kick the habit.
I feel great, I look better, and I am much, much fitter.
So are my dogs!
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