With the winter months upon us and the weather cold, wet and windy and days dark and gloomy there is less incentive to stand outside and smoke a cigarette and with the new year approaching it could be the ideal time to quit smoking cigarettes and begin living a healthier life-style.
A new year's resolution however requires commitment and commitment for some people is hard work.
Each year thousands of people make the resolution to lose weight and get fit and so enroll in a gym but then struggle to stick to their commitment and after only a few sessions in the gym lose motivation and never return.
With cigarette smokers the same is true.
Many begin the new year determined not to begin smoking again, but within a matter of days and sometimes in just a matter of hours these same people who were determined never to smoke again are puffing away with other smokers and rationalize that the time is not right and they will quit when there is less stress in their life.
Commitment is however the first step and just because you failed to keep your commitment doesn't mean you should give up.
One cigarette is a slip, it doesn't mean a relapse unless you continue to smoke more cigarettes.
If you had decided to stop smoking new years and then smoked a cigarette after the forth day then don't beat yourself up, you made four days without smoking and now you need to learn from your mistake and begin over again.
Overall you can stop smoking on any day of the year and you don't need to wait another year before making another attempt.
One of the best things you can do to remain committed to decision to stop smoking is to keep your reasons to stop smoking in front of you and also focus on the benefits of stopping smoking which include: Your personal health will improve as you begin the process of reversing some of the damage that's been done to you're body through years of smoking.
You no longer smell like an ashtray with your breath, hands and clothes no longer smelling of stale tobacco smoke.
Your life no longer revolves around nicotine addiction and you save a small fortune each year when you no-longer buy cigarettes each day.
Again if you fail on your first attempt then you are not alone.
Estimates suggest that most smokers have to try on average five to seven times before they finally stop smoking once and for all, so learn from your mistakes and try the same method or a different method to stop smoking until you finally succeed.