A couple of days ago I met a friend of mine at a local cafeteria for a chat. At one point we started talking about habits. My friend confessed that he smokes 30 cigarettes a day and has tried several times to quit smoking but every time he failed. I shared with him the tips that helped me quit smoking. Like him I had tried several times to quit smoking and finally I succeeded.

We agreed that since I have first hand experience I will be his coach to quit smoking. The following are the tips that I shared with my friend.

1. Believe that you can do it

Saying things like “I will try to quit smoking” will never make you quit. You first of all have to decide with yourself that you really want to quit. I believe that 90% of the people who try to quit smoking and fail is because they in the first place did not mean to quit.

2. Get to know how harmful cigarettes are

Spend a week browsing the internet and gather some content about how harmful cigarettes are. Find pictures of lungs of people who smoke. Get to know what effects cigarettes have on you and the people around you. This will help you convince yourself that quitting the bad habit of smoking makes real sense.

3. Make a plan

Plan how you are going to quit over a period of time. Be aware don’t make it easy for yourself. If you smoke 30 cigarettes a day, you can completely quit smoking in less than a month. Yes, I am not joking.

4. Make it public

Don’t keep the news for yourself. Make other people pressure you. If you say to your family, friends and colleagues that you are quitting, then you have no chance of smoking at least when you are in their presence. Also by making it public, you will stop being offered cigarettes by friends who still think that you are a smoker. This was the most difficult part for me.

5. Replace cigarettes

One of the most difficult things at first when you quit smoking is what to do to replace smoking. I used to find myself mimicking the movement I used to do while smoking, even though it had been months since I quitted. The only solution to this is to replace a cigarette with a non alcoholic drink. Every now and then instead of taking a puff, you take a sip.

6. Start exercising

This is the best tip. I was going to put it the first one but I know that if I had done that, most of the people would not have read the rest of the article. Even when I was giving tips to my friend, I didn’t tell him this tip as the first one. But I am a strong believer that exercises helped me to quit. I went to a gym and subscribed for 6 months. Then I started to do some basic cardio. It was then when I realized how harmful smoking is.
I challenged myself to improve my stamina by completely quitting smoking and exercise daily. The challenge to increase my stamina made it easier to throw away all the packets of cigarettes that I had in my office desk.

7. Be rootless

Unfortunately there are people (I don’t call them friends) who even though you tell them that you are trying very hard to quit smoking, they still insist that you should take a cigarette. They start this nonsense that one cigarette will not harm you. The point is not harm; the point is that you start smoking again by taking a single puff. Be rootless, be ready to even avoid the company of such people since they will make it extremely hard for you to quit. Spare me some words:

A true friends respects your opinion and if you tell him that you are trying to quit smoking, he will help you achieve that goal rather than making your challenge more difficult.

几天前, 我在本地的一家自助餐馆里和我的一个朋友见了面并聊了会. 不知怎地, 我们聊起了关于习惯的话题. 我的那位朋友承认, 他一天要抽30根烟, 虽然他也曾几次尝试戒烟, 但每次都是以失败而告终. 我和他一样, 也曾几次试过戒烟, 但是最后, 我终于成功了.

我们都同意, 正因为我有关于戒烟第一手的经验, 所以我会教他如何戒烟. 下面是我和朋友分享的几条关于如何戒烟的小贴示.

1.相信你可以做到

告诉你自己诸如"我会试着戒烟"这样的话,将让你永不会中途放弃. 首先, 你必须自己下定决心, 你自己是真的想要戒烟. 我相信, 90%尝试戒烟却中途放弃而致失败的人是因为他们一开始就不是真的想去戒烟.

2.了解到香烟危害之大

花一周时间浏览下英特网, 收集些关于香烟危害之大的相关内容. 找些烟民们肺部的图片. 了解下香烟对你和你周身的人会有怎样的危害. 这会帮助你说服自己, 告别吸烟这个坏习惯是确有其益.

3.制定计划

计划下你打算用多久来戒烟. 要意识到, 那不会那么轻松. 如果你每天收30根烟, 你能在不到一个月的时间里彻底戒掉抽烟的恶习. 是的, 我不是在开玩笑.

4.把你要戒烟的消息公之于众

不要自己一个人偷偷的戒烟. 把你要戒烟的消息公之于众, 让其他人给你施压. 如果你告诉你的家庭成员, 朋友抑或你的同事你要戒烟的消息, 那么至少在他们面前你就没机会抽上一口了. 把你要戒烟的消息公之于众, 你那些原以为你还抽的朋友也就不会再给你烟了. 这对你来说是最为困难的一步.

5.用别的东西代替香烟

当你开始戒烟最困难的步骤之一, 莫过于用什么来代替香烟. 我曾发现自己会去模仿吸烟时的动作, 甚至是在我戒烟几月后也会如是. 唯一可以用来代替香烟的就是不含酒精的饮品. 每每你想要抽上一口的时候, 啜上一小口吧.

6.开始锻炼

这是最好的一条帖示. 我本想把它放在第一条的, 但我知道, 如果我如是做了, 大多的人就不会读完这篇文章了. 就算是告诉我朋友这几条帖示的时候, 我也没把这条当作第一条先告诉他. 但是, 我深信锻炼能帮助我戒烟. 我戒烟的那段时间, 我去家了健身房, 并续了为期半年的约. 那之后, 我开始做一些扩充心肺功能的运动. 从那时候我才知道, 戒烟的危害有多么大.

我为了能彻底戒掉烟瘾,我每天都做运动来挑战自己以此来增加自己的耐力. 而增加耐力的挑战让我能更轻松的把我办公桌里的那些整包整包的烟丢在脑后.

7.不要受别人的影响

不幸的是, 仍有些人(这些人我不愿把他们称为朋友)即使你告诉他们你正在努力的戒烟, 他们还是坚持说你该来一根. 他们会说一根烟不会对你有害的鬼话. 关键并不在是不是有害, 而在一旦你抽了那根你就会又开始抽了. 不要受别人的影响, 做好躲开你公司那么人的准备, 因为他们会让戒烟变的非常困难. 记住我一些话:

一个真正的朋友会尊重你的选择, 而且如果你告诉他你开始戒烟, 他会帮你达成戒烟的目标而非让戒烟变的更难.