You only need to really want what quitting gets you.
We do things all the time we don’t really want to do.
A lot of people I know don’t really want to go to work.
But they are willing to go to work because they want what a paycheck gets them.
You don’t have to want to quit.
You have to be willing to quit to get to what you want from quitting.
More time, more money, more energy, more praise, more freedom.
Better health. Better skin. Better relationships. Better sex.
Don’t focus on NOT smoking.
Focus on feeling better, having more money, being more attractive to others, having more energy, being more productive, ending the nagging.
I don’t want to exercise, but I’m able to.
I don’t want to do laundry or clean toilets, but I’m able to.
I don’t want to pay taxes, but I’m able to.
I don’t want to cook dinner every night, but I’m good at it.
I don’t want to rake leaves or shovel snow, but I’m good at it.
And I don’t want to balance my books each month, but I’m good at it.
You don’t have to want to quit to be able to quit or to be good at quitting.
IT’S SIMPLY NOT TRUE.
People who tell you that waited to quit until they really wanted to, that’s all.
And their want was usually paired with some level of desperation about their health.
Or with ultimatums.
Or financial devastation.
So why don’t you want to quit?
Because you “enjoy” smoking?
You don’t enjoy smoking!
You’re accustomed to smoking.
What you enjoy is escaping the discomfort of NOT smoking, which only exists as a result of you beginning to smoke in the first place.
The cycle is reversible.
If smoking were genuinely enjoyable and just anybody could go to the store and buy a pack of pleasure, there would be a LOT more smokers.
Don’t tell yourself you enjoy smoking.
You simply currently require it to feel normal.
That’s what a drug dependence is; you depend on the drug to feel normal.
And without it, you’re uncomfortable.
You prefer comfort over discomfort.
That’s just human..
But don’t buy into “ enjoy” smoking.
The only reason you smoke is to eliminate the urge to smoke, physically, socially or situationally.
This whole thing falls apart if you believe you are giving up something genuinely pleasurable.
You just have to put in a little effort to earn your freedom.
And it’s on the other side of learning to do things without smoking that you were accustomed to doing while smoking.
Understand the importance of (and requirement for) a learning phase will save you a lot of time, money, risk and sanity.
Imagine a world where you could only smoke outside, alone, while standing and without your phone.
Would you enjoy smoking as much?
Hells nol.
Because you don’t enjoy smoking.
You’re accustomed to smoking and when you remove the things you traditionally associate with smoking, there isn’t much left to enjoy…because you don’t enjoy smoking.
Stop telling yourself you enjoy smoking!
And start telling yourself you CAN quit, even if you don’t want to quit.
You don’t have to want to quit to be able to quit.
You have to want what quitting gets you.
So focus on that!
What DO you want from quitting?
Start a list.
Can’t imagine life without cigarettes?
Start imagining it.
Can’t imagine not smoking in the car?
Don’t smoke in the car one day.
Done!
Now you can imagine it.
Piece together a life without cigarettes in small bites.
Then you will be able to imagine life without cigarettes and it won’t feel so unfamiliar to you on your quit date.
Or scary.
