How to leave the tuxedo? If you’ve been wondering that, you’re doing yourself a great service. You can definitely do it like I did! And I did it suddenly. You can do it too, if you follow this article.
Background
First, let me give you a bit of history. I started smoking when I was 20 years old. It was, without a doubt, the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Like many people, it started with “Let me burn a cigarette.” But that cigarette a day with a drink among friends became 10 a day, then a pack a day. Soon, I was smoking about 2 packs a day. And driving for a living, being alone in the car most of the time, nothing else to do but smoke. Especially on those long drives like Alligator Alley on Florida’s I-75.
Smoking was affecting me and my health. I kept losing weight since I wasn’t really eating much. He smoked whenever he felt the need to do something. This cut my appetite. Look, I’m not the tallest person in the world! At 5’11”, at one point, I weigh as little as 123 pounds. My lung capacity was really bad and I couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs without shortness of breath. Every morning I would wake up with a nasty cough that felt like a piece of my lung was expelled with the nasty green stuff coming out. If I was going to change my life and liveI had to do something. Yo had to quit smoking!
Like you need me to tell you this, but knowing you have to do something and actually doing it are two completely different things. According to Helpguide.org:
“Smoking is not only a physical addiction to nicotine, but also a psychological habit.”
You smoke when you have nothing to do, not just when your body needs nicotine. So denying yourself nicotine is not going to work. In fact, it can make the problem worse.
I have organized this guide into a few steps that I think you will benefit from based on what I went through. Each step is very important.
Step 1: Realize that you have to quit smoking
The first step is very simple. You must realize that you have to quit smoking. As simple as it may seem, most people may think that they need to quit smoking. But the reality is, unless something happens that forces you to quit, you haven’t really understood you need Give up smoking. Yes, you know it’s not good for you and you need to quit smoking, but knowing that smoking is not good for you not done than you i need to quit smoking! What I mean here is that you have to realize that smoking is causing you harm and see that harm. For me, chain smoking caused my lung capacity to drop and I coughed every morning like I was coughing up a piece of my lung. I’m sorry, I know this is a bit of an unpleasant visualization, but you have to realize that the best thing for you is to quit smoking. People don’t change themselves or their habits until they absolutely have to. If you need a little push to get this step done, this commercial might help.
Step 2: Surround yourself with people who support your decision
Quitting smoking without the support of friends and family is impossible. Surround yourself with people who mean well and care about you. Don’t hang out with smokers as much. If you’re a coffee drinker, like I am, there’s nothing better than sitting on the outside patio of a local Starbucks, smoking a cigarette with your morning espresso. That has to stop. Maybe even make your own coffee at home instead of going to Starbucks. For some, drinking is also a problem. When they have a beer, or two, they like a cigarette with it. For me that was not really a problem. But if you think you need to smoke with your beer, it’s best to avoid local bars, beer, and friends who do both for a few weeks.
Step 3: Quit Smoking – Cold Turkey!
Here comes the hardest part! Deny yourself nicotine! If you’ve completed steps one and two, this shouldn’t be impossible. It’s still going to be difficult as the body goes through physical withdrawals. You’ll be a bit grumpy:grin: – at least I was, or so I was told, although I don’t remember doing the things my friends and family said I did. If you have realized that you really I need to drop the tuxedo then that should be at the forefront of your thought process. Don’t let that image or vision escape your mind. Every time you feel like smoking a cigarette, remind yourself of the Reasons why you need to quit smoking. And if you’ve surrounded yourself with people who support you and your decision and mean well, they’ll take whatever you throw at them while your body goes through the detoxification process. This should stay within about 4-5 weeks.
Step 4 – Set Up a Reward System
As cheesy as this step sounds, it’s very important. Set goals for yourself. For every day or week you go without smoking a cigarette, treat yourself to something nice. Whether it’s dinner, a new electronic toy, or something for the house, reward yourself. Take the money you would have spent on cigarettes and buy yourself something nice. I prefer weekly rewards for two reasons.
1. More money to play with – being able to buy something better than if you rewarded me with $6 a day and
2. A week without smoking is a real achievement. Many people can go a day without a cigarette. Not many can do it seven days. So reward yourself. It is important.
Step 5: Pick up another habit, at least for another time
Since smoking is a psychological habit as much as a physical addiction, it is important that you replace the smoking habit with something else. For me, it was important to feel that I had something in hand. So for me, I ended up eating pretzel sticks, the bigger ones that look like cigars. I don’t need to tell you how ridiculous I looked with it between my fingers and taking it to my mouth, but I tell you what, I didn’t care. I made a commitment to quit smoking, and nothing would stand in my way of accomplishing this seemingly impossible task. This “new habit” helped me overcome the psychological habit.
Conclusion:
Now that you’ve seen the 5 steps, you should understand that you and only you can make the determination that you need to quit smoking. I’ve heard many excuses that people “can’t” or “it’s hard” or “I’m not ready!” While the latter are also very true, the former is false. It takes a lot of determination and courage to quit, but it can be done. It’s really hard, especially during the first few weeks, as your body is going through “detox” from nicotine. But it can be done. I am living proof. It’s been almost 2 years since I quit smoking and I have never felt better. I have gained about 45 pounds (and 80% of it is muscle) and I exercise regularly. I even finished Insanity training recently. For those of you who don’t know what madness is, just google it. He is so cardio intense that he could never have imagined completing it before quitting. I can taste my food. I can smell the air, although depending on what part of the country I’m in, I’m not sure it’s a big deal. But you get my point!
You have to quit smoking. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to quit smoking, and I wish you all the best. It’s hard, but the rewards are so worth it.