Preparing to QUIT smoking.

[Walt Potter]

All,
I've decided to quit smoking as soon as my current supply of tobacco runs out. I roll my own and so that means about 2 weeks as I have 2 ounces left.

As payback I'll use the money saved for hypnosis training.

Besides the obvious benefits of being healthy, smelling better and having more time with my wife do you have any ideas for me to keep in mind?

Maybe a wonderful trance for each day I don't smoke. Trance a day club?



Your ideas are really welcome,

Walt

[Sheila M. Street, CH CI T.NLP]

Smoking up the stash of tobacco you already have is very similar to the person who is planning to go on a diet and say's "Just as soon as I've eaten up all the Ice Cream in the freezer".

The better thing to do is to consider what you normally smoke and cut back by 20% daily - so that at the end of one week, you are finished with smoking for the rest of your life. Throw the rest out.

More later, perhaps.

Sheila

[Fable Goodman]

I agree with the first part of what sheila said,
in as much as if you are going to stop smoking
stop smoking now,
and throw away (or give away) the tobacco you have left.

I am not an advocate of cutting back gradually,
as what tends to happen is that
you get to a certain point and think that you are doing well,
by only having say five cigs a day...
those five then become your reward for doing well,
and you get far more satisfaction from those few,
than you ever did from smoking say twenty a day.

This then makes it more and more difficult to stop the last few,
as you have given them 'added value'.

At a certain point you realise
that you are not going to stop at all
(because you are now enjoying them more),
and quickly go back to full time smoking,
but find you are smoking more than before
(because you have given them added value).

Stop or carry on,
it is entirely your choice,
and you can set yourself up for success or failure,
depending upon how you go about it.

Love and hugs,


Fable

[Kelley Woods]

Hi Walt,

If part of you wants to consume the rest of that tobacco for frugality purpose, just think of it like that extra amount of food on your plate that you don't need or want and throw it out. Two weeks from now you will, according to experts, have improved your blood circulation, find exercise easier and have increased your lung function by 30%!

You have already made the decision to become a non-smoker, now it's time to make the commitment! And won't that feel good?!

Best wishes,

Kelley

[Sheila M. Street, CH CI T.NLP]

Hi Fable:

The method I mentioned worked for me (now smoke free nearly 10 years), and has worked for most of my "quit smoking" clients when they also use hypnosis and daily self-hypnosis. Most people who smoke do so "unconsciously" - before they realize what they are doing, they have the thing lit. The hypnosis part involves training the awareness to recognize when and where one is smoking - and to make a decision then as to whether or not the cigarette is actually really needed, or could something else be done to satisfy the urge to light up. The client chooses (and is then programmed for) the "something else" provided it is not something negative (like eating instead). Once the chain of events has been broken by the "new habit", then the old habit leaves.

I tried for 15 years, on and off, to do the "all at once" deal, without success. I'd go for two or three days and just couldn't make that Monday morning commute without my cigarettes.

See my blog here for more details on the method used.

Cheers!
Sheila

Fable Goodman said:

I agree with the first part of what sheila said,
in as much as if you are going to stop smoking
stop smoking now,
and throw away (or give away) the tobacco you have left.

I am not an advocate of cutting back gradually,
as what tends to happen is that
you get to a certain point and think that you are doing well,
by only having say five cigs a day...
those five then become your reward for doing well,
and you get far more satisfaction from those few,
than you ever did from smoking say twenty a day.

This then makes it more and more difficult to stop the last few,
as you have given them 'added value'.

At a certain point you realise
that you are not going to stop at all
(because you are now enjoying them more),
and quickly go back to full time smoking,
but find you are smoking more than before
(because you have given them added value).

Stop or carry on,
it is entirely your choice,
and you can set yourself up for success or failure,
depending upon how you go about it.

Love and hugs,


Fable

[Walt Potter]

All,

After reading the first two responses to this thread I went to bed and took an uneasy nap. After reading the rest, it's clear there's no reason to wait.

I've been worried about going through the withdrawal. Now or later? Why wait? The anticipation is no fun.

Wrapping up all of the tobacco in a black plastic bag and putting it into a public dumpster.

I have the resources to do this.

Done with it!

I'll report back later.

Thanks, Walt

[Kyle Jackson]

Hi Walt.

Glad to hear this is the direction you're taking. When I decided to quit smoking, I quit. I still had half a pack a Camels left, and I set them in the pantry. That was over 2 years ago. Only a few months ago did I find that half-pack of cigs and toss them. Why didn't I just toss 'em to begin with? Well, for me, it was easier knowing that if I had to have one, they were there, which reduced some of the anxiety about quitting. As it turns out, I didn't ever need em.

Keep a tally going. Going 1 day, 3 days, 10 days without a cigarette is really empowering. If you have a setback, start the count over. Keeping score like this really helped me. Every day I had a new high score. :-) At 10 days, you don't want to smoke because you'll have to start at 1 again! At 100 days you damn sure don't want to start over... :-)

Best Wishes Walt. You have my support.

~Kyle



Walt Potter said:

All,
After reading the first two responses to this thread I went to bed and took an uneasy nap. After reading the rest, it's clear there's no reason to wait.
I've been worried about going through the withdrawal. Now or later? Why wait? The anticipation is no fun.

Wrapping up all of the tobacco in a black plastic bag and putting it into a public dumpster.

I have the resources to do this.

Done with it!

I'll report back later.

Thanks, Walt

[John R. Brochu]

Good move Walt.

Walt Potter said:

All,

After reading the first two responses to this thread I went to bed and took an uneasy nap. After reading the rest, it's clear there's no reason to wait.

I've been worried about going through the withdrawal. Now or later? Why wait? The anticipation is no fun.

Wrapping up all of the tobacco in a black plastic bag and putting it into a public dumpster.

I have the resources to do this.

Done with it!

I'll report back later.

Thanks, Walt

[Fable Goodman]

congratulations Walt,

You are now a Non-Smoker.

the only question left, is How easy it is going to be from here on?

LOve and hugs,


Fable

[Kyle Jackson]

Fable Goodman said:

How easy it is going to be from here on?

Well phrased Fable.

~K

[Kelley Woods]

Way to LOVE yourself, Walt!! We all love you for it, too!

And withdrawal, what's that?! Chances are you will only be feeling free and liberated and ready to start the rest of your life filled with joy, love and good health. Remember, you are returning to your natural state and you need only recall that time in your life when you were naturally filled with well-being to capture it once again.

Congratulations!

Kelley

[Stephen Gruber - www. ask-the-hypnotist.com]

Great decision Walt,

Couple of small observations on the good hints so far;

1. re giving the unwanted smokes away - I ask clients why they would want to give these things that are so harmful to someone they like? The penny drops and they crunch them up there and then into the waste paper basket. They seem to fnd this helpful.

2. re keeping some in reserve just in case. This would suggest to me that the ideal motivational state was not firmed up. It's like someone thinking I will be a non-smoker if I do not have a drink, argument with someone etc. The best way into this is I am a non-smoker under all conditions - period. No room for reserve staches.

Walt a tip - you already are a non-smoker most likely for most of the day. Add up how many cigs you smoke a day. Estimate how much time you are actually consciously "enjoying" the smoking of those cigs (2 mins max?). Say you were smoking 15 cigs a day, that means you already are a non-smoker for 23 hours and 30 minutes a day. Do you think you can handle the challenge easier, better realizing that you only have to find alternative things to do for 30 minutes a day at 2 minutes at a time?

And what if having a smoke does cross your mind? - you've thought about doing something hundreds of times before I am sure and then changed your mind. Take a deep breath (much more calming than hauling in all those toxins), take a slow drink of water, a walk round the block - anything as long as it is not illegal, immoral or fattening!

And all this is before you've done your hyponosis :-)

Hope this might be of help on your great new journey (I rejoice everyday that I no longer smoke, even though that was years ago),

Stephen

[Michael Ellner]

Great to hear that you decided to stop smoking now instead of later -- Good for you, Walt


Informationally and I only mention this because I like you -- When one stops smoking, like you did -- it's probably best to stop smoking everything -- The great news is that Fable and I offer a free disposal service for people on both sides of the pond- No questions asked...

Newbies,

Fable hit the metaphor right on the head! Kelley caught the "positive expectations" wave was well -- This is good stuff to learn:

We can either shrink or enlarge our and our client's challenges depending on our opinion of things -- Walt

We can easily help our clients create a resource state in which they feel calm, cool and very happy to be smoke free -Every time you so much as think about smoking your mind and brain will AUTOMATICALLY pull the trigger and takes you back there so you can remind yourself of all of the benefits and advantages of being happy to be smoke free... Blah, blah, blah...


Michael E