Step 2: Be Prepared
Again and again I want to stress on the fact that this is a task that can be
achieved only if you are well and truly prepared. There is an old saying that
says “well begun is half done,” and the same thing rings true in the matter of
quitting as well.
So let us hit the different buttons that are part of the preparation. As I
mentioned earlier, it is not just enough that you know that you are trying to
quit smoking. All those who move around closely with you must be let into
the affair. This includes your family, your friends, your colleagues and -
brace yourself for this- your boss as well. Now, that might sound a bit
strange, what the hell has your boss got to do with your attempt to quit
smoking?
The answer is simple, if you tell your boss that you are trying to quit
smoking it gives you one more reason to go for it with a resolute mind
because no body would want to stand sheepishly in front of a boss and say
something like, “well I kind of gave up I guess.”
Smoking is not a joke and quitting is even a more serious affair so it is best
that you approach the problem with all the seriousness of the affair. It would
be best if you prepared yourself mentally, emotionally and physically for the
change. And it doesn’t stop with that. You should also prepare your
surroundings. Get rid of any thing and every thing that reminds you of
smoking. This includes things like ash trays, packets of cigarettes. The
main thing is to get your mind of smoking and for that you have to find a
substitute for it. There are many other things that you could practice when
you get the urge to smoke. I will list out the things that you could do here.
Then you could choose the ideal thing to do according to your life style.
Music
Music is a wonderful way of getting your mind off that urge to smoke. If
you have fixed times for getting a smoke like after meals or during the
coffee break you could try playing something very soothing using a walk
man and head phones so that you do not disturb others though you might
attract attention. Another thing you could do is that you could play music on
your computer if you have a work station all to your self.
Music is a wonderful stress reliever. I do not want to emphasize on any
particular type of music because tastes differ.
Meditation
Meditation is also an excellent way of helping you to get better control over
your mind. It is not a very great thing too. Any body can learn the art with a
little bit of practice. Now I hope you will pardon me if I digress a bit from
our topic and give you a few essential points on how to meditate because
this as I see it is the best method of helping you to gain better control over
you mind and there by get over that urge to take in that puff of smoke.
The simplest method of mediation that you could practice by yourself would
be to sit in a very comfortable position with your eyes closed. In the initial
stages you may find your mind drifting but gradually you will learn to focus
more and more. The idea behind meditation is not to cut out all the forces
around you but to become one with them. I have seen people plug their ears
with cotton to shut out sounds. But that is not the purpose that we wish to
achieve. On the contrary we should focus on the sounds around us.
Be aware of them, listen to them. First listen to the bigger sounds around
you like the traffic or machines or even loud music from your neighbor’s
apartment. Then listen to the softer sounds like the drone of the refrigerator,
or the A/C. And then bring your attention to the sound of your own
breathing. If you can actually hear yourself breathing then you have arrived
and this is what you have to keep doing.
It would be useful if you could try to focus on some inner picture that you
could conjure up in your mind. By inner picture I mean an image that you
can concentrate on for example the flame of a lighted candle or a single
flower on a plant. Try and see how long you can keep your mind focused on
such an image. If the image blurs immediately and is replaced by something
else, then you need to work on it. Gradually you will see that you can keep
your mind focused on the same thing for more than ten minutes.
That means that you have arrived. Once you have reached this stage and
have begun to practice it without fail, you will see that it can give you
immense mental strength. Then the next time you get an urge to smoke, all
you have to do is sit put where ever you are, close your eyes and meditate.
The urge will have vanished by the time you open your eyes. Meditation not
only drives away the urge but gives you control over your mind.
Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises too can prove to be useful in controlling the urge to
smoke. It is common knowledge that the human body takes in a lot of toxic
substances, both through the air and through food and drink. Apart from this,
various toxins are also released in the body as a result of the various
processes that are going on. These toxins have to be released on a
continuous basis or else they will accumulate in the body with serious
results.
One of the best ways of releasing these toxins is by means of exhaling while
breathing. One funny fact is that most of do not breathe properly. Just take a
look at the picture like this. With each breath that we take, we take in
oxygen. This oxygen is carried by the blood to every cell of the body and
every cell must indeed get enough oxygen not just to survive but to remain
healthy as well.
So it is imperative that we make an honest attempt to breathe properly. But
first of course we have to make sure that we are breathing in unpolluted air.
The time best for breathing exercises is early in the morning when the air is
comparatively unpolluted. Now what you have to do is this. Again, sit
comfortably so that there is no strain to any part of your body. It is not
imperative that you close your eyes, but I have always noticed that the
exercise works better when the eyes are closed.
When you are ready, what you have to do is to breathe in deeply and slowly,
and feel the fresh air filling up your lungs until it just can’t take any more.
Conjure up images of the air encircling throughout your body and reaching
every cell, literally bathing it with oxygen. Of course it doesn’t happen that
way but the image helps a lot. Then hold your breath for a few seconds and
then very slowly exhale letting out all that foul air.
Again conjure up an image of all the toxins being released from your body.
Every cell has become free of the burden it was carrying. Now pause for a
second or two and again breathe in deeply, slowly letting your lungs fill up
with all that good, clean, rejuvenating air. Repeat this exercise at least ten
times and take your time for it taking care not to rush through.
When you have done that part of the exercise it is time for the second part.
Again sit with your eyes closed, but this time, keep one nostril closed with
the help of your index finger. It is best to close the right nostril first and that
too with your right index finger. Now breathe in deeply and slowly through
your left nostril keeping the right nostril closed. When you have held air for
a second or two, release your right nostril and breathe out through it.
While you are breathing out conjure up an image of all the toxins being
released form your head and the brain especially. And as you breathe in
conjure up images of the clean air circulating though out your brain freeing
it of all the worries and trouble and lightening it.
Repeat this exercise with the other nostril closed and in this way alternate
between the nostrils at least ten times. The entire breathing exercise need not
take more than ten minutes. But you will be surprised at how light hearted
and free you will feel after the exercise. Once you have practiced it for three
or four mornings, you will be in a position to do the exercise each time you
get the urge to smoke. The breathing exercise can easily become a substitute
for the urge to take in that hourly doze of nicotine.
Now, I want you to try something. It’s a little gory, I admit, so I’ll apologize
for that right up front. Here’s what I want you to do next...
While you are doing this breathing exercise and feeling all those cells
perk up, just think for a minute about what happens when you’re inhaling
the hot, fuming, toxic, carcinogenic smoke from a cigarette. Visualize the
smoke circulating through your body and slowly killing all the cells that it
comes in contact with. Watch as it slowly but surely pollutes your entire
body, and then see yourself finally succumbing to it one day.
I know this experiment is tough to deal with, but it’s important that
you understand the hideous crime that you commit against your body each
time you smoke a cigarette, compared to the good you do your body by
inhaling clean, natural oxygen.
When you get the urge to smoke try using something else like a chewinggum
or a toffee. Try things that have strong flavors like menthol, mint or
spiced with something like cardamom. It is even better if you can get your
hands on spices like cloves or cardamoms; they really help a lot though you
could burn your mouth if you take in more that a teeny weenie bit. You
should not swallow these things immediately, but should bite into them and
then let the taste linger in your mouth for a couple of minutes. You might
experience numbness in your mouth but it helps take away the urge to
smoke.
But please note that these things can be addictive too, so try alternating
among chewing gum, candy, chocolate, spices and maybe even coffee.
Make a list of all the smokers around you who you know closely. And
then what you have to do is STAY AWAY FROM THEM. Unless they too
are trying to quit, keep a very safe distance from them. If you had a habit of
smoking with them at fixed times, take special care to steer very clear of
them at those fixed times.
Most people - in fact, I should say all of us - have a habit of putting off
things for another day. This habit is called procrastination and it’s the
guardian angel of smoking. As long as we have this habit of procrastination,
we are never going to stop.
The funny thing about procrastination is that we only tend to postpone
unpleasant tasks. The good things in life we try to do as early as possible and
the things that involve hard word, giving up comforts, or a little bit of pain,
we try to put off till the last possible date.
The dangerous thing over here is that in the case of most smokers there no
real last possible date. Many people become serious about quitting after a
first heart attack or a stroke. Don’t tell me that you too are waiting for a real
warning like that. If we are waiting for a doctor’s warning, then we can’t be
too far from falling terminally ill. There is absolutely no sense in putting it
off.
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