PREPARATION
How many of us smoke cigarettes? Confession is good for the soul. I once heard Joyce Meyers say that when she first started her Bible Study group she had the habit. Bless you, Joyce for your confession. That emboldened me. So, we will quit this habit together. Are you ready?
1) The first step is to track our cigarettes, so we can fight the triggers. This is like when we look at our budget and try to figure out where all the money is going. Same principle. Take three days and write down when you reach for a cigarette. Log every cigarette you smoke, what you were doing, and how strong the urge was. Be sure to track on a weekday as well as the weekend. We can use "S" for strong, "M" for mindless, "N" for normal, and "L" for low urge.
2) At the end of the three days, evaluate what your triggers are. In order to re-learn how to deal with all of these triggers without a cigarette, you need to start separating the cigarette from the trigger. I have purchased one of those electric cigarettes, two bags of lollipops, and chewing gum. I am a type A personality. Re-learning is just putting some time between the trigger and the cigarette. It is like when your child pushes your button and you get so mad that you have to take some time before you confront him, so you don't mishandle the punishment. Recognize the trigger, and wait as long as possible before reaching for that cigarette. Better yet, before you reach for that electric cigarette or lollipop.
3) Plan to celebrate kicking the addiction. National Smoke-out Day is November 17th. We will have a national smoke-free celebration on Thanksgiving, giving thanks for our new life.
Good luck. There are many helpful sites you can take advantage of. One is http://www.becomeanex.org/.
You can also follow me at http://omaspolitics.blogspot.com/, http://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/ and http://omaslife.blogspot.com/
