The Procrastinating Smoker
Have you ever thought to yourself that you would quit smoking some time in the future, usually after some event or milestone, only to have that day come and pass and you still find yourself reaching for a cigarette? I know I have been there many times. This is a simple form of procrastination that has a moving target instead of a set in stone quit date.
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Every time the quit day comes up some excuse comes up along with it. It usually starts with “I can’t quit smoking now because…” and ends with “I’ll quit smoking when…” followed by a new target quit date some time in the future.
This is one of the most difficult problems to overcome when attempting to stop smoking cigarettes. To help you get over this hurdle you have to make a decision to quit that cannot be affected by outside circumstances. If your excuse is “I can’t stop smoking now, its tax time”, you have to decide that you will quit smoking regardless of it being tax time. You have to decide that no obstacle is going to get in your way, or better yet, that you will use each “obstacle” to help you quit smoking. Make tax day a reward day for getting that far smoke free. Use doing your taxes an activity to keep you busy and not thinking about cigarettes. Don’t let your excuses get in your way.
Some of the most common excuses are:
• I am already doing to much to quit smoking now
• I am moving right now and it is really stressful
• I’ll quit once I’ve lost 20 pounds
• I’ll quit when my doctor tells me to
Let’s go through these quickly to see how they can be used to motivate you.
I am already doing to much to quit now: If this is your excuse the first thing you should remember is that your health is your most important asset. If you don’t quit smoking you may end up dead, then you can’t do anything else. You have to reassess your priorities in this situation. Then you have to realize that you don’t have to do anything to quit smoking. By quitting cigarettes you will have more time on your hand and you don’t have to lift a finger to quit.
I am moving right now and its really stressful: What better time to quit smoking? You are moving to a new house or apartment, so why not make it a smoke free environment. You will be away from many of the old triggers once you move so it will actually ease the process of quitting. On top of that you will have an enormous amount of work to keep you busy and keep your mind off of cigarettes with all of the packing and unpacking. Start of the first days in your new place with an all new lifestyle.
I’ll quit once I’ve lost 20 pounds: This is one of the most interesting excuses around. The idea behind it is that by losing 20 pounds before you quit smoking you will end up the same weight from the weight gain after you quit. The problem is, you will have to lose the 20 lbs all over again after you quit. It would be far better to quit smoking cigarettes first. By doing that you can focus completely on your health and losing all the weight once you quit, instead of dieting, then quitting, then dieting all over again. On top of that, exercise is one of the best ways to reduce smoking urges and speed up the detoxification process. By quitting cigarettes first and using exercise as a replacement you can get into the habit of working out on a regular basis, and once your diet evens out after quitting cigarettes you will be able to lose the extra weight much faster.
I’ll quit when my doctor tells me to: This isn’t even an excuse. Ask your doctor if you should quit smoking right now. Go ahead and call her/him up and ask. There you have it. If you are waiting until you get sick to quit smoking cigarettes it will likely be too late. You have to realize that every cigarette you smoke is lowering your life expectancy and weakening your immune system. Every good doctor will tell you to quit immediately, so be proactive and bring up the subject yourself. If you really want to wait until your doctor tells you to quit you should ask him exactly what smoking does to your body.
Every excuse and obstacle to quitting smoking is filled with opportunity if you take the time to look. Make that change in your mindset and commit to quitting no matter what and you can break that procrastination habit and finally be done with cigarettes for good.
An ex-smoker for over 2 years and 4 months after smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for seven years, Corey has dedicated the majority of his free time to helping people kick the habit both in person, and more recently by creating an all free website full of articles, tools and support, and a blog updated every Monday through Friday.