Eight More Easy Steps to Eliminate Smoking from Your Life

J8B – The following article is the second of a two part series. It has 824 words (including bio). Copyright permission is granted when used without alteration and bio is included.

Get The Monkey Off Your Back!

By Julie Donnelly, LMT

Without going into a lot of detail, let´s just recap the hints I shared with you in Part One of this article. If you missed the article, you can read it on our website: www.julstro.com

NEVER say "I´m quitting smoking," instead say "I´m holding off my next cigarette as long as possible."
Pick one place to totally eliminate cigarettes, for example, your car or your kitchen.
Put your cigarettes into the trunk of your car, even better, under the spare tire!
Use self–talk and mentally notice how weak other people are who are smoking.
Make a mental image of a classic line "kissing a smoker is like licking a dirty ashtray".

Have you tried to incorporate any of these hints into your life? I´d love to hear from you if you´d like to share your experiences. contact me here. Please let me know if I can share your edited words with others, I will only use your first name, and no other identifying information – your sharing may help others who are having a difficult time.

Moving right along...

As I mentioned before, the cigarette industry has added chemicals that are possibly even more addictive then nicotine, so give your self credit for any successes you have already had in your quest to eliminate this habit. Here are eight more techniques that helped me finally stop.

I paid attention to the things that would trigger the desire to smoke. The most common times were: after a cup of coffee, after a meal, as soon as I awoke, when I was on the phone, and the last thing before going to bed.
I used the "postponing my next cigarette" technique for each of these difficult times. It really helped because I felt proud to even cut out ONE cigarette, going even just an extra 15 minutes before grabbing the pack.
I put my home pack of cigarettes in a very inaccessible place. I lived in a three–family house with a scary basement. I just knew that there were mice in the cellar, and maybe more! So, I "hid" my cigarettes in a box at the very back of the basement, under a few pieces of old wood. Believe me; I had to be desperate to go back there!
Since I was somehow finding the money to pay for three packs of cigarettes a day, I decided I´d save that amount each day, and then buy something with the money after I had been smoke free for one month. I figured out how much I was spending on cigarettes each day, and then broke it down to the price per cigarette. I knew I had been smoking 60 cigarettes every day (this still amazes me!) and at the end of the day I´d put the money I saved today into a sealed box with a slot cut in the top.
As time went on, just shaking that box was a motivation to me, it was rewarding to know that instead of giving my money to a tobacco company, I was giving it to ME!
Cleaning my home thoroughly, washing the curtains, steam cleaning the rugs, and even washing down the walls, helped me to keep my resolve to make my home smoke–free. As I saw the brown cleaning cloth, and the murky water, I had a clear visual of what was happening to my lungs, and it wasn´t pretty.
*During this period I had taken a vacation to Washington, DC, and I went to the Smithsonian Museum. In the Science Museum I saw a jar with a healthy lung, and one with the lung of someone who died from emphysema – what a shocking visual aid that was, it was scary!
Finally, I made myself a subliminal tape. If you have access to a hand–held tape recorder this is a great trick. You can buy pre–recorded stop–smoking tapes at many book stores, or you can make one yourself. Personally, I liked making my own because I could say what I felt would help me, plus, I was hearing my own voice prompting me to live a healthier life. That made sense to me.

If you decide you want to create your own tape, I´ll share my "script" with you. Simply contact me here and ask for a free copy of the transcript and directions.

Good Luck! You can do it!

Julie Donnelly is a licensed massage therapist specializing in the treatment of chronic pain and sports injuries. She has co–authored several self–treatment books, including "The Pain–Free Triathlete" and "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome–What You Don´t Know CAN Hurt You." She teaches Julstro self–treatment workshops nationwide and is a frequent presenter at Conventions and Seminars. Julie may be contacted through her website: www.julstro.com.