Take it from someone who has learnt how to stop smoking after 17 years; you have to make the decision to have your final smoke.

I wrote in a previous article about the necessity to get your mind right first when considering how to stop smoking. It is like anything in life, if you go at this uncommitted you will fail. It took me three months, maybe even longer to have my final smoke. When I first sat down and asked myself the ‘how do I stop smoking?’ question, I set in motion a thought process that led me to smoke free living.

Every single time I had a cigarette, I would be thinking about stopping. I would think about every single reason I should stop, no matter how trivial, and I would repeat each reason to myself over and over again. Think about someone you have seen have a cigarette for the first time. What happens? They cough and splutter violently, of course much to the amusement of those around them but the point is this is not a natural thing for the body to be doing.

I realized I had forced my mind and body into this filthy habit and I could get myself out of it too. Now, I am not talking about going at it cold turkey, what I am saying is the answer to ‘how do I stop smoking?’ is in the grey matter between your ears. If you use a quit smoking product, whether a patch, gum or pill, you are expecting the product to do the work for you. This is why many quit smoking products, even one like Final Smoke, fail people.

Pre-quitting before you have your final smoke

The key is not to make a big deal of it. Just set a date, sooner rather than later, and stick to this date. Avoid making it a Monday, if possible, as this is usually a bad day for everyone. The less significant you can make this date, the easier it may be.

Many people fail to quit because they use their irritability as a crutch and in a lot of cases they annoy the people around them so much that eventually someone might say something like, “I will go buy a pack for you if you just stop such a pain”. Let your friends and family know you are making a ‘do or die’ attempt to quit so they know how to help you to stop smoking.

There are no easy answers to the ‘how to stop smoking?’ question but knowing ahead of time what can be expected will help tremendously. Remember this, there are many other people around the world who have beaten this unnecessary addiction and gone on to live happier and healthier lives.

You can do it! And once you have achieved your goal to stop smoking you’ll be staggered at how incredible you will feel. You’ll be proud of your accomplishment and be an inspiration to other smokers who want to know how to quit for good.

A friend popped this question to me- I’m tired of being sensitive and freaking out now and again with stress. I’d like to be able to work and sleep and do the other things i need to do with steady progress. It gets all messed up when I’m not steady. i get upset easily… then i lose my focus and balance… can’t concentrate though i try to get back to my focus… i lose my sleeping routine and schedule. i hate it. The question is not clear but I am sure you get the meaning. Many of us have this problem. Sudden stress derails us for weeks and throws all our plans haywire. How to deal with this kind of problem? Here are some ways-

Meditation-

Sit down comfortably and focus mind on something. Even candlelight will do. Let the thoughts come, ignore them. Keep your focus on the light. Do not move much and remain steady. Watch your breath. If it is fast slow it down. Meditation is very good to relax and bring focus back in life.

Control Thoughts-

Say “stop” and re-focus on your goals and your ideal future You can also focus on a calming word or scene. Do this whenever you freak out with stress. Get up from your chair and lie down. Say stop to the thoughts and focus on something lovely. Focus on anything that brings positive memories. You can control your thoughts by watching them. You can use negative feedback for this by wearing a rubber band on your wrist and snapping it when you think negatively.

Yoga-

If you have many balls to juggle, start practicing yoga. Yoga is very relaxing. Do yoga for only 30 minutes total, twice a week, and you will see the improvement in your mood. Put on soothing music and do yoga. Another trick is to sing and listen to it. Most of us sing but our ears are somewhere else. Focus ears on what you are singing and watch the difference.

Walking-

No matter where your emotions were, take a walk and you will feel better. The endorphins that are released when you walk are very relaxing. Walking also keeps us fit and gives us strength to fight stress better. The swat removes lots of toxins and keeps body clean. Your body will maintain its beauty if you walk when you are under stress.

Important –

Do not let everything bother you. That will surely lead to stress. You need to find out what is most important in your life. Put your focus on what is important and forget the rest. Otherwise you will be wasting your time and energy on what is not important at all. Write down what is most important and keep that near your bed and desk. Focus on that and leave the rest alone.

Pamper-

Take time out for you. Pamper yourself. Stop worrying about what went wrong and forgive yourself for all the mistakes. Keep a pet and play with him. Enjoy life even if things are going wrong.

I’ve been fasting today. I do it four times a month and am seldom bothered by hunger (I’ll explain why later). But today was different and in the afternoon at around 5.00 PM I had “demon hunger” and couldn’t concentrate on some computer work that I was doing. I really felt like eating something!

I contemplated taking some fruit, which is generally a good idea whenever you are in this kind of predicament. For example, suppose you are trying to lose weight by cutting down on high calorie snacks in-between meals, and all of a sudden you get the “munchies” well if you eat an apple or some other fruit it sometimes does the trick and your hunger is gone.

But instead of grabbing an apple, I resorted to a “yogi trick,” I drank two glasses of lemon water. I made it by squeezing lemon into the glass and adding a bit of salt and water. This lemon water drink is great for giving strength and it also works to allay the hunger. I drank and then went back to work (which includes typing this blog entry). So if you really want to stick to your fast, before you to for fruit, try the lemon water.

And remember one thing: you will not go to hell if you take some lemon water or eat a fruit. Fasting is not a “religious” act (though it has value if you use the time that you save from shopping, cooking and cleaning and do something spiritual during the gained time). Fasting will help you to maintain your health, so do your best to do it regularly (twice a month is great).

Now, I promised to tell you how I usually avoid hunger altogether on the fasting day, so I will do it. Before you begin a fast you have to prepare yourself physically, and most important mentally.

Let’s start with mental preparation. The night before the day when you will be fasting you have to remember that tomorrow is the fasting day and set your mind to it. It’s final, tomorrow you are fasting. If you have this kind of determination, then your desire to eat will not even start working on the day of fasting. It just shuts down. It is amazing but it is true.

If you don’t make this kind of mental preparation then when you wake up you will be thinking of breakfast or of eating sometime. If you decide to fast right then, on the spot, you will also think about why it might be good to eat (you can always find a reason!). And in the midst of this quivering mind-set hunger usually wins the day! So make up your mind the night before and you will be surprised at how helpful it is.

Second, and this is why I was hungry today, prepare yourself physically. The day before the fast make sure that you get enough liquids and also enough calories. My meals yesterday must have been too skimpy and that is why I got hungry. In any case the day is almost over and tomorrow I will dig into some yogurt and fruit!