Sunday, November 16, 2008

Preparation before Quitting Smoking

By Darren Warmuth

Quitting smoking is not the first thing you should do when you decide to become a non-smoker. Yes, you have read that right - but it's true. Indeed, quitting is one of the last steps you should take on the road to quitting smoking. It is the end, not the means. If you start with quitting smoking, you are most probably going to fail, and all your efforts will come to naught besides the damage it will do to your personality, your confidence in yourself and much more.

For most smokers the thought of quitting rarely crosses their minds. That is until one factor or another brings the idea to the forefront of their thoughts. Perhaps they have had a health scare. Perhaps they are finally noticing the toll that smoking is taking on their bodies. Whatever the reason is doesn't matter. What does matter is that in actually taking the steps to quit, education and preparation MUST come before you stop.

You cannot quit smoking before getting ready to quit. This preparedness includes educating yourself on all the steps of the process, the common pitfalls and how to overcome them amongst other things. Just as it would be silly to start sewing your daughter's wedding dress just because you bought a new sewing machine, in the same way you can't just quit smoking by just taking a vow that you are going to become a non-smoker. You will make a mess of the dress and as for quitting smoking you will most probably get so discouraged by your lack of will power that you wouldn't attempt giving it up for a long time to come.

Scour the internet. Look at the available stop smoking programs and really compare them. Don't just buy the first one you see. And make sure that the program you are buying is grounded in education and preparation about quitting first and supplements or cessation aids second. You should be encouraged to take your time to learn and prepare as opposed to placing your faith in a product that states that there is no effort required on your part.

Nothing comes without a little effort from you - especially this. Remember, quitting is the easy part - you just stop. It's the preparations you take before you quit that determines if you'll be successful or not. So make sure you have all the data you need before you try and you will be the success you want to be.

Happy Quitting,

Darren Warmuth - 15359

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