One Of The 77 Secrets - Don't Smoke
How To Live – Healthy
I am not a dietician, nor a nutritionist and I am no expert in any health related field. What follows is simply what I have learned in my life (so far).
As with any major planned dietary change, please seek expert medical advice first. Having said all that, what you are about to read, really works. I know, I have tried everything I recommend in the following pages....they are some of the most important secrets....the good news is that you don't have to become evangelical (or even angelic). The secrets are designed to work in most everyday lives...they can certainly work in yours...and the good news is that you can pick and choose, you don't have to follow all 77 Secrets to start leading a happier, healthier, wealthier and wiser life...
* Don't Smoke
Confession time: I smoked, on and off, for 30 years. I lost around 10 teeth as a result and I think myself lucky to have 'got away with it'.
Smoking kills. Make no mistake. If you speak to any smoker, they want to or are thinking of quitting. The reason for this is fairly simple. They know that smoking is not good for them. It makes them smell, gives them bad breath, is expensive and causes untold damage to their lungs and other vital organs. It also causes depression and other untold misery.
Look, I am not going to go on. There's plenty of documentation out there about the dangers of smoking and that is why most Western governments are now putting work and public place bans on smoking.
But around 1 in 4 of Western adults still smoke...
Smoking is not good for you. In fact, if governments spent 100% of the revenue received from the excise duties raised from the sale of tobacco products, on the re-education of smokers, instead of the 0.5% (yes, 1/200th) currently spent, then there would be no need for me to be spouting this message. People would be educated, even brainwashed, about the evils of smoking. However, the truth of the matter is that various governments around the world have been 'bought' by the tobacco lobby and not only have they become 'addicted' to the lobbyist donations (or bribes), they have also become 'addicted' to the revenues that tobacco produces for the general coffers. So, the answer lies with you my friend and it is fairly simple...
If you don't smoke, don't start.
If you do smoke, find a way to stop.
By the way, after smoking on and off for 30 years, I had a £1,000 bet with a friend that the next one of us to light up, after an agreed date, would pay £1,000 to charity. That one simple strategy stopped us both smoking there and then (and we have both saved enough to afford the £1,000 donation, but we have not started again). But that's just one strategy, it worked for us. Try it. Try anything. But whatever you do: STOP SMOKING (or don't start).
PS As a result of receiving many replies on this subject (see PPS
as an example), I decided to come up with my top ten strategies to
quit. They are:
- Have a bet with a fellow smoker that you will quit (as I did above).
- Try a countdown quit i.e. today I'll smoke 20, the day after 19 etc.
- If you fall off the quitting bike, get back on it again (and again and again if need be).
- Plan a weekend where you can lie in bed, watch DVDs and feel sorry for yourself. Quit on the Friday night. Do not smoke on that weekend. Try not to smoke on the Monday (but even if you do, you have managed two days smoke free, the next time won't be so bad).
- Know that the physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal only lasts 48 to 96 hours. Get through that and the back is broken.
- Recognize when you smoke. Keep a smoking diary. When do you smoke? In what situations? What triggers the urge to smoke? Change those situations (e.g. go for a walk at lunchtime instead of having a smoke)
- Create a list of the reasons to smoke. Then create another list of reasons not to smoke. Be honest with yourself. Include the psychological reasons why you smoke (or why you started). Pin the two lists on the fridge or somewhere prominent.
- Recognize that nicotine is a very powerful drug and that you won't be really free of it for a couple of YEARS after quitting. Never think (after quitting for a period of time) "I'll just have the one" or "I'll just have a cigar". Before you know it you'll be back where you started (if not worse).
9. Let the negative feelings about smoking build up inside of you. Feed on them. Hate yourself for smoking. Be embarrassed when you have to go outside for a smoke. Smell your clothes. Smell your skin. Look at your tired and blurry eyes in the mirror. Is that who you set out to be?
- Get serious and determined about packing up. But don't buy gum or e-cigarettes, they will just keep you addicted to the drug or the habit. Instead, buy a course. It will be cheaper than to keep buying cigarettes. Buy it. Commit to it.
In closing, all I can say is good luck. It is possible. I haven't
smoked for 15 years now and there is no way I'm going back. Please
offer me a million dollars to have one cigarette (I will not accept).
Finally: You can do this. YES, YOU CAN.
PPS Here's a typical reply from a valued subscriber (to show that
you are not alone):
"Hi again Allen,
As usual, this was excellent! I have to admit, smoking is very
expensive. And I am not even smoking an expensive brand. Imagine
how much money I could spend elsewhere...should I quit completely!
I am slowly but surely brainwashing myself into thinking cigarettes
make me sick. So after every cigarette, I feel queasy. And even
right now, I am forcing myself to think about the horrible smell on
my fingers from the cigarette I had in my lunch break.
I have even done research about the e-cigarettes...but also, they
said that I will be best off to quit altogether. So much harm is
done to our bodies on a daily basis, just by eating and drinking
(even water in my area!). Why would I possibly want to continue
doing even more harm to myself? And for what? Who will look after
my child if I have to leave this body too soon?
I know that I have the will power to break just about any
habit...so why on earth is it so difficult to cut my bond with
these silent killers?
Where there's a will, there's a way...and I will simply not give up!
Wish me luck.
Beaulah"
{GOOD LUCK}
THEY ALSO SAID:
“To cease smoking is the easiest thing I ever did. I ought to know because I've done it a thousand times.”
Mark Twain
“Remember, if you smoke after sex you're doing it too fast.”
Woody Allen
“Much smoking kills live men and cures dead swine.”
George D. Prentice
“The public health authorities never mention the main reason many Americans have for smoking heavily, which is that smoking is a fairly sure, fairly honourable form of suicide.”
Kurt Vonnegut
One of The 77 Secrets is about the power of affirmations. More on that later (or follow this link) but after each secret you will find a related affirmation. Just cut and paste your favourite ones to create one big one (then say many times daily). Here's the one on smoking:
AFFIRMATION: I do not smoke. I don't even like the smell of smoke. Smoking will kill me and I do not want to die a lingering and painful death. I do not need to smoke.
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