How to Quit Cigarette Smoking

Change is all about results. If you remain off cigarettes and you're

living a satisfying life then that's good. You've exposed your calling

and whatever plan (or lack thereof) that you're working appears to be

the right fit for you.

In other words, if you're attempting to recover from an addiction, the

best thing to do is to do what figures out for you. Instead of taking a

hardline on precisely what needs to be achieved in order to recover,

traditional wisdom states you should explore and find what works

best.

Where To Start

If someone acquaints you with a program--any plan at all--you must

be realistic about it. Recognize that any plan for change is truly just a

collection of suggestions. If a change plan is going to work for you, do

you think it's the actual suggestions of the program that bring about

the results, or do you think that the results bank more heavily on your

personal actions? Just how complicated is a plan of change, truly? It's

not what you do; it's how you achieve it. Consider what a great change

plan truly consists of. We might break it down like this:

1) Abstinence

2) A blueprint for living

3) Support and networking (assisting others)

4) Personal maturation

Really, where is the mystery in this? Certainly, it's a lot of stuff. And

no, it's not unavoidably simple to achieve. Individuals fail at change

again and again. But my point is that there's no grand mystery in the

plan itself. The answers are in the action.

There's a shift that occurs once the struggling addict in early on

change is no more battling to remain free of nicotine; they discover a

particular peace about themselves and things start clicking for them.

Either that or they relapse. However the idea of transition is real.

Change is split into short-term and long-run change. We do particular

things to begin with to remain clean. If we don’t alter our strategy

eventually and make the transition to long-run change, we relapse.

We must change in order to make it over the long run.

We must achieve particular things in early on change to remain clean.

These are different things for everyone, but the precepts are the same:

we require a strong support system, much structure; some require

protection from the outside world (like a treatment center). Still these

things won't keep you clean 5 years down the road or even one year

out. Those who don't changeover to long-run, holistic living will

inevitably slide back into their old behaviors.

No one consciously knows once they're making this jump from short term

to long-run change. It simply occurs. You're able to retrospect,

naturally, and discover how you grew through the stage.

So how may we know what to do? How may we help the changeover?

The answer to this is what the originative theory is all about. The

answer lies in the 3 primary techniques:

1) Treasuring self

2) Networking with others

3) Push for holistic maturation

Particularly, the push for holistic maturation is a critical component

of the transition. I’m not so certain that you're able to plan this sort of

growth out specifically, however. What's crucial is to get past the

mentality of “I’m just going to focus on my plan and not get distracted

with schooling or career or additional things right now.” Many

traditional plans don't encourage holistic maturation so if you focus

on them then you’re going to be doing so at the exclusion of

additional growth opportunities.

All the same maturation involves change. We either move onward in

change or we slide back.

So my proposal is to seek holistic growth opportunities right from the

beginning. Find ways to diversify and grow or learn outside of the

limits of “traditional change.” This may include things like physical

fitness, nutrition, meditation, training, the arts, learning new skills,

building new relationships, etcetera.

The transition occurs once you grow beyond the minute focus of your

early change efforts. Once we're working a traditional plan of change,

we tend to have a restricted view in that we perceive all potential

growth as being one-dimensional. Maybe the twelve step model has

facilitated this idea as the twelve steps are plainly ordered and are in

sequence.

Still in holistic living, maturation may be expansive and non-linear.

Regardless what program you're working, most individuals don’t

grow at a regular pace in change. Many of us careen around for a

while to begin with, trying to find our footing and merely get through

the cravings and urges of every day. Later on, once we have been

making holistic growth attempts, our maturation in change may be

explosive.

In other words, at times we have to slog through a tough time in

change once we see little results from our attempts. The payoff comes

eventually once all of our holistic maturation attempts begin paying

off down the road at some point.

The only real enemy in long-run change is complacency. After living

nicotine free, we no longer battle with daily urges or even with more

elusive threats to change like resentments or self-pity. Rather, the

true challenge in long-term change is to continue challenging

ourselves to mature.

Center on the 3 primary techniques and continue pushing yourself to

grow, and complacency will take care of itself. Once we're first

beginning in change, there are a few high impact matters that we may

do in order to get going on the right foot. These are action oriented

matters we may do, like:

1) Attend treatment

2) Attend meetings

3) Call our sponsor or additional recovering addicts

4) Examine change literature or write up step work

And so forth. These are the sorts of things that are normally

suggested to newbies in change. Why? Because they work. They help.

Best is to challenge yourself to mature in your change and develop as

a spiritual being. What does this entail? It means that instead of

ditching your issues and sniveling in a meeting daily, you ought to be

spending your energy in richer ways as you advance in change. One

way to achieve this would be to provide addiction help to others.

You may likewise seek to discover new ways to grow outside of the

limits of traditional change. For example, the twelve step plan

typically centers on spiritual growth solely. This is a shortsighted

viewpoint and to really recover you have to heal your life in additional

ways too, including physically, emotionally, socially, etc. In order to

recover, you have to live this way.