Dangers of Cutting Down
This is another pitfall. Many people believe that, instead of stopping in one go, they should try to cut down the number of cigarettes they smoke. Wrong! If you try and cut down the number of cigarettes you smoke, you will still be smoking, and that just doesn't help. If you are still carrying cigarettes with you, then you are tempting yourself. You might have cut down, but since you still have a packet with you, you are just waiting for the slightest provocation.
The excuse that will be reverberating in your mind is that "it's just this once, just to get over this small problem". And then before you know it, you will be back to smoking the same number of cigarettes as before.
You have to quit once and for all if you are really serious about stopping. It just does not work if you try to cut down the number, because the number never becomes zero.
Water Flows Downwards
Everything in this world always tries to reach the lowest possible point - following the laws of gravity.
So what is the connection between this and you stopping smoking? We are trying to take you from a lower state (the state of being a smoker) to a higher state (the state of being a non-smoker). So you must bear in mind that it is the easiest thing in the world for you to relapse and go back "downwards" to that packet of cigarettes. It is going to take a lot of effort and will power on your part to refrain from smoking.
You might wonder if you have to keep up that will power for the rest of your life. The answer is no. Once you have given up the habit once and for all - once you have overcome all these withdrawal symptoms - then you have arrived.
You will start to realize how much better your life has become without cigarettes. You will feel the power in your hands; you will be in absolute control of your life, and at that stage there is absolutely no going back.
When you start controlling yourself for the first time, you can fall upwards or downwards, and it is much easier to fall downwards. This is where you need the support, help and encouragement of others. But gradually, as you overcome the urge, you advance further and further upwards. Once you are beyond a certain point, then you have reached the point of no return.
Go to the next section: Low Tar Cigarettes
