Fix the Day for YOU to STOP SMOKING!

The next thing you have to do is fix the day when you want to quit smoking, and write it down. That day should not be very far away.

There is still a little more paperwork to be done. It would be a good idea to write down any earlier occasions when you tried to stop smoking but did not succeed. Try and find out the reasons while you failed, and write them down as well. These reasons are pitfalls, and you need to steer clear of them.

Do not throw away this bit of paper - try and keep it where you can always see it. You could try pinning it to your work station, or even on your bathroom wall.

Admit That You Are Addicted to Smoking

Go on, face it like a man (or a woman) and realize how much it hurts. If you can do that much, then the battle is half won. Most smokers make a fatal mistake here - they keep on telling themselves that can break off as easily as snapping their fingers, when they really can't. They try to fool themselves.

This is because they feel weak and submissive when they admit that they cannot do without cigarettes. So they do not admit it. They just say something like,

• "I need something to soothe my nerves," or
• "It helps me think better," or
• "I need to unwind."

It sounds very plausible, but they are actually admitting that their brains are incapable of carrying out those routine activities any more without the help of an external agent. It would be much better simply to admit that they are addicted to smoking.

There is nothing to be embarrassed about. There is no need to feel inferior. Again, take a look at the statistics and see all those people who have become addicted to smoking. But unlike those people, you are going to do something about it. Tobacco is like a colossal octopus. Once it gets its grip around you, then you are done for. It swiftly tightens its tentacles around you, and before you know it, you are fully and completely in its grip and you cannot even breathe without its permission. You - and only you - can save yourself.

That is why the first thing you have to do is take a look at yourself in the mirror. Look at yourself for a minute and face the truth. Let it sink in slowly, and maybe painfully. Notice the tentacles of the octopus around you. Then you can admit to yourself that you have indeed become a slave to the master that is tobacco.

Now that is not a nice thought at all, is it? You - with all your remarkable faculties, abilities and potential - have actually become a slave to something so gross! You, who have never bowed your head before anyone, have actually been taken by this gruesome monster. The thought is going to be infuriating. But you have to face it; you have to accept it. Only then can you muster up enough strength to fight back.

The next section is: "Help Me Quit Smoking!"