Prepare Yourself for Stopping Smoking

“Prepare Yourself for Stopping Smoking”

by Kelley Woods, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist

Sometimes, the war is not won in just one battle.

I am here to tell you that these prior attempts have not been in vain, that they have actually moved you closer to something that you know you will eventually do: become a non-smoker.

Here’s something you can do while you are preparing to change – it’s easy and doesn’t take much time, but it can have a powerful influence on the drivers of your smoking habit and move you closer to permanent freedom:

Make yourself comfortable. Turn off any distractions and give yourself permission to spend a few minutes alone. Turn your thoughts toward how you feel physically. If you are like many smokers and are aware that your body is feeling negative effects, let yourself pay attention to where and what those are. Perhaps you feel tightness in your chest, maybe there is a tickle or even a constriction in your breathing. Is your energy lapsing as the day goes on so that it seems to take more and more effort to do what you need and want to do?

Or, perhaps you notice the stale taste of cigarettes in your dry mouth or your gums feel sore. Does your hair or clothing smell? I’m sorry to draw your attention to any of these lousy smoking side effects but I have a reason for doing this, so bear with me and just let yourself notice the physical manifestation of your smoking habit.

Now, center that awareness onto a particular body part that is showing the results of smoking – your lungs, your heart, your mouth, your skin…whatever is speaking the loudest to you. Yes, speaking to you. And please, listen to that part. It has something to tell you. It wants you to know how important you are to it, that you are in control of its destiny, its survival. Listen carefully to what it has to say to you.

This is now your opportunity to have a dialogue with this body part. What do you imagine you might say to it? Have a conversation (don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you are nuts, we all talk to ourselves!) and really discuss this whole smoking situation. Ask that part that is suffering what you need to do to make things better – what it really needs from you. Perhaps you are now discovering something that you didn’t even know before this moment and isn’t that wonderful?

You might even visit a time in the future when you have answered the call of that part of you…becoming a non-smoker. It’s pretty great to see and feel how your successful life is when that has happened, isn’t it?

Taking the time to listen to your body is invaluable. It has so much to say!
You can do this for a few minutes, or for longer. So, you can choose to just put these ideas aside for a while, letting them digest, or, you may even be surprised at the powerful impact they make upon you, fueling an even deeper desire and igniting the action you need to move past your smoking habit. It’s all up to you.

PS ~ If you need a little extra assistance, hypnosis helps.