7 Proven Ways to Resist the Urge to Smoke

If you decide to stop smoking the most difficult part is to resist the urges. It does not matter that each craving lasts only 3-5 minutes. It's still the whole 5 minutes to battle with your willpower! These 7 tips will enable you to resist the urge to smoke one urge at a time.

1. Remind Yourself Why You Quit

Each time you experience a craving remind yourself why you quit. It's the excellent idea to take a blank index card and list all the reasons why you decided to stop smoking. List as many as possible, the more the better. If needed, take the second index card. Carry them with you all of the time. Each time you feel the urge to smoke take the index card and slowly read all your reasons why you chose to stop. When you finish reading your urge will pass! (If not, read them one more time or come up with more reasons.)

2. Reward Yourself.

Make it a habit to reward yourself at the end of each nonsmoking week. Consider something that you want (it does not have to be something expensive, a nice home made meal or hot bath will work). Take the index card and write down what would you give yourself at the end of the week. When the urge comes take a look at the index card with your reward. Is not it worth coping for 3 minutes? :-RRB-

3. Be prepared for your urges!

Get yourself ready for the desire to smoke ahead of time. In most cases something triggers the craving (certain feelings, people, or places). You must know what triggers the urge.

Lets do a really quick exercise. Take a blank piece of paper and divide it into two columns. On the one side list your triggers (such as"stuck in traffic","drinking morning coffee","arguing with colleague"...) and in the second column write down the alternative course of action.

By way of example, instead of smoking while drinking your morning coffee you could read a paper. Instead of smoking after the hot argument with your colleague you can take a walk around a block or write down everything you think about this person, then tier this piece of paper in shreds and throw it away. Do not be lazy, write it down! This exercise really works!

4. Call your friend.

This approach works great. Call someone who can support you, who will talk to you for a few minutes. You can call your nonsmoking friend, or somebody who's trying to stop smoking too.

5. Distract yourself with a quick job.

Think of a small task you need to do, something what would take you 5-10 minutes. Make a call, send a fax, make yourself a cup of coffee, water the plant in your workplace. Anything! Your job is to distract yourself until the urge will pass. (Hint: Try to find activity that makes smoking impossible!)

6. Drink a Glass of Water.

Take a glass of water and drink it with a straw. First of all having something in your mouth to chew on will help, second it will take you a few minutes to drink the entire glass and the urge will pass. Plus, remember that you are supposed to drink 8 glasses of water daily!

7. Power Tip.

That's the disgusting one, but it often works. Print a small picture of smoker's lungs.