Marcel Legros - Play the Game of Life

I smoked for about 17 years - at least a pack a day. I was able to quit for a year, a week, two days, two hours, and everything in between. I always got hooked again. I knew I wanted to quit but nothing seemed to work. It was extremely frustrating and painful. I felt that I would never be able to enjoy myself once I quit. My god I was miserable. I couldn’t concentrate, I was irritable, and resentful. This was partly due to the haze of poor judgement that alcoholism inflicted upon me. Now that I’m sober and I am thinking clearly again, I’ve decided to quit smoking for good. I want my life back - the life before smoking and alcohol. I will do whatever it takes to get it.

I highly recommend reading Allen Carr’s ‘Easy Way to Stop Smoking.’ Most of the ideas contained in this series comes directly from that book. His system is easy, and it works. The following article is a condensed outline of his book’s concepts and techniques.

Why is it so hard to quit smoking once you start?

It’s actually very easy. Contrary to popular belief, it involves no willpower, withdrawal symptoms, or suffering. I will not try to scare the hell out you with all the reasons not to smoke. When you focus on the disadvantages of smoking (health or financial problems) you actually make it harder to quit because you feel stressed. If you really want to quit, you need to understand why you smoke.

Why People Can’t Quit Smoking

How many people have tried to quit smoking and experienced boredom, depression, lack of energy, weight gain, and lack of concentration? Here is a list of misconceptions that kept me addicted and suffering:

• ‘I enjoy smoking.’ If you enjoy it, then why do you want to quit? Would you recommend it to your children? If smokers enjoyed it, then they would all be more relaxed, energetic, and happy, than non-smokers.
• ‘It helps me concentrate and relieves boredom.’ Is smoking a distraction or does it eliminate distractions? It can’t be both. Smoking is only a momentary distraction from feeling bored. You’re using a hammer to relieve a headache.
• ‘It takes willpower to quit.’ Did it take willpower before you became a smoker? Of course not - non-smokers don’t think about it at all. Willpower doesn’t have anything to do with why you can’t quit smoking.
• ‘Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs.’ After quitting smoking, detoxification from nicotine takes only a day or two. Everything after that is purely psychological.
• ‘Withdrawal symptoms are intense and terrible.’ Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal are very slight - there’s no pain at all. It’s just an empty restless feeling sort of like hunger. It feels similar to a mild flu. Nobody cries and goes crazy when they get the flu, and there’s no reason to when you quit smoking.
• ‘It’s a Habit.’ You form and break habits every day. It isn’t hard to break a habit. Would it be hard to switch which side of the bed you sleep on? Smoking isn’t a habit.

You continue to smoke because; you’re addicted to nicotine, and you’re brainwashed.

Addiction is tricky because it works in reverse. From Allen Carr’s book, “All the smoker is looking for is to remove the aggravation caused by withdrawal and to attain the peace and tranquility they had before they started smoking in the first place.” Before you started smoking you were peaceful and did not suffer from the horrible withdrawal symptoms. If you remove the drug, the symptoms will disappear. You need to change your thinking - then quitting becomes ridiculously easy.

I will post the second part in this multi-part series, tomorrow - Coping Skills to Quit Smoking - Part 2. In it, I will explain what you’re really giving up when you quit smoking.