Marcel Legros - Play the Game of Life

This is part two, of a two part series. In yesterday’s post, I outlined some of the ideas from Allen Carr’s book, ‘Easy Way to Stop Smoking’.

There are no benefits to smoking - not even one. When you see this and you understand how the addiction works, you will be able to quit automatically. Willpower is not required to quit. You just do. Physical symptoms of withdrawal are the easy part and they disappear very quickly. The big problem is your mind. If you are still smoking, ask yourself this:

• What does the cigarette do for me?
• Do I enjoy it?
• Do I want to pay through the nose for the rest of my life and die of a horrible and debilitating disease?

Everything You Know About Smoking is Wrong

Smokers believe that they receive immense amounts of pleasure, relaxation, image enhancement, concentration, or fun from cigarettes. Why else would you face debilitating diseases, social stigma, and a heavy financial burden? Here’s the secret to mentally beating your addiction - the only pleasure you receive is the relief from withdrawal pangs the previous cigarette created. Read that last sentence again. It’s relief from aggravation, it’s not pleasure. Other drugs like alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, or heroin provide an actual rush of pleasure to the addict. Nicotine is the only drug that doesn’t do anything but remove the aggravation it originally created. What a strange and wicked trap!

Withdrawal symptoms from nicotine are so slight, that most smokers carry on every day not realizing they’re a drug addict. If you’re a smoker, you experience withdrawal every morning. That’s the reason the first cigarette of the day seems so satisfying. You’re experiencing withdrawal and that first cigarette temporarily removes the discomfort. It’s as ridiculous as putting your hand on the stove just so you can experience the relief when you take it off.

Physical withdrawal from nicotine is nearly the same as achy hunger, accompanied by a feeling of empty restlessness. It’s not the Goliath people make it out to be, yet we’re told again and again that nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs and also the most difficult to quit. Not true! The drug becomes addictive very quickly, but it leaves the body very quickly as well - usually within 24 to 72 hours. You experience no pain - just mild flu-like symptoms. Have you had the flu? Did you manage to recover? If the answer was yes to both these questions, then you’re strong enough to deal with withdrawal from nicotine.

Even thinking about quitting fills some smokers with panic. Your deepest fear as a smoker is that if you quit, there will be a void in your life - things will never be the same. The biggest monster is your mind. What you haven’t realized until now is that cigarettes do not fill a void in your life - they create one. Once you get past the physical withdrawal, what have you actually given up? The answer is - you’ve given up absolutely nothing! There is nothing to give up because cigarettes aren’t actually doing anything for you.

I hope this article was helpful to you. I did not author most of the concepts contained. If you want a more thorough explanation, go read Allen Carr’s ‘Easy Way to Stop Smoking.’