Stopping is the Easy Part – Staying Stopped is the Trick
Mark Twain supposedly said, “It’s easy to quit smoking. I’ve done it hundreds of times.”
Maybe you have too… but you’ve always gone back to smoking or chewing for one reason or another. Perhaps you blamed it on:
- Stress
- Going to the bar
- Hanging out with smokers or chewers
Or any one of 100 BS reasons. And they are BS when you think about it. Deep down, you know I’m right.
The key to quitting is this simple: Don’t smoke, and don’t chew.
That means you don’t quit for a few days or a week and then tell yourself you can have “just one puff” or “just one dip”. Just one puff or dip leads to just one pack or can and then to just one carton or chew pack. Before you know it, you’re smoking a pack or chewing a can (or more) a day.
Don’t let “stress” lead you to the store to buy a pack or bum a chew off a friend. Find another way to deal with your anxiety.
When you give yourself permission to smoke or chew, even “just one”, that’s when you fall off the quit wagon.
No, you cannot have just one. Sorry.
Yes, I’m a hardass, but for most, that’s what it takes. So I’m OK with being the hardass… and I will continue to tell you that you can’t have “just one” until you’re ready to scream.