Long Term Intent
As I said earlier, you must want the benefits of giving
up nicotine more than the habit itself. The last exercise
was all about focusing on these benefits.
But what about the benefits of the smoking habit itself?
All our behaviour is purposeful in some context. If you
smoke, you don't do it because you like to put carcinogens
into your lungs. You do it because smoking makes you feel
relaxed or more comfortable in certain social situations
for some reason personal to you.
You adopted this behaviour to create some gain for yourself.
Your smoking behaviour fulfils some need. Provides you
with some benefit. We need to find out what this need is
and in what other way we can fulfil it.
Most people are conscious of why they started smoking in
the first place. Quite often it has to do with peer pressure,
image and self-esteem.
Task:
I would like you to think for a moment about why you personally
started smoking. No need to apologise for it, or to feel
guilty; you had a good reason at the time. Can you remember
what it was? Be honest with yourself. It may seem juvenile
now, but at the time it provided a benefit. Tell your imaginary
partner why it was that you started smoking.
Done that?
Now we move on to the more difficult problem of trying
to understand why we continue smoking after we have outgrown
the original benefit.
What is sure is that your smoking behaviour fulfils some
need; provides you with some benefit. We need to find out
what this need is and in what other way we can fulfil it.
The following exercise is designed to show us the internal
"need" that keeps us attached to the habit.
Exercise No. 9 - Long-Term Intent *mp3*
How did you enjoy that exercise? I trust that you have now
got some new behaviours to substitute for the smoking habit.
Why not go to the Forum and tell your fellow quitters about
your experiences with your Smoking and Creative Selves.
Summary
We talked about how thoughts control our behaviour. We
did an exercise to show how relaxing thoughts can make us
feel.
We recognised that focusing on an unwanted habit can make
us obsessed with that habit. We learnt how to think about
the habit in a different way; how to focus on the benefits
of giving it up.
We found alternatives to substitute for the benefits that
the unwanted habit used to provide. We imagined ourselves
in the future using these alternatives.
Now we are going to set a date in our own minds for the
destruction of all future cigarettes we would otherwise
smoke.
You are now ready to re-test your motivation and to set
a Stop Date. Leave the Workshop and go to the Set a Date
section. There you will find an exercise to help you decide
your Stop Date. You will also find a Questionnaire about
your smoking habits to print off and complete.
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