New Year's Resolution Got You Confused?

This post may be late, but I wanted to share this post on new year's resolution because it goes to the heart of what one needs to do to quit smoking:

2010 is here! And it is time to start on quitting smoking. But do you notice how your enthusiasm tends to fade away as February comes around, as you realize that quitting smoking is a lifetime goal and not something you can accomplish in a few weeks. If you really want to be successful, always keep 3 important things in mind.

1: Adjust Your Attitude To Work For You

If you have the wrong attitude about quitting smoking, you're already setting yourself up for failure. Most people look at quitting smoking as:

• A bad experience of cravings and urges

• A punishment or torment

• A loss of years of nurturing the habit

• An obligation to someone else

• Painful and suffering

• A waste of time

• Not sustainable at all

If any of these sound familiar, how long do you expect to stick with your resolution to quit smoking? Nobody wants to do something painful, boring or obligatory. So before you throw yourself at quitting smoking, sort out your attitudes about it and figure out whether these attitudes are true or just lies you've been telling yourself for years. Then, try a positive approach to quitting smoking and take it as:

• The best way to improve health and stamina right now

• The best thing you can do right now to ensure better health in the future

• A great way to dramatically boost your energy and mood

• A clear-cut way to save a few thousand bucks a year

• The most basic way to eliminate lingering cigarette smells

• The simplest way to get rid of cigarette butts and ash stain

• A chance to improve the overall quality of your life at once

Here are some key points about quitting smoking that you need to understand as well:

1. Willpower does not work. It is meant for short-term success, whereas long-term successrequires planning, discipline and seeking ways and methods to help and motivate yourself.

2. Motivation will not happen miraculously. And motivation changes from day to day. You have to recommit to your goals each day, twist them around to fit changes in your lifestyle and attitude and find new ways to motivate yourself over time.

3. Commitment means that you will do make it happen, even when you do not want to at times. Know that you will always have to work at it.

4. Plan to work and work your plan. Once you have made your own plan to quit smoking, figure out how you will make your plan work effectively.

2: Change Your Lifestyle

Did smoking creep up on you without you knowing? But then,

1. You can't smoke if your lifestyle doesn't support it.

2. You can't smoke if you haven't allowed yourself to.

3. You can't smoke if you've not made time and space for it.

Never forget that quitting smoking is a lifetime prospect. You will need to keep working on it to stay quit. But just like other lifetime commitments, staying quit will get easier and easier as you progress. Once you have molded staying quit as part of your lifestyle, it becomes a more natural and instinctive process.

Recognize the gravity of permanently quitting smoking for you will need to change your lifestyle to accommodate this goal.