Just listen to anybody who smokes and quite regularly you’ll hear things like “I’m going to try and quit smoking, just as soon as I (fill in the blank)”. Perhaps you’ve heard them say these things a number of times and now you just don’t listen. Know what I mean?

In order to quit the first thing you need to do is to write down exactly what the goal is you are after and come up with all the reasons why you want it. Once you’ve done this also make a note of all the excuses why you can’t achieve your goal.

The act of putting your thoughts to paper gives you clarity. It allows you to sit back and subjectively analyze not only why you want to quit, but to scrutinize all the excuses that are keeping you from doing so. Doing so in this fashion will show you how silly your excuses are in comparison to the goal you are looking to attain.

Have a look at a few of the most often stated excuses and apply them to your list if applicable, however in the end it is your job to list every single excuse as to why you smoke that you can think of.

“I’m afraid that I’ll gain weight if I quit smoking.”

Really? Would you believe that it has been shown that we are better off healthwise to be 70+ pounds overweight than to continue smoking. Of course that doesn’t give us the excuse to binge. Yes it is true that some people do put on a few pounds when giving up smoking, however there is healthy alternatives to your diet which will help alleviate this. Just keep in mind to snack on healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, not chocolate bars and pretzels.

“I enjoy smoking too much to quit.”

If that were truly so, then chances are you wouldn’t be sitting there now gathering information on quitting, would you? Don’t worry. I’m not picking on you. I used to say the very same thing. Making statements such as this creates one major issue. And that is the fact that the more times you say it, the more you become to believe it. I’ve said it before. So time to come clean and be honest with yourself, is smoking really that enjoyable or is it just a fallacy you’ve convinced yourself to be true? What is it that you think smoking gives you? More money, better health and cleaner, fresher breath? Looking at it from that angle and writing down the answers will show you that you really don’t enjoy smoking that much at all.

The thing is that I am not trying to come across as mean or condescending, so please don’t take what I am saying the wrong way. No, what I am trying to do is be truly helpful by telling you that none of the excuses that you are currently using or have used in the past do anything for you other than keep you smoking and once you come to terms with this fact, the easier quitting will be.

Don’t doubt your abilities to beat those lies. You can do this.