Ways to Resist the Urge to Smoke
Reward Yourself
Make it a habit to reward yourself at the end of each nonsmoking week. Think of something you want (it doesn’t have to be something expensive, a nice home made meal or hot bath will work). Take the index card and write down what would you give yourself at the end of the week. When the urge comes take a look at the index card with your reward. Isn’t it worth coping for 3 minutes? 🙂
Be prepared for your urges!
Get yourself prepared for the urge to smoke in advance. In most cases something triggers the craving (certain feelings, people, or places). You have to know what triggers the urge.
Lets do a really quick exercise. Take a blank piece of paper and divide it into 2 columns. On the one side list your triggers (like “stuck in traffic”, “drinking morning coffee”, “arguing with colleague”…) and in the second column write down the alternative course of action.
For example, instead of smoking while drinking your morning coffee you could read a newspaper. Instead of smoking after the hot argument with your colleague you can take a walk around a block or write down everything you think about this person, then tier this piece of paper in shreds and throw it away. Don’t be lazy, write it down! This exercise really works!
Call your friend
This method works great. Call someone who can support you, who can talk with you for a couple of minutes. You can call your nonsmoking friend, or someone who’s trying to quit smoking too.
Distract yourself with a quick task
Think of a small task you have to do, something what would take you 5-10 minutes. Make a call, send a fax, make yourself a cup of coffee, water the plant in your office. Anything! Your task is to distract yourself until the urge will pass. (Hint: Try to find activity that makes smoking impossible!)
Drink a Glass of Water
Take a glass of water and drink it with a straw. First of all having something in your mouth to chew on will help, second it will take you a couple of minutes to drink the whole glass and the urge will pass. Plus, don’t forget that you’re supposed to drink 8 glasses of water every day!
