When I #stoppedsmoking, I was so proud at that moment, I wanted to call everybody. And I did, I was on the phone, talking about studying and exams, and in one moment I was mentioning: Hey, you know what? I stopped #smoking!
And there was praise from the people I talked to, and I was so full of myself, and the next day I would be like “Hey, let me have just one more smoke”, and this #pattern repeated several times in my #life.
And after more than 17 years of smoking, I literally started hating what I do. Not myself, not tobacco manufacturers, not the state nor the system, nor contraband #tobacco dealers, but simply the thing that I do! I managed to take responsibility thanks to the years of #CBT therapy and so many books I have read, and I started analyzing myself.
The second breakthrough that I had was with the #NLP course, and I still say that was the best investment in my life! I realized all the flaws of anti-smoking campaigns that I followed, I realized how useless the messages on cigarette packs are, and that they contribute to attracting more people to smoke cigarettes, and it eventually helped me to get a new identity for my new life! A Li.O.N.S. Identity.
I realized that the world was divided artificially into two polarities: smokers and non-smokers! As you may notice, a smoker is a positively formulated word, therefore our subconscious doesn’t see a problem here, whereas a non-smoker has a negative formulation, and our subconscious mind generates that as something that needs to be changed.
I decided to talk to the people who successfully got rid of this habit and people who had something I didn’t have: the most stressful experiences, of war, illnesses, risky jobs, sometimes working long hours, and try to answer the question: HOW DID THEY DO IT?
What did I find out?
They rarely used the word QUIT. Most commonly, they would use sentences like ’I don’t do that anymore’, ‘I have other things to do,’ ‘There is something more important’, etc. Also, I noticed that they decided to change certain habits, too: they cut drinking #alcohol, or they didn’t drink it at all! I found that they became passionate about their families, children, activities in #nature, not nature itself but activities in nature. In other words, they changed a habit.
And most importantly, they changed a #MINDSET!
What is the mindset?
As I mentioned earlier, these people were some badass people, both #men and #women, of all educational levels, and they were not stupid, they had always known smoking was not good for their health, as you and I both know!
They figured out themselves that there was no help in general advice on websites and ads on TV, because most of those #campaigns are funded by secret sources from the tobacco industry!
What did I discover?
Using my knowledge in NLP and years of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, I figured out that I needed to find a moment and a motivation that suits me! I never really cared about health. I know that health is important, but how do you measure it? A number of steps, ability to exercise? How long can I be healthy? If a get some illness, does that mean that I failed?
I figured out that my motive doesn’t need to be logical or even related to smoking at all!
So I found out that my motive is to stop spending money on cigarettes and instead, spend it on fine meals in fine restaurants.
The second motive was my lifelong passion: #helping people in need as much as it is in my power! I help people selflessly because that is my core life goal!
So, how do I live The Li.O.N.S. Life?
After figuring out all these things, I used all the tools I knew about to reprogramme my brain in the following way:
– Today I start something new.
– I acknowledge that I will have both good days and bad days.
– I acknowledge that I will feel cravings, I felt them before.
– Cravings are a bearable feeling, only death is unbearable!
– I will not judge the actions that come from outside sources, like campaigned
from #tobacco companies (I will not judge a devil for being a devil, he has his job and I have mine).
– I will not judge people who smoke around me, it is their life.
– In a best-case scenario, I will ask them not to smoke if there is someone who can’t stand the smell of a cigarette.
– God and Nature will not throw at me anything that I can’t endure.
– Brain will play its tricks on me after a certain period of time. Regardless of tricks,
accept the pain if it shows up, it’s only temporary.
– ALWAYS, absolutely always, face the cravings, face the triggers.
– And when you do feel a craving, always ask yourself: How does smoking a cigarette change the situation? Accept the situation as it is, and move on!
So these few simple rules were so effective, that I hardly have the desire to smoke ever again. I do feel discomfort from time to time, but the more triggers I face, the more they become irrelevant next time, and I stop noticing them!
With all this in mind and my #passion for #helping and for #coaching, I decided to become a coach, A coach that HELPS PEOPLE TRANSFORM THEIR SMOKERS LIFE INTO THE Li.O.N.S. Life!
And my passion serves both people who smoke and people who are impacted by smoking, now!
