Learn From Your Mistakes

Written by Stuart Stevens | Wednesday, 14 May 2008 | There are 0 comments

Many people get very demoralized when they try to quit smoking and they fail. One of the most important lessons of life is that you learn from your mistakes and you must apply this to any failed attempt at quitting smoking. It is important that you identify your weaknesses and where you went wrong in your quest to give up the smoking habit and then formulate a new plan which will help you not to fall into the same pitfall again.

Some people respond to positive incentives to quit smoking and others respond more to negative incentives. For example some people might focus on the fact that they will feel healthier that they will be able to run further and that they wont smell of cigarettes, whereas other people will focus on the dread of getting seriously ill, the fact that cigarettes are costing them a lot of money and that they can’t afford to smoke.

You can therefore identify what is your main motivation for quitting smoking and add onto it. For example one interesting idea which we came across recently was of an individual who particularly loathed a political party and wrote out a cheque for £500 which he gave to a friend and told him that if he ever lifted up another cigarette the cheque was to be posted immediately.  The idea that he would be contributing to a cause which he couldn’t stand helped to boost his motivation to quit smoking.

Another idea is to focus on a positive reward such as promising yourself for a holiday in the sun if you manage to quit smoking for say three months. Don’t underestimate the positive power that these small but significant incentives whether they be positive or negative can have on your motivation when you are at your weakest point.

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