KEY TWO


A Super Good Reason For Quitting

You have heard that smoking may kill you one day, but that day may be far into the future. On the cold and bleak moment that the cigarette urge strikes you in your bones, you need something immediate and powerful to shield you. You need a purpose for your act of quitting that will slap the attacking urge across the face, and take the wind out of its sails. You must have a reason to quit with, big powerful legs with which to hold up your courage during a weak moment.

Remember that the cigarette urge comes at your weakest moment, when your spouse has said something that cuts you to the quick, or your child just had serious trouble at school, or even with the law. The urge to smoke is the dirtiest fighter on the planet, and you have to be ready for that. When your mind says that you must have a cigarette in order to deal with this current crises, you must be ready with, "I will not smoke, even under these unhappy conditions, because..." And you can't fill in the blank with some lemon drop reason that will be blown over with a little pressure. You must have a reason that will break the sword of the attack with the steel shield of your real reason for quitting.

For me, I wrote, "Remember Amsterdam" (see my story) on a 3x5 card that I carried with me always. When the cold, dark, lonely moment struck, that card worked miracles. For you, your reason may be the fact that your child who is in trouble today, needs you dearly, and if you die early because you smoke, he will be denied your care. Or you may have some other powerful reason for quitting. Don't stop searching until you have found one. Believe me, one exists if you look for it.




KEY THREE